(L to R) Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Lionsgate might not quite have the same number of giant films to tout compared to its bigger studio rivals, but it has some solid performers. Could there be chatter about the success of ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ and a look ahead to spin-off ‘Ballerina’, which stars Ana de Armas?
And, of course, the company is headed back to the world of ‘The Hunger Games’ later this year for a prequel.
Team Lionsgate kicked off by mentioning their two upcoming titles –– as in this week –– with ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ and ‘Sisu’ before turning to the forthcoming rest of the year and beyond…. Which somewhat surprisingly turned out to be a sizzle reel or imagery and logos that dispensed with most of the slate.
(L to R) Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
Among the movies we can expect?
‘About my Father’ (May 26th), a new comedy drama starring Robert De Niro, horror spoof ‘The Blackening’ (June 16th), raucous comedy ‘Joy Ride’ (more on that in a moment), ‘Wonder’ spin-off ‘White Bird’ (August 18th) and ‘The Expendables 4’ (September 22, which only showed a logo, but promises more action with genre legends and new faces).
Plus, there is ‘Ordinary Angels’ (October 13), which stars Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson and is inspired by the true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter. And finally in the reel, ‘Saw X’, which arrives just in time for Halloween on October 27th.
First up, one of the biggies…
‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’
(L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
This prequel to the hugely successful movie series that starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen returns us to the dystopian world of Panem (where conflict has led to huge shortages and “Districts” send “Tributes” to compete in lethal games to distract the populace.
This time, however, the story is set decades before the time of Katniss and focuses on a younger Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth –– playing the character who will eventually become Donald Sutherland’s cruel President Snow). At this point, the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.
A new poster appeared on screen, which was soon followed by the first trailer for the movie that you can see below.
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It’s suitably epic, with the likes of Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman all involved, and even a vocal cameo for Donald Sutherland –– pointing to a potential bookend for the movie –– who reminds us that “it’s the things you love the most that destroy you.”
But that was it for the movie; no star power and little else mentioned.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.
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Next up, something all-together ruder and more chaotic…
‘Joy Ride’
(L to R) Stephanie Hsu as Kat, Sabrina Wu as Deadeye, Ashley Park as Audrey, and Sherry Cola as Lolo in ‘Joy Ride.’
Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao, Joy Ride is a story of identity and self-discovery focusing on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin.
This one at least had the on-stage support of producer Seth Rogen, who showed up (in a different outfit from the Paramount presentation) to enthuse about the movie and how it was the first comedy he watched after pandemic lockdowns and how much of a relief it was to see someone making one after the long, dark slog.
And that was pretty much it for talk of the film –– since Lionsgate screened it for the CinemaCon crowd.
(L to R) Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Paramount has had plenty to celebrate in the last couple of years, with a successful run of box office hits across different genres. That was led, of course, by ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, and you know that the studio is going to go big on the next Tom Cruise movie (part of his biggest franchise), ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1’.
But they’re really here to discuss 2023, and are leading off with…
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Seth Rogen is here to talk the new ‘Turtles’ ‘toon movie, relating a story of being a fan from a young age to the point where when gifted nun chucks by his father, he proceeded to injure himself showing them off to friend (and future co-writer/producer) Evan Goldberg.
Promising that the new movie (just the latest adaptation of the comics) will lean into the “teenage” part of the title, Rogen cued up an extended look.
The footage featured the Turtles tying to be accepted by humans, and meeting April O’ Neil (Ayo Edebiri). They also face off against the villain Superfly (Ice Cube).
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ arrives in theaters on August 4th.
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Now on to… Transformers! But not the one you might be thinking of.
‘Transformers One’
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Rihanna at Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
A quick run through new movies for younger audiences was next, including news that Rihanna will voice Smurfette and produce the next ‘Smurfs’ movie (which will be an animated musical), and that the ‘Paw Patrol’ gang will get superpowers in their next movie.
‘Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie’ is due on September 29th this year, with the Smurfs musical next February 14th and ‘SpongeBob’ (titled ‘ SpongeBob SquarePants: Search for SquarePants’) all the way in May 2025.
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More robot action next…
‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’
‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ rolls out into theaters on June 9th.
