State of the Industry address
In his final State of the Industry address, John Fithian, outgoing President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), kicked off by highlighting the incredible start to 2023. This is thanks in a large part to the fact that there are more movies to play. He stated that in 2022, there was approximately 71 wide releases, whereas this year, the industry is on pace for at least 100—on top of new titles that are being consistently added.
He also looked to the future, reminding the audience this pace isn’t going to let up anytime soon: studios are already “aggressively claiming” release dates for major titles in 2024 and beyond.
The bulk of the address discussed how the last few years saw studios testing the waters with direct-to-streaming releases, but it’s more irrefutable than ever that theatrical releases are the only way for studios to get a lucrative return on their investment. Fithian stated that “theatrical is the keystone of the industry [as] releasing major films with massive budgets directly to streaming is not a sustainable business model.”
Studio activations
This year’s event was beyond stacked with surprise appearances and first looks at major releases! The world’s major studios put their talent on full display and treated CinemaCon attendees to some very special premieres.
To kick off the studio activations, Sony gave the audience first looks at their upcoming titles Kraven the Hunter, The Equalizer 3, Gran Turismo, Apple’s Napoleon and even played the first 14 minutes of the soon-to-be-released Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. To celebrate his role in The Equalizer, Denzel Washington was on hand to accepted the CinemaCon Life Achievement Award.
Warner Bros. (WB) had the first major surprise for attendees as they brought Oprah to CinemaCon for the first time ever! She presented a first look at The Color Purple The Musical and proceeded to host a question-and-answer session with some of the cast. Following this surprise, WB continued to impress with a first look at the movie Wonka as well as at Dune: Part Two, with award-winning director Denis Villeneuve on-site to introduce the film.
Additionally, WB gave a sneak peek at their upcoming titles Barbie, The Meg 2: The Trench, The Nun II and at the upcoming DC lineup of The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Last Kingdom.
Credits: CinemaCon's Facebook page
Disney had Melissa McCarthy in person to present Ursula’s performance of the popular song Poor Unfortunate Souls from their upcoming title The Little Mermaid. They also presented the new trailers for Haunted Mansion and The Marvels, and gave a sneak peak of titles Elemental and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny!
Universal also presented sneaks and extended previews for their upcoming releases, including an entire scene from Migration, new trailers for Trolls Band Together, Fast X and The Fall Guy, as well as the terrifying first trailer for The Exorcist: Believer, and at long last, the first look at the Wicked movie.
Credits: CinemaCon's Facebook page
The presentation by Paramount Pictures was full of announcements and exclusive footage from their upcoming lineup of films including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and A Quiet Place: Day One. As a final surprise, Paramount presented an unreleased trailer and a 20-minute scene from Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One.
Credits: CinemaCon's Facebook page
Paramount also brought renowned director Martin Scorsese with them, who, at the lunch following the presentation, received the inaugural CinemaCon Legend of Cinema Award.
Credits: CinemaCon's Facebook page
To wrap up the week’s major studio presentations, Lionsgate previewed arguably the biggest trailer of the week: the long-awaited The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
D-BOX & Gran Turismo
During the week-long event, D-BOX participated in an interactive activation in partnership with Sony Pictures to promote the upcoming film Gran Turismo.
Attendees were able to drive and compete on a racing track from Gran Turismo 7 using PlayStation 5s as well as Sony simulation rigs outfitted with D-BOX’s new haptic platform, HF-L4!
HF-L4 provided racers with a sequence of movements, vibrations, and textures that were perfectly synchronized to thein-game action, which gave them a glimpse into the wow-factor of D-BOX’s haptic technology. This first-of-its-kind activation with a studio not only gave guests the D-BOX sim racing experience, but also opened their minds to what it can do for moviegoers— provide an immersive cinematic experience unlike anything they’ve ever felt before!
D-BOX is extremely proud to have contributed to moving CinemaCon attendees with this activation!
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Welcome to the new golden age of cinema
With all the upcoming blockbuster titles and the box office being up 47% from 2022 (as of April 30), the 2023 edition of CinemaCon confirmed that the cinema industry is back in full force and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
With more than 60 titles expected to hit the big screen in D-BOX theaters in 2023, you can say that we’ve entered the new golden age of cinema for premium experiences—and there’s no telling how far D-BOX will be able to move you!
