Coming off an an incredible year, Paramount Pictures reaffirmed its commitment to theatrical exhibition at CinemaCon 2023. Following an exciting performance by dancers, skateboarders, and stunt performers themed to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, Chris Aronson, rose from a manhole cover to introduce the studio’s slate. He parodied Nicole Kidman’s iconic AMC Theaters campaign (“We come to this place for magic”) before passing hosting duties to Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. With 2022 marking Paramount’s biggest box office year in a decade, he touched on the symbiotic relationship between theatrical exhibition and streaming, citing the studio’s box office success with making Paramount+ the fastest growing streaming service. What follows is a recap of each film presented in release date order.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – June 9th
Prior to their presentation, Paramount hosted an outdoor dinner reception during CinemaCon, featuring life-size statues of Optimus Primal, Optimus Prime, and Mirage.
Director Stephen Caple Jr. took the stage to discuss his childhood love of the franchise. He introduced new footage from the film, which brings the Beast Wars series into the theatrical universe. Set in 1994, the film takes place shortly after the events of Bumblebee. Filming took place around the world, including the ancient city of Manchu Pichu in Peru. The director introduced an extended trailer, which is now available online.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – July 12th
A not-yet-released trailer debuted at CinemaCon, along with a release date adjustment (originally scheduled for July 14th). Brian Robbins acted like that was it, but then surprised attendees with a 20-minute sequence from the film in which Hayley Atwell’s character is forced into a getaway situation with Tom Cruise, leading to an epic car chase through the streets of Rome in a yellow Fiat.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – August 4th
Caesar’s Palace was overtaken by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with eye masks affixed to the resort’s statues and graffitied skateboards in their hands to promote the new animated film.
Producer Seth Rogen took the stage in a green suit to share his childhood love of the animated series and his desire to introduce a new generation of kids to the brand. His take, however, approaches Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael as actual teenagers, casting youthful voice actors and recording their spontaneous conversations to capture authentic dialogue between them. A new sequence of clips was shown, including the turtles meeting April for the first time, and being introduced to Superfly and his expansive lineup of baddies including Bebop and Rocksteady. The animation style has a handmade quality to it, with brush strokes and stop-motion esthetics.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie – September 29th
The Paw Patrol are about to embark on their biggest “ruff ruff” adventure, as Paramount Animation president Ramsey Naito explained. The second big-screen adventure for the Nick Jr. series adds new celebrities to its voice cast, including Chris Rock, Tiraji P. Henson, plus Kim Kardashian and her kids. We were shown a rough-cut trailer that included some not final animation.
Killers of the Flower Moon – October
An Apple TV+ Original being theatrically distributed by Paramount ahead of its streaming launch, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese took the stage to introduce the first trailer for his film adaptation of the novel of the same name. The film marks Scorsese’s tenth picture with Robert DeNiro and sixth with Leonardo DiCaprio, but this is the first time he’s paired them together. The film was shot in the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, and the trailer revealed a gritty film about the execution of Indegenous peoples whose land was discovered to be on a lucrative oil deposit.
Bob Marley: One Love – January 12th, 2024
Ziggy Marley took the stage to premiere the first footage from the biopic about his father. He thanked the people of Jamaica, who were enthusiastically committed to telling Bob Marley’s story as authentically as possible. The footage felt similar to other recent music biographical dramas like Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocket Man, and Elvis.
A Quiet Place: Day One – March 8th, 2024
John Krasinski shared how difficult it was to let someone else direct a film in a world he created, but emphasized that what director Michael Sarnoski did was incredible. A Quiet Place Part II was one of the first successful theatrical releases of the pandemic slump, and John Krasinski was applauded for the promotional campaign that saw him traveling around the country to surprise audiences at opening weekend showings of the film. Day One stars Lupita Nyong’o and is set during the events of the first film in New York City. While still in production, we were shown a scene of Lupita on a bus when the alien invasion occurs, followed by a terrifying montage of her fighting to survive by staying quiet.
If – March 24th, 2024
Written and directed by John Krasinski, If (previously titled Imagineary Friends) was born out of a desire to make a film his kids could see, inspired by the films he loved as a child – E.T. and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The film follows a girl with the unique ability to see all of the imaginary friends abandoned by other children, working alongside Ryan Reynolds to help find a place for them. With computer-generated imaginary friends, John has assembled an all-star voice cast, including his The Office costar Steve Carrell and wife Emily Blunt. During his pitch, John referred to If as being like “a live-action Pixar film.”
Transformers One – July 19th, 2024
The first animated Transformers film to be released in theaters in nearly 40 years will be directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4). The voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime, Bryan Tyree Henry as Megatron, Keegan Michael Key as Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, and Lawrence Fishburn as Apha Trion.
The Smurfs – February 14th, 2025
Paramount is reviving The Smurfs as a live-action/animation hybrid franchise directed by Chris Miller. Rihanna was revealed as the voice of Smurfette and the star took the stage to share her joy of making a film that her soon-to-be-born child will love. Rihanna will also be writing and performing original songs for the film, which will answer the question “What is a Smurf?”
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants – May 23rd, 2025
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the enduring NickToons series, the beloved sea sponge will go on his biggest adventure yet to face off with the Flying Dutchman. One piece of concept art was shown to give attendees of taste of what’s to come.
Beyond
A few other titles were mentioned, although no time was spent showcasing them. 2024’s slate will include Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to Gladiator, a third film in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and an R-rated Jack Black Christmas movie called Dear Santa. In 2025, Nickelodeon will release the first theatrical animated film from the popular series Avatar: The Last Airbender and the studio will also release a sequel to Smile.
Click here for more coverage from CinemaCon.
(Please note this article contains affiliate links. Your purchase will support LaughingPlace by providing us a small commission, but will not affect your pricing or user experience. Thank you.)