CinemaCon 2021 opened in Las Vegas with Sony reaffirming its commitment to theaters, the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer and a surprise Ghostbusters: Afterlife screening.
With uncertainty still in the air as COVID-19's Delta variant spread across the United States, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) welcomed attendees back to Las Vegas for CinemaCon 2021.
While the usual Monday breakout sessions were smaller than in previous years, CinemaCon still offered a full slate of discussions, including Globally Speaking: A Look at the International Markets, If You See It, You Can Be It and Workforce Happiness: Your Secret Weapon for a Successful Cinema Comeback.
The real kickoff came later in the day with The Big Screen Is Back. Anticipation had been building throughout CinemaCon for the unveiling of the new Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer during the evening presentation.
NATO's Mitch Neuhauser opened the event by acknowledging the difficult road the theatrical exhibition industry had traveled during COVID-19. He also reaffirmed the industry's commitment to restoring an exclusive theatrical window rather than making simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases the norm, arguing that audiences still needed the escape and communal experience movie theaters provide.
One studio that remained committed to theater chains throughout the pandemic was Sony. The studio's leadership team took the stage and reiterated that its films would continue to receive theatrical release windows, drawing an enthusiastic response from the theater owners in the room.
Sony Pictures then offered a look at its upcoming slate, including Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bullet Train, Uncharted, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the logo for what was then known as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Part 2.
Sony executives then returned to the stage to debut the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home as it was simultaneously released online. The trailer, and Sony's presentation overall, had the Colosseum at Caesars Palace erupting in thunderous applause.
To close out the presentation, Ivan and Jason Reitman took the stage to discuss Ghostbusters: Afterlife, one of the films whose release had been delayed during the pandemic.
After a brief introduction, CinemaCon attendees received a major surprise: Sony screened the entire film.
By the end of the screening, there was once again thunderous applause and plenty of conversation about the movie. Many attendees left on cloud nine, having enjoyed the film and feeling optimistic about the theatrical industry after a difficult 18 months. FlickDirect's two on-the-ground correspondents, Nathan Rose and Austin Putnam, were thoroughly impressed.
An opening-night dinner followed poolside at Caesars Palace, giving attendees a chance to celebrate the return of CinemaCon and the beginning of a convention that, after everything the exhibition industry had endured, already felt particularly significant.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
