To paraphrase a pre-Reed Richards Pedro Pascal from a superhero movie we’ve all chosen to forget, “Business is good… but it can be better.” That’s the refrain Gold Derby kept hearing throughout our extended stay in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual event where movie studios meet movie exhibitors. Over and over, executives, theater owners, filmmakers, and movie stars emphasized how attendance and box-office numbers are reaching pre-COVID heights in 2026 thanks to early hits like Project Hail Mary and Hoppers, with more blockbusters — The Devil Wears Prada 2! Spider-Man: Brand New Day! Dune: Part Three! — on the way.
At the same time, though, shrinkage is an ongoing issue: the shrinking number of movie screens, the shrinking number of new releases, and the shrinking number of studios and distribution companies as the existing ones get swallowed up or fall apart. Two studios in particular used the bauble of 2027 releases to distract from 2026 slates notably light on sure commercial hits and awards players.
Speaking of awards players, a key thing to keep in mind about CinemaCon is that the studios that show up are trying to sell the exhibitor-dominant crowd on broadly appealing movies that will pack their theaters with the largest possible audience — and those titles aren’t always the ones that play to Oscar voters. So the prognosticators in the crowd are reading the tea leaves on a specific set of films that doesn’t necessarily allow for a little movie that could like, say, Parasite or Anora. But in an Oppenheimer or One Battle After Another year, awards and commerce can most certainly overlap.
For this week’s Inside Track, we’re presenting our report card on how the remaining legacy studios — plus proven Best Picture-producing factory Neon — fared in Vegas. And remember, we’re grading on a 2026 curve as any 2027 releases won’t be eligible until the 2028 awards cycle.
Upcoming releases: Mortal Kombat II (May 8), Supergirl (June 26), The End of Oak Street (Aug. 14), Practical Magic 2 (Sept. 11), Digger (Oct. 2), Clayface (Oct. 23), The Great Beyond (Nov. 13), Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18)
Biggest blockbuster: We will not fear — Dune: Part Three will not be killed by franchise fatigue or sequelitis. The seven-minute Saving Private Ryan-esque opening sequence that we were shown points to director Denis Villeneuve landing this ‘thopter in grand style, bringing the saga of Paul Atreides to a satisfyingly dark and dramatic end. The last installment earned over $700 million worldwide and all of those audiences are going to be back to see how the story wraps up.
Biggest awards contender: After back-to-back Best Picture nominations for the first two Dune installments, Warners is clearly positioning the third chapter for a Return of the King-style franchise win. The studio went all-out for the movie’s CinemaCon presentation, bringing out a whole squadron of costumed Freman soldiers as well as stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. And Villeneuve emphasized that this really is the end of his Dune road, giving voters extra incentive to cast their ballots for the concluding chapter.
Biggest question mark: Kudos to Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for finally answering what Digger is about with an extended first look at their wild Dr. Strangelove-esque apocalyptic comedy about an energy tycoon who causes, and then attempts to dig a way out of, a global environmental catastrophe. But the teaser also left us with a lot of questions, including: What’s Digger’s shovel actually for? Will voters be turned off by Cruise’s Southern accent and Iñárritu’s aggressive style? And, most of all, will anyone outside of the awards circuit want to see this?
Best presentation moment: Nicole Kidman quoting her signature AMC ad to the audience at the top of the Practical Magic 2 presentation and then laughing delightedly when they cheered was an only-at-CinemaCon moment. The fact that she was genuinely surprised by that reaction makes it clear she’s not a part of meme culture.
Overall grade: 5/5
Warner Bros. showed up in Vegas ready to play, bringing extensive footage, a bevy of big-name stars and filmmakers — Cruise! Kidman! Zendaya! — and a promise that, merger talk aside, the studio is committed to making big, bold original visions as well as familiar IP-based fare, which they backed up with plenty of visual receipts. Of everyone that presented during CinemaCon, Warners most clearly understood the assignment.
Tim Allen and Tom Hanks reprise their roles as Buzz Lightyear and Woody in ‘Toy Story 5’Disney/PixarUpcoming releases: The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1), The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22), Toy Story 5 (June 19), Moana (July 10), The Dog Stars (Aug. 28), Whalefall (Oct. 16), Wild Horse Nine (Nov. 6), Hexed (Nov. 25), Avengers: Doomsday (Dec. 18)
Biggest blockbuster: It’s a close battle between Toy Story 5 and Avengers: Doomsday, but we’ll give a slight edge to Marvel after seeing the Doomsday trailer, which teased wild match-ups of heroes and villains that fans have been dreaming about since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. The $1.3 billion haul for Deadpool and Wolverine a few years back showed that audiences are eager to see Marvel smash its toys together.
Biggest awards contender: Here’s where Toy Story 5 gets its plastic flowers. Toy Story 3 and 4 both won Best Animated Feature statuettes, with the former also scoring a Best Picture nomination. The footage screened from the fifth installment teases a Jessie-centric story that could hark back to the much-loved Toy Story 2. A Best Animated Feature nomination is assured, but the movie could also break into other categories if it successfully goes for the emotional jugular.