One of Paramount’s other big franchise success stories comes roaring back to the screen this summer with the latest ‘Transformers’ entry. Directed by ‘Creed II’s Steven Caple Jr., this one will see ‘In The Heights’ Anthony Ramos interacting with Optimus and co., this time they’re teaming up with the animal-disguise Maximals to take on the Terrocons and a huge (literally) threat from the planet-gobbling menace Omicron.
Though given the movie takes place in 1994, we have to ask A) is anyone too worried given that the world is still in place by the time the first ‘Transformers’ live-action movie happens and B) wouldn’t more people know about the existence of the robots in “disguise” by then? Still, giant robots! Fun stunts! New trailer!
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‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ rolls out into theaters on June 9th.
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And from giant spectacle cinema to a giant of cinema…
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Martin Scorsese promotes the upcoming film ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ during the Paramount Pictures presentation during CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 27, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage.
‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is set for release on January 12th next year.
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Next up, John Krasinski arrives, and since he’s the overseer of the ‘A Quiet Place’ franchise, we know what’s next…
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Krasinski is producing the prequel (with Michael Sarnoski directing), and Lupita Nyong’o stars in the movie, set as the title suggests, on the first day of the alien invasion.
The first footage from the movie is bigger in scale than Krasinski’s pair so far, with Nyong’o trying to survive the arrival of the super-hearing, blind extraterrestrial threats in New York City. It looks suitably epic.
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ lands in theaters on March 8th next year.
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And that wasn’t all from Krasinski…
‘Imaginary Friends’
Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
From the early look at the movie, it has a Pixar feel, following a young girl who develops the ability to see peoples’ imaginary friends. It’s a family friendly film Krasinski said he made for his children –– what, they don’t appreciate scary aliens threatening children in his other work?
‘IF’ skips into theaters on May 24th next year.
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And now, the truly big star franchise…
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’
(L to R) Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
According to Paramount’s brass, Tom Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie have done it again (they don’t specify whether “it” refers to making a great movie or giving an insurance adjuster a heart attack), but we’re treated to two new looks at the film.
First up, the brand-new trailer, which is suitably action packed, and 20 exclusive minutes from the movie, full of all the spectacle you could hope for from the ‘Mission’ series.
Oh, and news that ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ will be out earlier than planned –– moving up to July 12th this year.
(L to R) Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie on the set of ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
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(L to R) John Krasinski and Seth Rogen at Paramount Pictures CinemaCon 2023 presentation in Las Vegas. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Movies Presented at Paramount’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation:
Cillian Murphy stars in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Universal, which has suffered some mixed fortunes in recent years (and has raised the ire of theater chains with its day-and-date Peacock policy for movies such as ‘Halloween Kills’), does at least have an apparently solid slate of 27 movies ready for cinemas this year.
With 800lb gorilla (no, not King Kong, he works for someone else) ‘Fast X’ driving in soon, a healthy offering of horror, comedy and the result of winning over Christopher Nolan headed our way (that would be ‘Oppenheimer’), Universal also has had some better luck of late via the likes of giant hit ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and the more modest success of ‘Cocaine Bear’.
Avoiding talk of “giant bombs” (best when considering movies), Universal’s presentation kicked off with a sizzle reel of filmmakers it has or is working with, and then got into the meat of the matter… Let’s go Nolan!
‘Oppenheimer’
Director Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy on the set of ‘Oppenheimer.’
Having snatched Christopher Nolan from the clutches of Warner Bros., the studio kicked off its presentation with the director and his latest dramatic opus, ‘Oppenheimer’.
The story, rooted in historical truth is of the scientist (played in the movie by Cillian Murphy) who led the team developing the atomic bomb. It’s a narrative with baked-in drama and plenty of ethical handwringing, not just because their experiments could have set fire to the atmosphere (as Nolan mentions).
Some fresh footage was shown to the crowd, with Nolan saying the new trailer will debut in front of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ but played in the room to the audience. It features the team hard at work, but also has scenes featuring Russian development of the technology, sparking fears of espionage.
And he’s done. Boom! ‘Oppenheimer’ will arrive in theaters on July 21st, coincidentally (OR IS IT?) the same day as Warner Bros.’ ‘Barbie’.
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Following a brief interlude from President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution Jim Orr (who boasted about Universal not buying, but building franchises), the presentation was handed over to President of Distribution Veronica Kwan Vandenberg touting some of the successes of 2022, including ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ and ‘Ticket to Paradise’.
