Tom Cruise's last Mission, Avatar’s returns and a newly United cinema industry – everything and everyone will be in Vegas (including CinemaNext) this coming week in Las Vegas. The annual US cinema owner convention rolls out the red carpet with a full studio lineup, major stars, and a fresh identity to match Hollywood's optimism. Set for 31 March- 3 April at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, this year's CinemaCon thus arrives with both a new name and renewed faith about the bright future of global cinema business.
Formerly known as NATO (National Association of Theatre Owners), the trade organisation has rebranded as Cinema United just weeks before the convention — a move designed not only to differentiate itself from the military alliance that shares its acronym but to better reflect its mission, it says. After years of fielding misdirected calls during geopolitical crises, cinema owners can now focus on their actual battle: getting audiences back into cinemas.
"Cinema United is a celebration of who we are as an industry, but more importantly, where we're headed," CEO Michael O'Leary said in announcing the rebrand. With a new tagline — "Moviegoing is Our Mission" — the organisation aims to bring fresh energy to an exhibition industry still fighting to reclaim its pre-pandemic glory days.
Full House of Studios
In a significant vote of confidence, 2025's CinemaCon will welcome a full slate of Hollywood studio presentations. After sitting out last year, Sony Pictures Entertainment returns to the big stage at the Colosseum, joining Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures/Focus Features, Warner Bros., and Lionsgate.
Perhaps most notably, Amazon MGM Studios will take the convention stage for the first time as a combined entity — a milestone appearance representing the first major streamer to fully embrace theatrical exhibition in this format. This news comes just shortly after Amazon assumed full control of the James Bond franchise, with cinema operators no-doubt hoping for news about the next 007 instalment.
"We are thrilled and honored to welcome back all of our studio partners, with the addition of Amazon MGM Studios to this coming year's CinemaCon line-up as a clear sign of support of the theatrical moviegoing business," O'Leary said in a statement. There is no sign of Netflix taking to the stage in Vegas, but the organisers must be happy enough to have all the other MPA members come and show their upcoming slates.
A Star-Studded Affair
It would not be a CinemaCon without the stars doing duty both on the stage for the slates, as well as for the final night awards show. The convention's marquee event, the Big Screen Achievement Awards, will honour a roster of A-list talent including Channing Tatum (Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film), Ana de Armas (Action Star of the Year), Lindsay Lohan (Vanguard Award), Cheech & Chong (Career Achievement in Comedy), and rising stars David Jonsson, Madeleine McGraw, and Ben Wang.
Glen Powell, who was previously announced as Star of the Year, will join this star-studded roster at the ceremony, hosted by Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier. The awards serve as what Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon, describes as "exhibition's way of saying thank you to the talented and creative people that make magic on movie screens all across the globe." Expect more than one of the stars to extol the virtues of films being best seen on the big screen.
Tech Upgrades Take Center Stage
The exhibition technology showcase promises significant innovations aimed at enhancing the theatrical experience. Barco will unveil details of its new HDR projectors currently being tested with B&B Theatres and other chains, offering a glimpse into next-generation image quality. With attendance figures rising slowly to their pre-pandemic level, there is more focus than ever on premium formats, that compensate for subdued attendance with higher per-ticket charges. Expect a lot of films with the legend 'Filmed for IMAX'.
Meanwhile, Christie will share updates on its quasi-rival VDR projection technology and also its collaboration with Dolby on the latest generation of Dolby Vision projectors. There will no-doubt also be announcements from CinemaCon stalwarts ranging from Harkness Screens and MAG to RealD (it’s Avatar year – hello, 3D) and CJ 4DPlex. These advancements represent the industry's on-going technological response to streaming competition — if you're going to leave your couch, cinema owners are ensuring the experience is worth every penny and cent. CinemaNext will be present with both a booth (311J) and senior representatives from the US, UK and Europe to talk to clients and show off products that save money and help deliver a better theatrical experience.
Post-Pandemic Optimism Among Challenges
Five years after the pandemic shuttered cinema and multiplexes worldwide, the exhibition business continues its steady climb back. North American box office receipts totalled USD $8.6 billion in 2024, still 25% below the pre-pandemic heights of USD $11.4 billion in 2019, but trending upward.
