CinemaCon kicked off Monday morning at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and runs through Thursday. For those unfamiliar: it's the convention where studios pitch their upcoming slates to theater owners, execs debate industry policy, and vendors sell everything from laser projectors to fancy popcorn buckets. It's part trade show, part pep rally, part group therapy.
This year's presenting lineup: Sony (Monday), Warner Bros. (Tuesday), Universal and Amazon MGM (Wednesday), Paramount and Disney (Thursday). NEON gets a slot alongside Tuesday's State of the Industry address, and a new "Film Showcase" gives main-stage time to smaller distributors (Angel Studios, Sony Pictures Classics, STUDIOCANAL), which is CinemaCon-speak for "we need more product and we're not getting it from the usual suspects."
The elephant in the Colosseum: Paramount Skydance's $111B acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. If 'The Studio' finale taught us anything, it's that studio consolidation makes for a stressful CinemaCon. Also, don't eat the chocolate. The shareholder vote is scheduled for April 23, one week after CinemaCon wraps, and exhibitors want to know what a four-major-studio world means for their screens. David Ellison has promised 30 films a year from a combined entity, but exhibitors have heard this song before, and Cinema United's Michael O'Leary says verbal assurances aren't enough.
Beyond the merger, a few threads to watch…
- Theatrical windows. Universal recently committed to 45-day exclusivity starting in 2027, Disney already holds at 60 days, and Cinema United will push for an industry-wide baseline. "Sustainable windows" will be this week's most-repeated phrase after "open bar."
- Release volume. Box office momentum is real (domestic YTD at $2.26B, up ~23% YoY), but the number of wide releases remains well below pre-pandemic norms. Good vibes, structural problems.
- Slate highlights. First footage expected from 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' Nolan's 'The Odyssey,' 'Avengers: Doomsday,' and possibly Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day.'
