Last year, Amazon MGM Studios made their CinemaCon debut, pleading their case to movie theater operators and exhibitors that they take the theatrical experience seriously, despite hailing from a mega-corporation that prioritizes the online experience. And frankly, they accomplished that with their 2025 presentation, anchored by a first look at the trailer for a little movie called “Project Hail Mary.” Well, this year, Amazon MGM Studios returned to the stage, the triumphant movie house behind the highest-grossing non-franchise film of the decade. The studio certainly took a big victory lap, bringing out Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Ryan Gosling to celebrate the film’s success and, more importantly, to thank exhibitors for their support in making it a true movie-going experience for audiences. Do they have more 2026 releases that could reach similar heights? It’s possible, but their commitment to releasing at least 15 films in theaters every year is lofty and, if successful, would go a long way toward proving the legacy of MGM Studios is intact.
Amazon MGM Studios’ presentation jumped around a bit between 2026 and 2027 releases. Still, they teased films that they hope will generate major audience response, starting with 2027’s remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair.” Jon Batiste was on hand to play the film’s themes on the piano and drum machine, crafting an elegant yet modern theme that I can’t wait to hear in the final film. The movie’s director and star, Michael B. Jordan, came out next, alongside co-star Adria Ajorna, to tease the heist film. Jordan says he’s been daydreaming about making this movie ever since he saw the Pierce Brosnan version as a young man. But when he saw the Steve McQueen version later, it solidified the story’s themes even more. The trailer we saw looks slick, and really feels like Jordan’s “Mission: Impossible.“ It teased a few big stunts and gorgeous camerawork that make this feel like “The Thomas Crown Affair“ will be a spectacle when it hits theaters in 2027.
Next up, director Travis Knight hit the stage with He-Man himself, Nicholas Galitzine, and Camilla Mendes to talk all about “Masters of the Universe.” Knight talked about growing up loving the cartoon and said that, beneath all the fantastical world-building and creatures, he always felt the heart of the characters. That’s what he connected to, and made him want to bring this series to life. Galitzine invited the audience to whip out the foam swords given on the way into the auditorium, and together, they summoned the power, triggering a lightning strike, and cueing up a look at the new trailer. While the first trailer felt a bit too cartoonish and broad, this new look at Eternia in ruins as Adam returns to help save it from Skeletor featured much stronger visual effects. There’s still a lot going on, especially if you don’t have a connection to the original series, but the new footage started to win me over a bit.
Another family-friendly movie coming to theaters soon is “The Sheep Detectives.” Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Braun came out to talk about this hilarious murder-mystery, in which sheep, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston, among others, must solve the murder of their owner. Jackman talked about how the film is loaded with humor for both children and adults. Written by Craig Mazin, this looks like it might be just crazy enough to work. It comes out May 8th.
Anarchy briefly broke out as (fake) protestors and rioters ran around the auditorium, throwing bills into the crowd, all to support a look at David Leitch’s “How To Rob a Bank.“ Leitch and star Pete Davidson came out to talk about the movie’s perfect timing. The trailer looks wild, showcasing huge action set pieces alongside the chaos of a YouTube video as a group of bank robbers live-stream and teach others how to get away with it. Keeping the same energy was an early look at another brutal action film, “A Colt is My Passport,“ a remake of Takashi Nomura’s 1967 film. Hailing from Gareth Evans, the trailer featured unbelievably cool action and visceral fights. Finally, Mahershala Ali and director Bassam Tariq arrived for a look at “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,“ in which Ali finally gets to stretch his physicality as a man in Houston pushed to the brink. All three action films look wildly different from each other, but each offers something exciting on the big screen.
Heading in a different direction, Amazon MGM Studios teased the newest Colleen Hoover adaptation, but it is a distinctly different flavor than “It Ends With Us“ and “Reminders of Him.“ Michael Showalter directs this psychological thriller starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett. Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, a best-selling novelist in the middle of a fan-favorite series. When she is incapacitated, Johnson’s character is brought in to ghostwrite the rest of her series. As she gets closer to Hartnett, strange things start happening around the house, threatening the whole situation. While the story feels overly familiar, it looks to be, by far, Showalter’s most stylish film yet. The footage was dark and moody, with a frightening tone. It lands in theaters on October 2nd.
In one of the more exciting moments of CinemaCon 2026, the cast of the newly titled “Spaceballs: The New One“ took to the stage to share more about the movie. Josh Gad, Bill Pullman, Lewis Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, director Josh Greenbaum, and the long-awaited Rick Moranis were all there. Moranis received enormous cheers for his return, though we didn’t hear much from him, as the entire presentation featured a running gag in which others cut him off and spoke for him whenever he opened his mouth (it was funnier than it sounds). The trailer sends up Hollywood and the endless mergers that made this new sequel possible, but also seems to capture the absurdist spirit of the original. I was skeptical, but the trailer may have won me over.
From the set of “Highlander,“ which is still in production, we got a full behind-the-scenes featurette of their progress so far—Henry Cavill stars in the film from Chad Stahelski, alongside Dave Bautista and Anna Sawai. The footage so far looks essentially exactly like “John Wick,“ for better or worse; lots of neon and intense hand-to-hand choreography. Cavill, via video, noted that they still haven’t filmed in Scotland or elsewhere, so perhaps that will give the series a different aesthetic, separating it from Stahelski’s previous franchise. Still, the footage we saw looked pretty excellent.
As far as Oscar contenders outside of “Project Hail Mary“ go, Amazon MGM Studios only showed us a couple of quick glimpses of Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,“ so there’s a chance it won’t be ready in time for awards season. Instead, Peter Farrelly, Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephan James, and Kiki Seto arrived for a look at “I Play Rocky.“ This biopic tells the story of Sylvester Stallone’s battle to make and star in “Rocky.“The premise could easily flame out, especially in the hands of Peter Farrelly. Still, the trailer really demonstrated just how identical this cast is to their real-life counterparts, so that counts for something. The story has a lot of potential if they can put the right amount of heart into it. For now, I’m cautiously hopeful.
Rumors have swirled for months now about James Bond, Amazon, and MGM’s Head of Theatrical Distribution, Courtenay Valenti. Cut right to the chase: there’s no news to announce yet. She emphasized that they want to take their time with every decision on this vital franchise and don’t want to rush casting for 007. Perhaps that’s an encouraging sign for how seriously Amazon MGM Studios is taking this opportunity, knowing that they could easily blow it at any moment. MGM is one of the most important studios in Hollywood, and thus far, Amazon seems intent on maintaining the legacy, both with the IP it represents and the films it puts out. Few had much hope of what Amazon would do with this legendary studio, but two years into their CinemaCon presentations, the commitment to quality on the big screen goes quite a long way.
What was your favorite announcement from Amazon MGM Studios’ presentation at this year’s CinemaCon? Which of their films are you most excited about? Please let us know in the comments below or over on our X account.
