It’s astonishing how a topic idea for a column can change in a matter of weeks, if not days. Originally, this was going to be about the recent CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, and how the annual event bears importance on the theatrical experience and what the future holds. But then the idea sort of metastasized into studios vs. theaters.
A little background about CinemaCon. It is an annual convention established by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) thirty years ago. The key attraction is Hollywood studios presenting their upcoming film slates. Think of it as coming attractions in overdrive. Full of pomp and circumstance, studio bigwigs, and special A-listers making appearances, attendees get the first scoop of hearing new announcements and seeing sizzle reels, exclusive clips, and perhaps be treated to a special screening. The convention is more than just what theaters and audiences can expect from Hollywood, however. It is a trade show for theater owners and how they can maximize attendance and bring in a public that has become conditioned on staying at home and streaming movies and shows. Vendors from around the globe come to Vegas to promote products to help push the theatrical experience forward in terms of audio and visual presentation, concessions, and marketing.
The idea of attending the four-day event has grown on me in recent years, which is funny as I can be hot and cold with catching the newest releases on big screens and in dark theaters with a bunch of strangers. But the temptation of sitting in an exhibition hall and getting excited for movies like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Superman, Wicked: For Good, Avatar: Fire and Ash, or Project Hail Mary (which could be a huge bump for Amazon MGM Studios) is tantamount to seeing studios also promote titles like Roofman (Paramount Pictures), Together (Neon), Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sony Pictures), and Weapons (a Warner Bros. title originally dated for January 2026 that got pushed up to August 2025 after the studio shuffled release dates for certain titles around).
Common sense would dictate for the theater business to succeed they need movies. Because no movies means no tickets sold or concessions purchased. Neither theaters nor studios are primarily at fault with the movie industry the way it is now, but both are guilty in wanting the other to fix the problem. Studios rely heavily on purchased IPs, franchises, and sequels to boost its overall bottom line instead of investing in authenticity. That’s different from originality. When audiences say they want something original they really mean authentic. Something that makes you leave the theater with a lasting impression. A movie you will want to tell others about, and why they should see it in theaters if they can.
The major theater chains, meanwhile, I don’t think invest nearly enough in making the public want to leave their homes to attend a movie. I’ve witnessed brand new theaters waste away over the years due to a severe lack of upkeep. It’s sad when your cinema starts to look like an outhouse.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos proclaimed the theatrical experience is “an outmoded idea for most people” at the TIME100 Summit earlier this week. He’s not wrong with his assessment. Then again, the first public theater opened 120 years ago.
You can make the argument that more than any other visual media theaters have weathered change in technology the best. With the advent of television, certain genres proliferated the small screen. (I’m looking at you, Western.) This void would also see an established studio system wane and a New Hollywood take its place. So maybe when Sarandos also proclaimed at the summit Netflix was “saving Hollywood” he was talking about pushing content and not adding to the cultural zeitgeist.
The streamer has a 300 million subscriber base and spends billions on content – a term I despise. Huge numbers, then again Netflix’s investment strategy for productions isn’t the best, and the streamer has become an outlet where its acquisitions are relevant for a week and are soon forgotten.
Theaters also lack originality in programming or what gets promoted before feature presentations. Chains don’t employ individual artistic directors who make decisions on booking auditoriums and curating the programming. This is an advantage arthouse and independent theaters have. They can foster community and engage audiences in a way that is not possible for a theater with 12, 18, or 24 auditoriums where four might be reserved for A Minecraft Movie, two more for Sinners, two more for The Accountant 2, and the rest of the screens filled with whatever else is current in theaters or hasn’t been yanked by studios because of poor performance.
Therein lies the rub. Studios selling fast instead of holding firm.
How can a studio honestly say it wants the theatrical experience to survive when it is putting a movie like The Fall Guy on Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) two weeks after its release? While I think this move by Universal was a knee-jerk reaction, it is the movie I think best illustrates how expensive and how fast a movie can be enjoyed at home for twenty bucks. By training audiences to watch new films at home during the pandemic five years ago when theaters were shuttered, studios now get to toy around with release timing. After opening below expectations, Universal moved up the PVOD timeline to maximize direct earnings even as it collected a diminishing percentage while the movie still played in theaters.
Then again, twenty bucks sounds like a bargain compared to added expenses individuals, couples, or families have when going to the movies. During this year’s CinemaCon, Paramount’s Distribution Chief Chris Aronson encouraged theaters to take risks to better the overall audience experience. Give them the premium experience at non-premium prices. Ditch the pre-show ads, have fewer trailers, longer-lasting matinee prices, and more discount days. (Most chains already have “Discount Tuesdays” where tickets cost five bucks.) If I had any sway, my counter offer to studios would be for theaters to retain a greater percentage of earnings for the first two weeks. It wouldn’t happen, but if studios are already undercutting the current model of exhibition – theatrical, PVOD (after an agreed upon set amount of days), primary streamer debut (if applicable), physical media, and cable – then theaters should get more first-dollar gross.
One last note about CinemaCon. Two weeks before this year’s event, NATO was rebranded to Cinema United. Its mission to support theaters and emphasize audience attendance and engagement would be promoted with the inaugural Sneak Peek Showcase (which played April 22 and April 24). Giving a sliver of CinemaCon to the public for just three bucks is a cool idea. I went to the showcase thinking I might see a few things that had not hit social media and entertainment websites in the days following CinemaCon. With me being so entrenched in following movie news and upcoming releases, the 70-minute showcase was underwhelming. However, I can see how general audiences could get excited for movies arriving this summer and fall.
The showcase was broken up by studio and included the following: Lionsgate, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Focus Features, Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Disney. Surprisingly, Sony Pictures, one of Hollywood’s big five studios, was not part of the presentation. While most of the content was not new to me, getting an extended look at the John Wick spinoff Ballerina and an extended clip for Pixar’s Elio was nice. As was getting to watch Krypto drag Superman to the Fortress of Solitude on the big screen after previously watching it on my computer some weeks back.
What can be improved upon? For starters, include the most recent advertising for an upcoming movie. Disney showed the original teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (released back in February). Also, if Amazon MGM Studios is committed to theatrical, they should have had more than just an extended trailer for The Accountant 2.
The key is eventizing the showcase. How to heighten anticipation is simple. Include a few trailers or clips that have not been released on the internet prior to the event. Just imagine if the presentation had limited exclusivity with footage reveals for Wicked: For Good or Avatar: Fire and Ash. Now that would make for a memorable sneak peek for audiences.
– Travis Leamons
President, Houston Film Critics Society