Biggest question mark: How much Moana is too much Moana? While both animated features are among Disney’s biggest contemporary hits, a live-action remake of the decade-old first film — complete with Dwayne Johnson reprising his cartoon role in the flesh — seems like a less-than-shiny idea. Still, you just know that Maui is going to do everything in his power to keep this from becoming another Snow White situation.
Best presentation moment: Robert Downey Jr. effortlessly channeling Mick Jagger during his Doomsday entrance was a stark reminder of why he’s worth every penny of the billion dollars Marvel must have paid him to return.
Overall grade: 4/5
Disney’s showmanship remains top-notch, but you can also see the challenges the studio has with juggling its very distinct labels. Most of the time and attention went into hyping the mainline Disney titles that reach an all-ages audience. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios appears to be morphing into a home for adult-oriented literary adaptations as evidenced by the trailers for The Dog Stars and Whalefall. And Searchlight’s slate of specialized offerings was almost completely ignored, save for a very funny Wild Horse Nine clip. Instead of feeling like the divisions were all part of the same Mickey Mouse clubhouse, it was more like Mickey Mouse… and friends.
Upcoming releases: Hokum (May 1), I Love Boosters (May 22), Leviticus (June 19), A Place in Hell (Dec. 25), All of a Sudden (TBD), Fjord (TBD), Hope (TBD)
Biggest blockbuster: “Blockbuster” is a relative term for the smallest and most specialized of the presenting studios, but keep your eyes on Chloe Domont’s A Place in Hell, a wicked legal world riff on All About Eve that pits Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones against each other. Due in theaters on Christmas Day, the trailer promises the kind of engaging cat-and-mouse thrills that made The Housemaid a holiday hit last year.
Biggest awards contender: Assume that at least one and assuredly many more of Neon’s Cannes titles will be in the Oscar mix, although the company declined to share footage from many of them ahead of the festival with exception of the South Korean monster movie Hope. Fjord in particular could be a major player, boasting the involvement of Oscar nominees Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan and acclaimed Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.
Biggest question mark: Boots Riley is clearly hoping to make the leap from cult curiosity to mainstream-ish hitmaker with I Love Boosters, a stylish comedy featuring a big-name cast — including Keke Palmer and Demi Moore — that still carries his unique sensibility. It’s not an easy transition to make, but the infectious energy of the trailer and clips are providing a real boost to the movie’s prospects.
Best presentation moment: Seeing Riley and his regular leading man LaKeith Stanfield vibe onstage together was a treat.
Overall grade: 4/5
Neon mostly kept things low-key on presentation front, but its 2026 slate is looking pretty, pretty good right now. We’ll know more once Cannes happens in a couple weeks.
Upcoming releases: The Sheep Detectives (May 8), Masters of the Universe (June 5), How to Rob a Bank (Sept. 4), Verity (Oct. 2), I Play Rocky (Nov. 13), Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (TBD)
Biggest blockbuster: Honestly, none of the remaining titles on the studio’s 2026 slate is likely to equal or surpass the sky-high grosses for Project Hail Mary, which just flew past $500 million worldwide. But one movie that could potentially pop with October audiences is the thriller Verity, which is squarely nestled in center of the Venn Diagram of Colleen Hoover fans, Anne Hathaway stans, and Dakota Johnson-heads.
Biggest awards contender: Again, Project Hail Mary is clearly Amazon MGM’s Oscar frontrunner, provided it can make the Sinners-style pivot from box-office hit to awards player. But Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky could see a bounce from the upcoming 50th anniversary of Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 Best Picture winner, along with the potential discovery of a new star in the making in the form of Anthony Ippolito, who plays Sly and Sly-playing-Rocky.
Biggest question mark: Yes, there’s still an audience out there for He-Man and his Masters of the Universe. But is it a big enough audience to justify spending $200 million on bring the oh-so-’80s franchise back to the big screen when the nostalgia dial has decidedly turned to the early 2000s?
Best presentation moment: Mahershala Ali not-so-subtly throwing shade at Marvel’s botched Blade movie while discussing his action-heavy role as a loving father and skilled hitman in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. That film might be a little too close to John Wick territory for voters, but the two-time Best Supporting Actor winner is overdue for a shot at a Best Actor nod.
Overall grade: 3/5
In our conversations about the various presentations with CinemaCon-goers, Amazon MGM was regularly singled out as a highlight, primarily for bringing out the much-loved Michael B. Jordan and Rick Moranis to promote their respective 2027 titles, The Thomas Crown Affair and Spaceballs: The New One. And both of those movies do look great! So great, in fact, that the rest of Amazon’s 2026 slate looks pretty dicey comparatively.
Upcoming releases: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31), Resident Evil (Sept. 18), The Social Reckoning (Oct. 9), Jumanji: Open World (Dec. 25)
Biggest blockbuster: You don’t need us to tell you, right? Fine, here’s a hint — it’s the one comic book movie that could out-earn Doomsday.
