CinemaCon 2026: Schmear vs. Warner Bros.
A full in-the-room recap as the reigning Best Picture-winning studio takes a victory lap, 7 minutes of Dune: Part 3 demolishes the room, and everyone but me wears a blue wig
Warner Bros.’ presentation involved some excitement, some boredom, and, overall, a studio that is feeling their oats and beating their chest a little bit after a great year with Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Weapons. Patton Oswalt hosted, expressing many times how much of a cinema lover he is, citing that he’s been to the theaters over 116 times. Then co-CEOs Pam Abdy and Mike DeLuca came out. They mentioned that last year there were 11 theatrical releases; 14 are planned for this year, with the number expanding to 18, hopefully, in 2027.
Up top, they announced a new shingle called Clockwork, run by Christian Parkes, who defected from Neon. The goal is to make small-to-mid-budget films with cool-kid cred, and the first film will be Sean Baker‘s next movie, Ti Amo!, coming out in 2027. There was no mention of Paramount anywhere.
Before getting into the main titles, Warner Bros. shared what’s on the way:
Remain—M. Night Shyamalan
Panic Carefully — Sam Esmail, stolen from Netflix; an IMAX release
An Ocean’s prequel—starring Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie, set at a 1962 Monaco Grand Prix as the parents of Danny Ocean, so there’s the connective tissue there
Bad Fairies — with Cynthia Erivo
Man of Tomorrow — the next Superman movie
Shiver — a Keanu Reeves/Tim Miller shark film
Evil Dead: Wrath — with Sam Raimi either directing or producing
Godzilla vs. Kong Supernova
Nancy Meyers‘ Christmas 2027 rom-com—she appeared in a short clip in a lovely red turtleneck behind a set being built; it’s set in the world of movies
Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum — got big applause; set for December 17th of next year
Tom Cruise & Iñárritu’s Digger
First up was the man who defines cinema. Tom Cruise came out with Alejandro Iñárritu to a huge standing ovation. He looked fit and excited. He told the theater owners and proprietors that they’re his film family: “I love you, and I’m here for you.” The two announced that Digger is shot in VistaVision and revolves around an industrial tycoon named Digger Rockwell who “has a need to control things even if they fail.”
Then an extended clip played. Tom is under prosthetic work and makeup, a little Les Grossman-esque, and the movie has a Yorgos Lanthimos fisheye look. Digger says that home runs aren’t cool and that triples are impressive because triples mean hustle.
Cruise is locked in and giving it all in the performance. John Goodman plays a Kentucky deep-fried president. The film is shot by Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki. Jesse Plemons stars. It’s got Dr. Strangelove vibes. The way to best explain it is that it’ll be your cinephile friend’s favorite movie—it’s one for the heads—but it’s hard to believe from what was shown that this will have wider appeal. Would love to be mistaken there.
The End of Oak Street
Clips from David Robert Mitchell‘s The End of Oak Street involved dinosaurs and a family. It’s a little Spielberg-esque, and it just didn’t look too appealing, even though Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star. That’s out August 14th.
New Line: Evil Dead: Burn & Mortal Kombat 2
New Line presented Evil Dead: Burn, which looks very action-packed. Not quite for me—had a gnarly fork kill—but I’m sure this will make a ton of money. Also not for me was Mortal Kombat 2. Really not my speed, but the audience kind of liked it.
Warner Bros. Animation: The Cat in the Hat
Warner Bros. Animation revealed their new logo before presenting the Cat in the Hat clip. Under the seats were packages we were instructed to open, and within them were blue hair wigs like Thing 1 and Thing 2 wear. Everyone in the theater put them on like a bunch of saps. My hair was gelled and done, so that wasn’t happening, but looking out and seeing a sea of blue was something.
The trailer seemed kind of ho-hum at first, and then it became clear the film will mix animation styles—it struck me as kind of like Mary Poppins meets Inside Out, with Bill Hader voicing. We’ll see how that does.
DC Studios
Things started out really strong with a short teaser for Clayface, out October 23rd, directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries. It looks awesome — scary and colorful. It’s like Aaron Schimberg‘s A Different Man given a horror makeover, and I’d comp what I saw to Joker for tackling a superhero story in a grittier, realer world.
Can’t say the same about Supergirl. It started interesting enough with a big animatronic alien DJing, which was pretty cool. Millie Alcock came out in a sick Chanel sweater. Jason Momoa was on a motorbike. Peter Safran, the co-head of DC — a very unique-seeming individual — introduced the film. But the more they talked, the less interested I got. Then they showed an extremely extended, distended clip—a huge, loud space battle on a ship. Big no.
“We come to this place…”
A huge reaction came when the lights went out and candles flickered on screen, and Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock came out to talk about Practical Magic 2, out September 18th. Both looked amazing. The crowd went nuts. Their daffy banter went on a little too long, but they just have so much natural charm. Sandra goaded Nicole into saying the AMC “We come to this place for magic” line, and the theater erupted.
J.J. Abrams’ The Great Beyond
J.J. Abrams presented a unique, mysterious sci-fi film called The Great Beyond. From what was shown, it looked pretty cool and very original seeming, but I couldn’t tell you what the fuck it’s about. Glen Powell stars along with Jenna Ortega and Emma Mackey. Credit to JJ for trying something original — definitely intrigued.
Dune: Part Three
But the best was saved for last. Holy shit. The lights went out, the chanting began, and then almost 100 Fremen entered the theater in full regalia and stood on the stage. Full body chills. Denis Villeneuve was there with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa. Denis avowed that this is truly a thriller and that he gave “1,000% of himself” to the movie.
Then came the first 7 minutes of the film, which were epic—Saving Private Ryan meets the Hoth battle from The Empire Strikes Back mixed with the trench warfare from Paths of Glory. Truly epic. Everyone was blown away and buzzing after and able to forget some of the lower points of the presentation because of such a strong wrap-up.
Overall Thoughts
Cool to see a studio taking big swings. The Clockwork announcement feels like a necessary new player entering the space, and leading with Sean Baker is a major splash. Digger is the one that lingers most—Cruise will get a Best Actor nomination, and the only question is whether it can find an audience beyond the cinephile crowd. Clayface has real potential as a sleeper hit; it looks and feels really distinct. On the other end, Supergirl looks atrocious, though Millie Alcock seems game and good. And then there’s Dune. What was shown felt like a Best Picture winner in the making—a Return of the King situation seemed unlikely to me before, but now feels genuinely possible.