And with that, we’re headed to Illumination territory, with a message from Steve Carell’s Gru. And on stage, Chris Meledandri, who walks out to the ‘Super Mario Bros.’ music. And who wouldn’t, given that the movie is about to cross a billion dollars at the box office worldwide?
But even with the Nintendo-powered mega-hit still going, the company wants to talk about original movies, starting with birds…
‘Migration’
This holiday season, Illumination invites you to take flight into the thrill of the unknown with a funny, feathered family vacation like no other in the action-packed new original comedy, Migration.
Following a brief, mysterious teaser earlier this month, we’re getting more footage and details of the story, which will be road trip movie, just focused on ducks taking flight when a family convinced their overprotective father to take them.
This holiday season, Illumination invites you to take flight into the thrill of the unknown with a funny, feathered family vacation like no other in the action-packed new original comedy, Migration.
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Following that, the presentation went straight to the dogs. Which is to say…
‘Strays’
Will Ferrell arrives to pimp the raunchy live action/CG canine comedy, bringing with him the adorable Sophie, who plays his pooch character Reggie in the movie. Sophie steals some of the attention away from Ferrell, who starts listing his IMDb credits in order to compete.
It’s all to introduce an extended look at ‘Strays’, which already has a trailer online and features the voices of Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Brett Gelman and more, plus Bill Hader as Reggie’s human owner.
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Switching from family fare to horror, time for Blumhouse.
Jason Blum is here to celebrate the success of ‘M3GAN’ and nodding to the sequel in development with hopes of a 2025 release.
Their big hope is a reunion with ‘Halloween’s David Gordon Green, who has been handed the keys to the ‘Exorcist’ franchise. He’s planning another trilogy, with the first movie due this year.
The trailer reveals that rather than just one girl, this time it’s two –– everything’s bigger these days, right? They’re played by Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum.
As for the footage, it begins with Leslie Odom Jr’s daughter missing. Turns out she was in the woods, but now she’s in the hospital. “Baby you’ve been gone three days,” he tells her. Later: She starts convulsing. But there are other younger girls getting impacted by the demonic possession. We see one enter a Catholic Church screaming “The body and the blood! The body and the blood!” Odom contacts Chris MacNeil and she steps in to help these folks with possessed children. Turns out she definitely knows something. She confronts one of the girls later in the trailer and exclaims, “we’ve met before.”
‘The Exorcist: The Believer’ possesses theater screens on October 13th.
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With something of cinematic whiplash, we’re back in family land for DreamWorks Animation.
‘Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken’
‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’ will be in theaters on June 30th.
First up was DreamWorks’ watery new adventure ‘Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken’, which debuted some new –– if slightly incomplete footage.
Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake arrived on stage to tout their new ‘Trolls’ movie (something of an irony given that the last one led the charge away from theatrical and to streaming as the pandemic bit). The duo lightly roasted the crowd (and each other) before revealing that the new movie will be about reuniting a boy band (seems fitting, given Timberlake’s presence).
The music returns to screens (big ones this time) on November 17th.
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And now, on to one of the company’s truly big hitters…
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’
Jack Black took the stage to wax rhapsodic about how the movies are his biggest franchise and that Po the Panda is his most iconic character. The funniest part of the presentation? It’s too early for a trailer, so Black did a dramatic reading of the plot. Po will be looking for a successor and taking on a new villain called The Chameleon –– a sorceress who can summon people from the past.
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is quite a ways away –– March 8 next year, in fact.
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Focus Features
(L to R) Jake Ryan, Jason Schwartzman and Tom Hanks in director Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features.
‘Asteroid City’ is due in theaters on June 23rd, with ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ on September 22nd, ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ opening September 8th and ‘The Holdovers’ arriving November 22nd.
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Not quite last, and certainly not least…
‘Fast X’
(L to R) Vin Diesel and Daniela Melchior in ‘Fast X,’ directed by Louis Leterrier.
Vin Diesel and several of the ‘Fast’ cast showed up to talk the latest entry in the mega franchise. Diesel went off script to explain how grateful he was to theater owners and remember Paul Walker before the gang introduced some new footage.
