Sony brings Spider-Man, Denzel, ‘Napoleon’ to CinemaCon

las vegas – Sony Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman didn’t hesitate to remind theater owners and exhibitors Monday night at CinemaCon Las Vegas on opening night that Sony is and was “the only company fully committed to major studio in theater”.

Josh Greenstein, the studio’s motion picture group president, added that while other studios have experimented with streaming and shortened theatrical windows over the past few years, Sony has stuck with it.

“Just two years ago, in the throes of the pandemic, there was a lot of noise, a lot of people talking about the death of the exhibition,” Greenstein said on stage at Caesars Palace. “Everyone said the future was stream media.”

Now, some studios that have pivoted are “realizing the value of exclusive theater windows and reversing course,” he said.some streamers even enter the drama game in a meaningful way.

“Oh, times have changed,” Greenstein said. “I said come in, there’s room for everyone and the water is fine.”

One of those streamers is Apple TV, which has teamed up with Sony to kick off Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, in November , before rolling out to its users on small screens. Rothman excitedly previewed the first footage of the 85-year-old director’s film.

“Old school, big screen,” Rothman said. “Epic is the only proper description for an Apple original movie.”

This week, Sony is the first of a long line of studios to make appearances, including Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Paramount and Lionsgate. All came to Las Vegas with new footage and major stars to reassure their exhibit partners they had the product to lure audiences into theaters.

Sony plans to release 23 theatrical titles in 2023 and touts its mix of IP-driven fare, superheroes and sequels, and their commitment to original films such as R-rated comedies and horror flicks.

“The more ‘they’ said the genre was dead, the more we liked it,” Rothman said. “There’s always a risk of being original, but for me the bigger risk is boring the audience to death with the sameness.”

Jennifer Lawrence introduces a hilarious sequence from her R-rated summer comedy “No Hard Feelings,” about the parents of a shy 19-year-old who hires a woman to live with him “Dating” story. David Harbor and Orlando Bloom present the first trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s video game adaptation “Gran Turismo,” which tells the story of a racing simulator expert who gets the chance to drive a real racetrack. With lines like “You miss a line in the game, you can reset. You miss it on the track and you die,” the crowd roared.

Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney bring rom-com energy to the stage with some dailies from “Anyone But You,” which recently wrapped filming in Australia.

“We love seeing ourselves on the big screen,” Powell said with a smirk.

“Well, ‘Top Gun,'” Sweeney quipped.

Craig Gillespe previews his GameStop film “Dumb Money,” starring Paul Dano as the blue-collar redditor and youtuber who sends Wall Street into chaos, due out in October Released in theaters.

“It’s a real communal film about little people,” says the I Am Tonya director. “It’s a true story of how ordinary investors can change the script on Wall Street.”

Into the Spider-Verse co-director Kemp Bowles is asking people to “bring everyone you know” to see the sequel in theaters on June 2. It’s “the only place this film is worth seeing,” he said. “

He was joined on stage by Shameik Moore, who voiced Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld, who voiced Gwen Stacy, and Jessica Derrick, who voiced another-dimensional Spider-Woman. Lou voiced by Issa Rae.

When we meet Miles, more than a year has passed since the events of the first film, and Miles is “still trying to figure out how to be a superhero,” Moore said.

Some sent pre-recorded clips, such as Will Smith and Martin Lawrence from “Bad Boys 4,” currently in production, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson teasing Sony’s first R-rated Marvel movie. Taylor-Johnson says he can’t be in Las Vegas because his contract limits him to two grams of carbohydrates a day.

Denzel Washington also makes a brief appearance, accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award from CinemaCon and previewing The Equalizer 3.

“We’re nothing without you. Everything we do means nothing if you’re not there,” Washington told exhibitors. “We’re here for you, we’re here because of you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”