If the studios werent showing footage or bringing stars, then we would have reason to worry.
And it costs a ton of money to send talent.
That tells you how serious the studios are about making theatrical work.
(L-R) Tom Cruise, Jenna Ortega, Zoe Saldaña, Ryan Gosling and Leonardo DiCaprio at Cinemacon 2025Gilbert Flores
Studio flacks always love to ask, What did you think of our presentation?
Wasnt ours the best?
For me, its a personal aesthetic.
(L-R) Ryan Gosling, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord during the ‘Project Hail Mary’ presentationGilbert Flores
and boy, do they look like a lot of fun.
Jesus, aint Ryan Gosling hysterical?
Thats just organic; you cant plan that.
If there are a few quick notes.
Sure, Sony, we would have liked to have seen more.
Thats not just tough on the press, but tough for all the execs and stars taking the stage.
Cinema United, we like to see movies at night, not during the day.
Does any film look like its in dire straits?
Its not their style.
In my 10 years of covering CinemaCon, I cant recall a standing ovation.
A warm applause is a big deal, and there was plenty of that.
One notable industry CEO remarked to me that the exhibitors haggling over 45 days is small ball.
Fewer people are going to the movies.
The conditioning of keeping potential moviegoers at home with streaming is a reality.
We just went through this in Q1.
Exhibition should continue to push and prod the bear.
However, note that all this window talk is a two-way street.
Its not just about poor exhibition with their 35% rental.
Studios, you also slash marketing budgets on low- to mid-budget titles.
Theres this whole notion of what studios are showing is only for those in the room.
Get off your G.D. high horses and realize that the domestic box office just burnt down in Q1.
Such moments create interest and want-to-see for your movie.
All of these great moments are lost in space because of studio marketing departments cockiness.
(that happened three years ago).
Now, what studio wouldnt want that for a mid-sized movie right now?
Kudos to those studios, like Lionsgate and Amazon MGM, for holding red carpets and press ops.
Instead of a pipeline with five majors we now have a sixth with 14 to 15 films.
It is a 20% improvement in filmmaking power.
Time to head to a new hotel; Caesars is old and dusty.
There were reports that another major trade editor had a dust-up with security involving a cell phone.
Ive been there in previous years, so I feel for them.
Last year, another editor was taken aside by security and asked to delete photos off his cell phone.
Were at CinemaCon to cover your event, Cinema United.
We are not there to pirate movies, nor or we there to illegally post trailers on YouTube.