Biggest awards contender: Again, no surprise here. Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning is going to have multiple 2027 acting contenders among leads Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, and Jeremy Strong, as well as supporting players Wunmi Mosaku and Bill Burr. Sorkin himself could add another screenplay statuette to his awards shelf, along with a potential first-time nomination for Best Director.
Biggest question mark: The above said, Strong’s take on Mark Zuckerberg earned mixed reviews based on the initial Social Reckoning footage that was screened at CinemaCon. The Emmy-winning Succession star’s insular, almost-robotic portrayal of the tech titan is definitely a departure from Jesse Eisenberg’s compellingly jittery Oscar-nominated performance in 2010’s The Social Network. More context for how and why Zuckerberg got that way between movies willl definitely be necessary.
Best presentation moment: Zach Cregger was a lethal weapon while making his sales pitch for Resident Evil, single-handedly turning what initially sounded like an unnecessary reboot into what now looks like a pre-Halloween treat.
Overall grade: 3/5
While many were disappointed that Sony didn’t bring any early footage from even one of Sam Mendes’ four Beatles movies — due to land in 2028 — the studio seems poised to profit handsomely from its remaining quartet of big 2026 titles. Other companies would envy a 4-for-4 run.
Upcoming releases: Disclosure Day (June 12), Minions & Monsters (July 1), The Odyssey (July 17), One Night Only (Aug. 7), Forgotten Island (Sept. 25), Other Mommy (Oct. 9), Focker-in-Law (Nov. 25), Violent Night 2 (Dec. 4)
Biggest blockbuster: While Chris Nolan’s Imax-sized Odyssey might be Universal’s biggest 2026 title in terms of scale, those Minions and Despicable Me movies are always guaranteed billion-dollar grossers. And Minions & Monsters is clearly angling for the collective franchise’s first Best Animated Feature nod since Despicable Me 2 way back in 2013, with Illumination head Chris Meledandri trumpeting the way the latest movie is a loving salute to the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Biggest awards contender: Here’s where King Nolan reigns supreme. After guiding Oppenheimer to dominant Oscar night in 2024, the filmmaker and Universal will chart a similar course for The Odyssey, which once again comes armed for the fight with impeccable crafts, an A-list ensemble and Nolan’s grand imagination. The Trojan Horse sequence alone could win an Oscar for Best Live Action Short.
Biggest question mark: Everyone’s rooting for Disclosure Day to join Close Encounters and E.T. in the pantheon of great Steven Spielberg-directed alien movies. But the legendary filmmaker’s caginess about what to expect from the film — coupled with the deliberately obtuse trailers — is reading a little bit like uncertainty that he’s landed the proverbial UFO. Both of those earlier films netted him Best Director nominations; it’s hard not to root for him to complete the set.
Best presentation moment: See the aforementioned Trojan Horse set-piece from The Odyssey, which just whetted our appetite for the rest of Nolan’s epic.
Overall grade: 2.5/5
That extra 0.5 is mainly for The Odyssey footage as Universal’s presentation was otherwise too light on talent appearances, too heavy on Minions and too long in the Spielberg portion of the event. In fact, there were audible grumblings in the press section as the director’s appearance dragged on with the presentation of an oddly conceived award, followed by a one-on-one conversation with his Disclosure Day star Colman Domingo.
Upcoming releases: Hit Me Hard and Soft (May 8), Scary Movie (June 5), Jackass: Best and Last (June 26), Street Fighter (Oct. 16), Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol (Nov. 13)
Biggest blockbuster: Last year, Paramount tried to revive theatrical comedies with a Naked Gun reboot that ultimately fired blanks. But the studio’s Scary Movie revival — produced in collaboration with Miramax — may be a frighteningly big hit, especially with franchise creators Marlon and Shawn Wayans and original stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall back on board. The siblings promised that no one was safe, not even Ryan Coogler, whose Oscar-nominated Sinners was the subject of a bit that played like gangbusters in the room. It’s worth noting that the original Scary Movie earned more than any of the individual Scream films. This new one might finally break that record.
Biggest awards contender: The only title that just barely registers as a possibility is Heart of the Beast, David Ayer’s survival thriller starring Brad Pitt and a dog. But that’s a long, long way from The Godfather or Forrest Gump, two of Paramount’s most famous Oscar favorites.
Biggest question mark: Are audiences and Oscar voters ready to officially welcome back Johnny Depp? Probably not for a new version of Charles Dickens’ oft-adapted A Christmas Carol anyway. But with the three-time Oscar nominee actively pursuing new projects again, that question may become more urgent if he’s cast in a movie that has more substance.
Best presentation moment: James Cameron interrupted the Hit Me Hard and Soft presentation to deliver an impromptu explainer on the 3D cameras he and his team created for the Billie Eilish rock doc, while the rock star herself smiled politely. Cameron nerding out about film tech will never not be endearing.
Overall grade: 2/5
While Paramount put on a decent show, the studio couldn’t mask a slate of underwhelming 2026 offerings with the Ghostface mask alone. How long until that new Chalamet/Mangold joint goes into production?
