Warner Bros. puts on a starry CinemaCon show with Cruise, Kidman, Bullock, Zendaya and Chalamet

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Warner Bros. put on a big show hyping their upcoming films for theater owners Tuesday in Las Vegas, with the help of stars like Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Sandra Bullock and Jason Momoa.

The audience at CinemaCon got previews of J.J. Abrams’ original science fiction thriller “The Great Beyond,” with Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, Cruise with a potbelly in “Digger,” the Owens sisters in “Practical Magic 2,” Milly Alcock’s “Supergirl” in an intergalactic fight and the first seven minutes of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three.”

Villeneuve said this third film is a “thriller” that is “more intense and definitely more emotional” than the previous films, while Chalamet spoke about how his character has become his worst vision 17 years after “Part Two.”

The studio saved “Dune: Part Three” for the epic finale, but there were highlights throughout the nearly two and a half hour showcase.

Bullock even got Kidman to say her iconic AMC Theaters line, “we come to this place for magic,” which she reluctantly did to much applause in the room of exhibitors.

“I didn’t think anyone would clap,” Kidman said with a laugh.

The two reunite for the “Practical Magic” sequel, which opens in September.

Earlier in the presentation, Cruise also got a big reception from the audience in a rare standing ovation as a devoted and vocal advocate of the big screen experience. This time he doesn’t have a “Top Gun” or a “Mission: Impossible,” but a boisterous satire in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger,” opening in October.

“The movie is wild. It’s funny,” said Cruise.

Iñárritu called Cruise’s performance “a high-wire act.”

“We know that he’s fearless — the stunts, the planes, the jumps — but I have to say embodying this character, this is another kind of fearless,” Iñárritu said. “This role could possibly be the most challenging.”

‘Originality is not risky’

Pam Abdy and Mike DeLuca, the co-chairs and CEOs of the studio’s motion picture group, kicked off the presentation reflecting on their successes since coming into the job in 2022 and their vision for the future with a mix of franchises and original films.

The studio is coming off a banner year, with over $4.4 billion in global box office with hits like “Sinners,” “A Minecraft Movie” and “Weapons,” and multiple Oscar wins, including best picture and best director for “One Battle After Another” as well as best actor for Michael B. Jordan.

“Originality is not risky,” DeLuca said. “Derivative sameness is.”

Abdy noted that not everything is going to work, either, but that just comes with taking big swings. One thing they’re especially optimistic about is Generation Alpha’s enthusiasm for the movie theater experience.

“We are at a crucial, critical moment in time with this audience,” Abdy said. “The Letterboxd generation is only growing.”

They announced that Warner Bros. will be releasing Sean Baker’s follow-up to “Anora,” “TI AMO!” under their new label Clockwork next year.

There was also a breakneck video rundown of their 2027 releases, with stars and filmmakers getting about 30 seconds each, often from set, to tease their films: Margot Robbie on her “Ocean’s” prequel set in 1962; Keanu Reeves, floating in the water in the Dominican Republic, on getting eaten by sharks in “Shiver”; Gollum being, well, Gollum; and Nancy Meyers on the set of her romantic comedy that she called “a bit of a love letter to the world of making movies.”

The Paramount question

This year is not just business as usual, with its pending acquisition by another legacy studio, Paramount, looming.

Both Villeneuve and Abrams were among the over 1,000 signers of an open letter published Monday to a website called BlocktheMerger.com. Some attendees at the convention have also been wearing #blockthemerger pins as well.

Nothing was discussed from the stage Tuesday. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav did not make an appearance during the program either. But it’s something that’s on the minds of many at the convention.

Greg Marcus, whose company’s Marcus Theaters is the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States with 78 locations in 17 states told The Associated Press on Monday that he was concerned as well for what it means for moviegoers and the price of tickets.

“The concentration of power at the studio level has allowed them to raise the cost of going to the movies to the consumer quite significantly,” Marcus said. “Our margins are no better. We’re not making more money. And yet the cost to the consumer has far outpaced inflation.”

Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization, reiterated his group’s opposition to the merger Tuesday morning.

“Consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” he said. “We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire industry.”

O’Leary told reporters that the decision is in the hands of regulators now.

Not everyone in the business of making and releasing movies is opposed to a Paramount-owned Warner Bros. James Cameron is, in fact, a supporter. He also publicly opposed the idea of a Netflix-owned Warner Bros. because of the possible implications for theaters. But he doesn’t have the same fears with Paramount.

Speaking to the AP last week on behalf of the upcoming big screen concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” which is being released by Paramount, Cameron said “I’m a supporter of it. I know it’s controversial.”

Cameron worked with Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison closely on “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Ellison has promised to grow the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. slates to some 30 theatrical releases a year.

“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,” Cameron said. “He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”