Well, “new” in that it features a big exposition dump about the story so far in the movie itself to help catch up Brie Larson’s Tess. That segued into an extended take on the most recent trailer.
‘Fast X’ drives in on May 19th, to be followed next year by the 11th movie, planned as a tiny arthouse movie shot entirely in black and whi… just kidding.
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We’re promised a couple more surprises (much like Steve Jobs’ classic “one more thing…” at Apple shows).
‘The Fall Guy’
‘Barbie’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
Ahead of the new Ryan Gosling/Emily Blunt movie, director David Leitch had his Eighty-Seven North stunt team put on a live show for the crowd. Then it was on to ‘The Fall Guy’ footage, which sees Gosling playing Colt Severs, a retired stuntman who is called in to help find a missing star of a new movie being directed by his ex-girlfriend (Blunt).
Blunt and Gosling were both on stage with Leitch, celebrating the dedicated stunt professionals who make movies like this one possible.
‘The Fall Guy’ will land in theaters on March 1st next year.
Finally, the real one last thing…
‘Wicked’
Though Jon M. Chu’s musical adaptation (in two parts) of the hit musical isn’t going to arrive until next year, we got a look at some rough early footage, including Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the central witch characters and a snatch of the story’s most famous song, ‘Defying Gravity’.
‘Wicked’s first part will be in theaters on November 27th next year, followed by Part Two on December 25th, 2025.
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And that’s it for Universal!
‘Fast X’ Logo. Courtesy of Vin Diesel’s Instagram account.
Movies Presented at Universal Pictures 2023 CinemaCon Presentation:
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
With audiences returning to theaters properly and box office returns climbing out of the trough of COVID, it was only natural that studio bosses were going to be bullish at this year’s CinemaCon event in Las Vegas.
First out of the gate this time was Sony, whose chairman Tom Rothman was in an upbeat, triumphant mood. “For the past three years, as the punditocracy pissed on your business, we at Sony held fast,” Rothman boasted. “We are the only studio that held entirely to theatrical. We were sure that movies in theaters would not only survive but triumph. Well, whaddaya know?”
Sony remains on the theatrical train, with several big releases planned.
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‘The Equalizer 3’
Among the biggest is ‘The Equalizer 3’, which represents that unusual franchise where the star –– in this case, Denzel Washington –– is actually bigger than the property. In an age of superheroes and ‘Star Wars’ selling seats, he’s an outlier.
The studio had Washington and co-star Dakota Fanning on stage to thank cinema executives for their support and, perhaps more crucially, to highlight the fact that it represents a reunion for the ‘Man on Fire’ stars. And a trailer played, which went online today…
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‘The Equalizer 3’ catches up with Washington’s government assassin-turned-kick-ass-do-gooder Robert McCall in Italy, where he’s trying to enjoy some downtime on the picturesque Amalfi coast and not be asked to take on villains.
Sadly, for McCall, that’s not the way his life goes, and he’s soon caught up helping some locals with Mafia goons and violence. Which means McCall has to break out his particular set of skills and lay the smack down on members of the criminal clan known as the Camorra (think an even more dangerous offshoot of the Mafia).
And while there are some very wild, violent thugs looking to tackle McCall, none of them are quite ready for what he brings to the table. Literally in one case, as we witness him applying nerve pressure to one of the enforcers. “That’s level three”, he tells the anguished henchman. “If “If it goes to level four, you will shit on yourself.” Thanks Denz!
But the highlight, as mentioned above, is in the reunion between Washington and Fanning. The latter was just 10 when she shared the screen with Washington ‘Man on Fire’ in 2004. Now, for ‘The Equalizer 3’, she’s playing a young CIA agent drawn to the village because of all the reports of violence.
And the two actors’ connection was clear, since they have stayed friends all these years. “She’s like a daughter to him, he loves her,” Antoine Fuquatold Empire of the off-screen dynamic between Washington and Fanning. “It was so beautiful to watch them together on the set, just talking, laughing. And they’re both so talented, they just get into it, they didn’t skip a beat. What was weird for me looking through the lens and seeing Dakota as a grown-up! She’s fantastic and watching them together was a joy because she’s a samurai. She knows it, she’s there, she’s pleasant, she does her thing. And it was a bonus her relationship with Denzel. She’s friends with his kids. It was very easy with those two.”
