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There’s no glossing over it, not even with extra-buttered popcorn: The mood at CinemaCon is tense this year.
Brent Lang, Variety‘s executive editor who oversees film and media coverage, reports from Las Vegas on the annual gathering of movie theater owners and film studio chieftains on the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” Lang shares his observations about how the conference is reflecting the headwinds buffeting a sector that is down significantly from its pre-pandemic highs.
Lang also weighs in on some hot topics of the moment, including the fate of Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy as the leaders of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group. And to lighten the mood, Pat Saperstein, Variety’s deputy editor of film, gives a quick tour of her recent report on the 21 coolest movie theaters in the world.
“This is usually a very celebratory affair, where studio [executives] get on stage and talk about the magic of the moviegoing experience and how vital theaters are to the whole ecosystem, and they are certainly doing that, but there’s much more tension than there has been in past years,” Lang says. “Some of that is because 2025 was supposed to mark a real turnaround for the theatrical business, and instead, the first three months of the year have been very sluggish.”
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The response among movie theater managers was subdued even with the appearance of a megastar in Leonardo DiCaprio, he noted.
“In the past, theater owners were euphoric, and [this year] they were kind of like politely applauding. It was a very different tone. You just have a sense of tension and nervousness and anxiety about the state of this business,” Lang says.
Brent Lang
Variety via Getty Images
Another major sign of the times: studios were tubthumping for movies that are three years or more away. It’s partly a sign of the product pipeline disruption from 2023’s dual write and actor strikes. It’s also a sign of the intricate planning that goes into the scheduling and timing of tentpoles and related content. Exhibitors were enthusiastic about Sony Pictures’ unusual pact with filmmaker Sam Mendes to deliver four separate Beatles biopics of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Mendes made a dramatic reveal at Sony’s March 31 CinemaCon presentation of the actors selected to portray the Fab Four: Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Joseph Quinn (George Harrison) and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr).
“In the past, the studios have pretty much stuck to the calendar year when they revealed their films. But they don’t have as many films, so they’re actually going out as far as like 2028,” Lang says. “Sony was talking about the Beatles movie, the four movies that they’re gonna release simultaneously, which theater owners are over the moon for. They’re so excited about this. They think it’s a cool event that it’s gonna get people out of their houses. It’s totally unique. They’re totally on board with that.”
As for filmdom’s talk of the town this week, the buzz about potential changes afoot for Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group, Lang assesses the pressure bearing down on current co-chiefs De Luca and Abdy. “I think they have a very limited shot” to turn things around amid reports that Warner Bros. Discovery is auditioning potential successors, Lang observes.
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.
(Pictured top: Actors Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson are unveiled March 31 at Sony Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation as the stars of filmmaker Sam Mendes’ four Beatle biopics.)
