To kick off CinemaCon 2025, the annual convention for movie theater owners, Sony Pictures took the stage to showcase what they’ll be bringing to theaters in 2025 and beyond. Notably, of the seven major studios delivering presentations at CinemaCon 2025, only two don’t operate streaming services of their own: Sony and Lionsgate. While none of the Sony executives who presented this year mentioned that fact, it could be seen as a more significant commitment to the theatrical experience. To that end, Sony packed loads of announcements into their presentation, including two Spider-Man movies, four Beatles films, a handful of reboots, and much more to bring audiences into theaters.
“Hi, I’m Seth Rogen,” Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman joked as he came out to the CinemaCon crowd, referencing the new Apple TV+ show “The Studio” that seems to be taking the industry by storm. Rothman is no stranger to this stage and encouraged the theater owners in attendance that Sony is determined to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. “Costs and windows can work for us or against us. We need to be smart about both. And Sony Pictures will work with you on both.” While these statements don’t grab the headlines like movie announcements, Sony’s unwavering commitment to strong theatrical windows is precisely what the CinemaCon audiences want and deserve to hear. Later, Adam Bergerman, President of Sony Pictures Releasing, reiterated this commitment, referencing surveys showing audiences they can get theater-quality experiences at home. He committed to combating that belief and said solid theatrical windows are part of that fight.
Before long, Rothman turned his attention to the films themselves. “Great filmmakers make great movies. It’s pretty simple if you’re lucky enough to have them work with you.” Rothman made it clear upfront that their presentation would focus on the filmmakers behind these projects. Nearly every film mentioned featured a talk from its director, perhaps showcasing a more director-friendly studio than in recent years.
Both Danny Boyle and Nia Dacosta took the stage to talk about “28 Years Later” and “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.” Boyle said these are the first two films in a planned trilogy, but they need funding for the third. He jokingly prodded Rothman to cough up the money for the third. Boyle introduced a new trailer for “28 Years Later,” which showcases more of the story than the first film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson wields a bow-and-arrow, protecting a village on an island from a new invasion of the infected, while a grimy Ralph Fiennes joins the fray. While Dacosta didn’t have footage to showcase, she showed an insane-looking picture of Fiennes from “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” and promised, “You’ve never seen him like this.”
Next were two first looks at upcoming 2025 films: Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing” and Kogonada’s “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.” Aronofsky said there was “something different about this film” and that he wanted to have fun with it. That’s certainly evidenced by the trailer, which takes on an “Uncut Gems” tone for the crime thriller, with a bumbling protagonist, played by Austin Butler, chased around New York City. The trailer had tons of energy and no shortage of comedy. All around, it seems to be a new style for the auteur. Kogonada’s “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” has a very different tone. This sweeping, epic romance starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell finds the pair on a magical journey through space and time with futuristic tech, doors that lead to earlier memories, and much more. This looks like a big, earnest swing and possibly the most exciting trailer of the night.
“Karate Kid: Legends” stars Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang took the stage following a brief show featuring martial artists, dancers, drummers, and more. The actors brought along multiple scenes from the film and an extended trailer. In other reboot news, Sony also debuted the trailer for “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which showed a new group of teens getting taken down by the hook-wielding killer. Jennifer Love Hewitt made an appearance in the trailer, along with other references to the original 1997 horror film. Not to be left out of the horror reboot space, director Zach Cregger came out to confirm he’ll direct a new “Resident Evil” movie, which he promised will maintain the spirit of the games and will be “unlike any of the previous films.”
Bergerman’s portion of the evening brought some rapid-fire project announcements, including a third “Jumanji” film from director Jake Kasdan, Neil Blomkamp’s reboot of “Starship Troopers,” “The Breadwinner” starring Nate Bargatze, “Klara and the Sun” from Taika Waititi, “GrandGear,” the English-language debut from “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki,” and the live-action “The Legend of Zelda” film from director Wes Ball. Additionally, director Tyree Dillihay introduced a new look at the animated film “GOAT,” with a video message from Stephen Curry, who produces the movie.
Sony brought along not one but two Spider-Man films to discuss. First up, producer Phil Lord and directors Bob Persichetti & Justin K. Thompson announced that “Beyond The Spider-Verse” would arrive on June 4th, 2027, but promised that the film would be worth the wait. They debuted a brief look at the film and said that it would conclude Miles Morales’ story. Later in the presentation, Destin Daniel Cretton came out to discuss the next live-action “Spider-Man” film and introduced a video message from Tom Holland. They confirmed the film’s title: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” but didn’t reveal any other details. The movie is currently scheduled for release on July 31st, 2026, and Cretton said they will start shooting this summer.
Finally, Rothman said he was taking a page out of Steve Jobs’ playbook and having “one more thing” to show the crowd. “Not since I worked on ‘Avatar,’” has Rothman been so excited for a project, he said, before bringing out Sam Mendes to announce a “four-film cinematic event” centered around “The Beatles,” Mendes says he had given up on making a movie about The Beatles because it felt too big for a film but too great for a miniseries, which eventually led him to a new concept. Mendes introduced his cast to the stage, with Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon.
All four films, each told from one Beatles perspective, will be released in April 2028. Mendes and Rothman described the event as the first “bingable theatrical experience” and promised that they would dominate pop culture for the entire month of April that year. Though Rothman said they are excited to share more details and ideas with movie theater owners, they didn’t give any further information about the release strategy.
As a whole, Sony’s presentation delivered what they said they wanted to do: commit to supporting the theaters in their release windows and theatrical strategy and producing movies that audiences genuinely desire to see. Will their big swings pay off? Time will tell, but they have several films releasing in the next couple of months, so we may know sooner rather than later.
What was your favorite announcement from Sony’s CinemaCon presentation? Which films are you most excited to see? Is there a project you wish Sony had talked about more? Let us know in the comments or over on our Twitter account.
