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| Author | Mia Blakeney |
CinemaCon is the largest cinema trade show and gathering of cinema industry professionals in the world. It includes exclusive presentations from major Hollywood studios, previews from the most exciting upcoming films, and guest appearances from stars from both in front of and behind the cameras.
2023 saw cinema continue its post-pandemic growth. Despite disruptions due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, total box office revenue across the UK & Ireland saw an 8% increase, and marking the first post-pandemic year to achieve over £1 billion. (Read more.)
With this in mind, CinemaCon 2024 showcased much optimism for the industry, with an array of exciting blockbuster films to look forward to over the next couple of years. Here are some of the highlights from the event:
A Stellar Q4 to Round Up 2024
2024’s film slate includes some great titles throughout the year, but the real blockbuster gems are set to hit theatres in the final few months of the year.
Films such as Joker: Folie à Deux, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Gladiator 2 and Wicked received a huge amount of buzz and attention at Cinemacon, with surprise appearances from stars such as Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo receiving roaring applause.
If you’d like to get involved with any of these films, visit the DCM Campaign Planner or contact your DCM rep.
Films Too Good for Streaming
Following last year’s trend of streamers pledging to theatrical release, including Apple's Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, more films continue to move from streaming to cinema. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson took to the stage to present Disney’s Moana 2, which was originally pitched to be a series on Disney+, but proved so spectacular that it had to be made a full feature film with a full theatrical release.
Cinema Needs Movies of All Budget Sizes
Barbie and Oppenheimer, both big budget Hollywood movies, dominated the box office last year. However, Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), stressed that “It is not enough to rely solely on blockbusters”.
“To have a truly successful filmed entertainment industry, a variety of movies that appeal to movie goers is critical”, with “a strong and vibrant market for movies with smaller or medium sized budgets.”
This sentiment follows an important speech from Cord Jefferson, writer of Academy Award-winning film American Fiction. When accepting the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay earlier this year, Jefferson implored Hollywood that “Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies, or 50 $4 million movies… Up-and-coming filmmakers just want a shot, and we can give them one.”
Anime Hits the Mainstream
Anime has been having a great few years with cinema. The Demon Slayer series has been a particularly strong example, with the latest movie instalment, February 2024’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - To The Hashira Training, grossing almost $60m worldwide.
Mitchel Berger, Senior Vice President of Global Commerce at Sony-owned anime distributor Crunchyroll, spoke confidently of the genre on a panel: “Anime is red hot right now. Fans have known about it for years, but now everyone else is catching up and recognizing that it’s a cultural, economic force to be reckoned with.”
2025 is Looking Exciting for Cinema
Hollywood’s biggest film studios spoke passionately about their upcoming film slates at CinemaCon, and revealed some of their 2025 line-ups for the first time.
Warner Bros will be releasing a new Superman film next year, as well as an adaptation of one of the world’s most-popular computer games Minecraft. They are also bringing another instalment to the fan favourite Final Destination horror franchise, in Final Destination Bloodlines.
Lionsgate are hopping on the anime trend, bringing a Naruto movie to cinemas in 2025. Their film slate for next year also includes Now You See Me 3, a new Blair Witch film, and a movie adaptation of the popular board game Monopoly.
Universal did not reveal many films from their 2025 slate, but the one’s they did are going to be big! 2025 will see Bridget Jones 4, Five Nights at Freddies 2 and Megan 2 hit cinemas. Although all sequels, each of these franchises has a huge fanbase and online presence, which will be sure to fare well a second (and fourth) time around.
Paramount’s 2025 film slate on the other hand, was huge! The list includes the final film in the Mission Impossible series, and Star Trek: Origin Story. It’s also looking to be a great year for fans of musicals, with Smurfs (starring Rhiana), The Book of Mormon Novocain, and a Bee Gees movie.
Disney’s 2025 film slate will see the release of their latest live action remake, this time of Snow White. It also includes a variety of superhero movies, including Captain America: Brave New World, Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts.
If you’d like to get involved with any of these films, visit the DCM Campaign Planner or contact your DCM rep.