The 2023 strikes further disrupted the pipeline last year, but with 110 wide releases (films opening in 2,000+ theaters) slated for 2025 — 15 more than 2024 and the most since before the pandemic — supply issues appear to be resolving. This addresses the loudest call from the Global Cinema Federation’s research (PDF) published last week, which is that cinema audiences want more films and cinema owners would like to see them spread more across the year.
"We've certainly as an industry now got the movie magic machine cranked back up again," Mike Bowers, president and CEO of Harkins Theatres, told Yahoo Entertainment. "I'm very excited to see that." The first quarter of this year has failed to bring cheer to the US cinema operators, with both the latest “Captain America” and “Snow White” failing to exceed muted expectations. However, there is much more optimism about the next three quarters.
Blockbusters to the Rescue
The rest of the 2025 film slate features a number of tempting tentpole titles, including "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" (which may mark Tom Cruise's last appearance in the franchise), Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch," Brad Pitt's Formula One drama "F1," Warner Bros.' re-booted "Superman" directed by James Gunn, Marvel's "Thunderbolts" and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and two potential year-end megahits: the second half of "Wicked" and "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
Industry analysts are particularly optimistic about the third "Avatar" instalment, with cinema executive Tim Richards of Vue Cinemas predicting it could represent "the tipping point" that kicks off "an extraordinary three to five years" for theaters. Richards is being recognised at CinemaCon with the Global Achievement in Exhibition Award and his fellow cinema CEOs will be hoping that Vue’s fabled AI system (read about it here) is also something of a crystal ball into the future of the industry.
State of the Industry
O'Leary, now in his second year leading the organisation after taking over from John Fithian, will deliver his state of the industry address amid a transitional period where theatrical windows have shortened dramatically. The "minimum of three months" theatrical exclusivity of the pre-pandemic era has been replaced by windows often ranging from just three to eight weeks. While some blockbusters get longer windows (we’re looking at you, ‘Barbenheimer’), there was much concern about the windows issue from cinema operators at the UK Cinema Association’s two-day conference that preceded CinemaCon by two weeks.
Recent Oscar winner Sean Baker used his Academy Award acceptance speech to deliver what he called a "battle cry" for the theatrical experience. "The theatre-going experience is under threat," he told the audience, noting the number of screens that disappeared during the pandemic. "If we don't reverse this trend, we'll be losing a vital part of our culture." It is a message that fell on welcome ears with the cinema industry and will hopefully be echoed in the messages from the stage at Caesars.
Shifting Strategies
What gives cause for hope is that CinemaCon comes as Hollywood studios continue to refine their theatrical vs. streaming strategies. Disney, for example, has reportedly been rethinking its approach to original streaming content after the massive success of theatrical releases like "Inside Out 2" and "Moana 2," the latter of which was initially conceived as a streaming series before being retooled as a theatrical feature.
"That's [nearly] $3 billion in world box office [returns] with those two movies alone," Cory Jacobson, president of Phoenix Theatres, told Yahoo. "And imagine that the profitability to Disney as a company is tremendous." There is also recognition that films such as Paramount’s “Smile” and Disney/20th Century Studio’s “Alien: Romulus” began as projects destined for streaming, but studio executives saw that they had big screen potential. Nobody is expecting Netflix to pop up in Las Vegas with a newfound love for cinemas, but as long as other Hollywood studios do more than pay lip service to the primacy of the big screen, cinemas and their trade body will be happy this year.
What's Next for Exhibition
For exhibitors, navigating the "new normal" means focusing on creating experiences that can't be replicated at home. The US cinema industry has invested or pledged to invest approximately USD $2.2 billion in upgrades ranging from luxury seating to enhanced concessions to themed movie events. Now they need the films to fill those comfy recliner seats.
Valarie Rico, director of marketing and sales at Santikos Entertainment, highlighted how theaters are "honing in on what our audiences want," with some locations becoming full family entertainment centres offering bowling, laser tag, and arcades alongside traditional movie showings. This has already been taken up by other cinema operators such as B&B Theatres in the US and The Light Cinema in the UK (see our article here) and many more are expected to follow.
"2025 is gonna be bigger and better," Rico promised — a sentiment the entire industry hopes will prove prophetic as CinemaCon rolls out the red carpet next week in Las Vegas. Or as Tim Richards predicted in his EDCF Convention Keynote, "Ten years from now, we are going to look back on ‘Avatar’ as the end and the beginning. The beginning of a new era for film." And preparation for that all begins at CinemaCon this year.
What to Expect at CinemaCon 2025