Amazon MGM Commits to a Consistent Pipeline of Theatrical Releases—But No Word on Windows
No studio had more to prove to the exhibition community at CinemaCon 2025 than Amazon MGM. The studio entered the event with questions swirling around its theatrical strategy following the departure of studio head Jen Salke. Before its presentation at CinemaCon, it was hard to decipher the studio’s direction. One week, Amazon MGM is releasing a broadly appealing action sequel to cinemas nationwide in The Accountant 2. And only a week later, it’s sending Paul Feig’s Another Simple Favor direct to Prime Video without a theatrical run.
Amazon MGM made its intent clear in the opening minutes of its presentation. An early look at Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary, a lighthearted sci-fi movie starring Ryan Gosling, is precisely the mid-range film with breakthrough potential that is sorely needed in theaters. Kevin Wilson, the studio’s head of domestic distribution, followed that footage by announcing Amazon MGM’s plans to release 14 theatrical titles in 2026. His remarks to the audience were self-aware: “Our job tonight is to convince you our commitment [to theatrical] is real,” he said.
The footage screened at the presentation was reminiscent of the titles that 20th Century Fox would showcase on that very stage before its acquisition by Disney. Adult-driven dramas like Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt were intertwined with high-concept fare like the Chris Pratt sci-fi thriller Mercy and genre flicks like the upcoming thriller Is God Is from the studio’s Orion division. Amazon MGM is not losing sight of its blockbuster ambitions either. While there was little news of the still-in-development James Bond franchise, the studio did offer an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the production of its upcoming Masters of the Universe movie.
Amazon MGM successfully backed up its claims of sending a consistent pipeline of films to theaters in the coming years. Less clear, however, is just how many of those 14 scheduled titles will be receiving a wide release. Or, more importantly, what sort of exclusivity they’ll enjoy—if any—before those films find their way to the company’s Prime Video SVOD platform.
Paramount Proposes Improvements to the Moviegoing Experience
Paramount kicked off its studio presentation at CinemaCon 2025 not by promoting any given title, but by proposing new solutions for cinemas to re-engage with moviegoers. Chris Aronson, president of theatrical distribution at the studio, used his time on stage to present suggestions he believes can help improve the moviegoing experience. He called for reducing the number of trailers before a feature, encouraging a cap of 4 to 5 curated trailers and the elimination of ads during the pre-show. That same sentiment was echoed by other distribution executives from Warner Bros. and Paramount during panel sessions earlier in the week.
Aronson also expanded on a point raised by Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman days earlier, regarding consumer perception of the cost of attending a cinema. The Paramount distribution chief proposed initiatives like extending matinee pricing to 6pm, daily concessions deals, and increasing the number of discounted admission days from one off-peak day a week to two. “The time is now to turn your business upside down,” he said.
None of these initiatives can take flight without a slate of movies to support them, and Paramount offered an advance look at a dynamic slate of films. The studio is launching two major tentpoles in 2025: Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on Memorial Day, and Edgar Wright’s updated adaptation of The Running Man, starring Glenn Powell, in November. Both those titles showcased footage introduced by talent at CinemaCon, eliciting positive reactions from the exhibitors in attendance.
Paramount also showcased a pair of family films during its presentation, animated releases Smurfs (July 18) and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants (December 19), and two adult-skewing titles in Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman (October 3) and the (likely R-rated) comedy The Naked Gun (August 1) with Liam Neesom at his deadpan best.
Disney’s Back with a Diverse and Eclectic Theatrical Slate
Those early years of post-pandemic moviegoing with a Disney distribution strategy that eschewed theatrical in favor of its streaming platform, Disney+, seem like the distant past today. The studio now boasts the longest exclusivity window of all majors in Hollywood, a fact that Andrew Cripps, the newly installed head of theatrical distribution, was quick to raise in his first CinemaCon presentation under the Disney banner.
The disappointing performance of Snow White was promptly left in the rearview mirror as Disney moved on to Lilo & Stitch, its second live-action remake of the year, which could become one of the studio’s biggest titles of 2025. A Memorial Day weekend release opposite Paramount’s latest Mission: Impossible entry puts Lilo & Stitch in a similar breakout position that Inside Out 2 enjoyed last year.
Disney’s live-action slate continued with a footage reveal from the upcoming Tron Ares, scheduled for October 10. The film comes 15 years after Tron Legacy, still remembered for its original score by French duo Daft Punk. They won’t be reuniting for Ares, however, as Nine Inch Nails has stepped up to provide the score for the upcoming release. Footage from CinemaCon prominently featured Nine Inch Nails tracks, hinting at what could be a unique marketing angle for the film.
The Disney brand is synonymous with animation for family audiences, and this year will continue the tradition of a summer Pixar release followed by a Walt Disney Animation Studios picture for the Thanksgiving corridor. Elio will attempt to become the first Pixar live-action original to break through at the box office since 2017’s Coco. In the Fall, Zootopia 2 steps into the same release date that launched Moana 2’s blockbuster run in 2024.
Marvel will come out with two titles that hope to improve upon Captain America: Brave New World’s modest showing in the market. The latest Captain America movie will finish its run in North America just above the $200 million mark, ranking 28th out of all 35 releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the domestic box office. Thunderbolts* will try to improve upon those results in May with a film that has no qualms about featuring an ensemble of B-tier Avengers. The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows in July with a more recognizable cast of heroes and, in theory, an easier pathway to becoming the biggest Marvel movie of the year, despite the property’s big screen struggles across multiple iterations over the years. The Fantastic Four footage stood out in the Disney presentation thanks to the crowd’s reaction to Julia Garner’s appearance as the Silver Surfer in the film.
Disney also dedicated time to its 20th Century Studios and Searchlight divisions at CinemaCon, showcasing a diverse and eclectic range of titles. Hot off the heels of the success of Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, director Scott Cooper will bring Bruce Springsteen’s life to the big screen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. The film chronicles the production of Springsteen’s 1982 album, “Nebraska,” with Jeremy Allen White playing the singer-songwriter.
The formerly-Fox-branded divisions will bring additional adult-skewing titles to theaters this year, such as James L. Brooks’ politically set comedy drama, Ella McCay (September 19), and a contemporary take on 1989’s The War of the Roses, aptly titled The Roses (August 29), under the Searchlight banner. On the genre side, 20th Century will look to replicate the success of last year’s Alien: Romulus with director Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator Badlands (November 9). A follow-up to his streaming hit, Prey, Trachtenberg’s latest Predator film will take the series in a bold new direction and could possibly spawn additional entries in the franchise.
Disney closed CinemaCon 2025 on a high note by debuting footage from James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash. Presented in high-frame-rate digital 3D, Fire and Ash will introduce a new benchmark in visual effects once it reaches audiences on December 19.
Share this post