Cinemacon 2021 Day Two Recap

Association of Theater Owners (NATO). The point being driven home, again and again, this year is that the theatrical experience is one that connects everyone together to escape from the world. This belief was reiterated by MGM later on that morning as well as by Sony Pictures who gave their presentation last night with a special showing of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Rounding out the "State of The Industry" presentation was the CEO of Illuminations, Chris Meledandri,

After Meledandri left the stage, United Artists / MGM Studios went right into a release reminding us of the long legacy and history in Hollywood. 

Just like Sony's presentation, no talent was there for the studio, but Michael De Luca (Motion Picture Group Chairman) and Pamela Abdy (Motion Picture Group President) were on hand to present the new offerings from this historical company. First, up on the slate Addams Family 2 followed by Dog starring Channing Tatum (Kingsman: The Golden Circle), The Sumatran starring Sylvester Stallone (Demolition Man), and a small tease of Creed III starting Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle).

However, everyone knew there was an elephant in the room in the form of a movie they had not talked about but was on everyone's mind, No Time To Die, the latest installment in the 007 franchise. Luckily, United Artists Releasing / MGM Studios did not let convention-goers down as director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Jane Eyre) introduced a chase scene from the film.  

After the opening of trade room show floors in the afternoon, the final studio presentation of the day occurred with Warner Bros. As you entered the theater convention-goers were hit with moving spotlights, a big Warner Bros. logo on the screen, and iconic classical scores from past films including Casablanca and the original Superman film.

The Warner Bros presentation kicked off with Orlando Rodriquez (NATO) introducing the approximately 40-minute Warner Bros presentation that was all pre-recorded. The narrators, Jeff Goldstein (President, Domestic Distribution), Toby Emmerich (Film Chief of Warner Bros. Pictures), and Andrew Cripps (President International Theatrical Distribution) showcased their upcoming slate of films for 2021 and beyond. Starting things off was a behind-the-scenes with James Wan's (Saw) about his new horror film, Malignant. 

Mary Saint of Newark was next up on the list as Cinemacon audience members were shown a sizzle reel of the film, as well a one scene.

Afterward, a tribute to Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), was shown to everyone that including endorsements of the talent of Eastwood by George Lucas (Star Wars), J.J. Abrams (Super 8), and Steven Spielberg (Jaws). The audience was then shown an in-depth look at Eastwood's latest film, Crying Macho, in which he portrays a cowboy for the first time since his Oscar-winning performance in Unforgiven. 

Then to everyone's delight, Cinemacon goers were transported into the world of the Matrix for the first look at footage of the upcoming film, Matrix Resurrections. The footage included Keanu Reaves (John Wick) and Carrie Anne Moss (Jessica Jones) both back in The Matrix not knowing of their past lives. Thunderous applause was given by the time the Matrix presentation ended.

Rounding things out, was a sizzle real with new footage intertwined of The Batman, and a new sizzle reel of Dune as well as one scene from the film.

Closing out the night a holiday-themed party entitled, "Holidays Dinner Party. Baby, It's  (not) Cold Outside" presented by Cinema Blend with "make your own holiday cookie", and "build a snowflake, and featured a Tina Turner tribute band.

Be sure to tune into FlickDirect's Twitter channel (@flickdirect) every day this week for live Cinemacon footage.