‘The Equalizer 3’ will be in theaters on September 1st.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
‘Bad Boys 4’
While ‘Bad Boys for Life’ represented one of the few hits as the pandemic began to bite, Sony was naturally excited to roll out word of the next movie. The movie is now filming (with ‘For Life’ directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returning) but isn’t yet at a stage where the studio can show a trailer. Still, it had stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence ebullient in a video introduction.
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‘Gran Turismo’
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
‘Gran Turismo’, adapted from the Sony racing game is much further along, though while the trailer played to the presentation audience, it has yet to head online.
The film will tell the story of Jann Mardenborough ( ‘Midsommar’s Archie Madekwe), a British teenager who in 2011 entered GT Academy, an esports tournament created to find ‘Gran Turismo’ players who were good enough at the game to be able to competitively drive real-life race cars. Mardenborough was victorious in the GT Academy competition and became a race car driver for Nissan, competing in the Dubai 24 Hour endurance race.
In the trailer, we see Jann arriving with other GT Academy contestants and being put through the wringer by racing trainer Jack Salter (David Harbour) who puts them through a rigorous boot camp to get them in shape. It’s one thing to know how to hit every corner on a world-class racetrack and to overtake in a simulation of a Nissan GT-R LM, but as Jann finds out, it’s hard to do it when the g-forces and hot temperatures of an actual race car are bearing down on you.
“If you miss a racing line in a game you can reset,” warns Jack. “If you miss it in a real race, you could die.”
‘Gran Turismo’ drives into theaters on August 11th.
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‘No Hard Feelings’
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Jennifer Lawrence and ‘No Hard Feelings’ director Gene Stupnitsky swapped onstage banter before introducing a new clip from the raunchy comedy about two helicopter parents who hire a woman to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, so he doesn’t leave for college as a virgin. The comedy hits theaters on June 23.
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
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‘Kraven The Hunter’
Also on display, Sony/Marvel Spider-adjacent superhero pic ‘Kraven The Hunter’, with star Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the title character. He introduced the first look at the movie, enthusing that it’s Rated R.
In the footage, Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven is a tactical stalker with a penchant for cropped leather vests and five-star hair. He shreds his victims viscerally, often with primitive claw-shaped weapons. Blood pours freely over the screen and, at one intense moment, Taylor-Johnson rips the flesh off a target’s neck with his teeth and spits it out. Definitely an R-rating, then.
‘Kraven the Hunter’ will be in theaters on October 26.
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‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Co-director Kemp Powers was joined by voice stars Shameik Moore (who plays Miles Morales), and Hailee Steinfeld (Gwen Stacey), and new recruit Issa Rae (Jessica Drew) to show off 14 impressive minutes of footage from the sequel, which be followed by another movie in 2024.
“It’s been over a year since the events of first movie and he’s still trying to learn to be a superhero,” Moore added, saying that this movie shows that “how you wear the mask is what makes you a hero.”
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ will swing into theaters on June 2nd this year, with ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ due next year.
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
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‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Sequel
There was also a video from Jason Reitman and the team making the sequel to ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ (on which Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan have swapped jobs this time, Kenan directing while Reitman produces) confirming the story’s return to the New York haunts of the original 1984 ‘Ghostbusters’. The new film –– whatever its title –– hits theaters on December 20th.
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‘Napoleon’
While ‘The Equalizer 3’ wrapped things up, there was also room for a big get by the Sony executives, who had scored the chance to release Ridley Scott’s Joaquin Phoenix-starring ‘Napoleon’ in partnership with Apple.
“I know that he can do things cinematically that filmmakers half his age, can’t do,” Rothman said of the 85-year-old director.
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The clip shown had Joaquin Phoenix’s title character commanding the French army in a foggy, blurry wintery epic battle with the Russian and Austrian forces. Napoleon knows it’s coming; he has invited the attack. Lots of bayonets slicing and soldiers falling in the icy water.
‘Napoleon’ should be in theaters this Thanksgiving, followed by its arrival on Apple TV+ after that.
All in all, some big moves, and big movies from Sony.
Sony’s 2023 CinemaCon Presentation. Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Movies Presented at Sony Pictures 2023 CinemaCon Presentation:
