Deadpool, Diveristy and Sneak Previews - CinemaCon 2019 Highlights

Every year, film studios, exhibitors (cinemas), press and more converge on Las Vegas for the film industry’s biggest trade exhibition - CinemaCon! The exhibition largely focuses on the current climate for cinema chains, with key notes on new innovations and challenges facing the industry, whilst studios use this platform to showcase to exhibitors and press their film slates for the year, reassuring cinema owners the industry is in good health.

As always, the big news coming out of CinemaCon 2019 was from the studio presentations, with Disney being the standout. Trailers, full movie scenes and more were shown, whilst some interesting revelations grabbed the headlines. There’s a lot to unpack so enough of this pretext…let’s get stuck in!

Don’t Mention Netflix!

Cinema owners the world over are worried about the lasting damage streaming services are having on their businesses. Alan Horn pledged that theatrical releases remain the corner stone of Disney’s film business, which was echoed by other top executives. No executive actually mentioned Netflix in their official presentations, but the press were hot on the topic, bombarding the likes of John Fithian (President, National Association of Theatre Owners) with questions about streaming. Fithian was annoyed that the press had not given more attention to 2018’s record box office takings, although we shouldn’t be surprised seeing as every major studio wants to rival Netflix and other streaming giants.
Disney/Fox Merger – Two Studios Better Than One

Some of the biggest news coming out of CinemaCon 2019 is that we finally got some clarity over how the Disney-Fox merger will impact Fox’s film slate, and the studios future. From what Alan Horn (Disney) and Emma Watts (Fox) had to say in their presentations, the two studios presented a united front, beautifully summed up by a combined sizzle reel of the films from Pixar, Marvel, Fox Searchlight, 20^th Century Fox, etc. Although questions still remain, one of the key takeaways is that Deadpool will continue to be made under 20^th Century Fox (my favourite piece of news from the event), along with other franchises such as Planet of the Apes, Alien (I know right) and more. Fox Searchlight and Blue Sky Entertainment will also live on, giving Disney access to a whole new audience. With their combined film slates, experts say Disney now control nearly half of the box office market, a staggering yet frightening realisation.

Lots and Lots and Lots of Footage

As we’ve come to expect, studios show off a lot of footage from upcoming films at CinemaCon, and this year was no exception. Disney was again the standout, showing small scenes from Avengers: End Game and The Lion King, whilst they showed off the first 17 minutes of Toy Story 4 (the consensus – the Toy Story magic was back). Universal wowed the audience with trailers for their upcoming films Hobbs & Shaw and Good Boys. Warner Bros showcased a trailer for Joker (which you can now watch here), with other highlights including footage from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Wonder Woman 1984 and Birds of Prey. Paramount, the last major studio to have their presentation, was the unlikely show stealer though, announcing the title for the next Terminator film – Terminator: Dark Fate. Paramount showed approx. 5mins of the film (which follows on Terminator 2) and was met with rave reactions from all attendees. The film will be released in October 2019 in the UK. 

Diverse Films Can Draw In Big Crowds

Now by “diverse” I don’t necessarily mean representation through ethnicity or gender (although it still applies), what I mean is diversity in the types of films we go to see i.e. not just the big action, superhero, or blockbuster films based on fanatically loved IP. Last year proved that films with smaller budgets, great stories, and the correct marketing can make HUGE money. Warner Bros were keen to point out that their 2018 box office haul of $5.7bn (a record for the studio) did not just include blockbusters, but also smaller IP films such as The Meg, Crazy Rich Asians, The Nun, A Star Is Born, and more. I hope their Joker film later this year performs well, just to give studios impetuous that you don’t need to spend $150m+ for a movie to be a global hit.

There are few bits I may have missed out (leave a comment and I'd be happy to discuss), but you should be covered on all the major talking points from CinemaCon 2019. It’s such a unique event and I look forward to it every year (from the comfort of my home of course), and it never fails to deliver. As an aspiring film marketer, it’s one of my goals to one day attend a CinemaCon, with it being without doubt one of the best events on the entire film calendar. Until that happens, I’ll stick to blogging post-event instead! Until next year CinemaCon… :)