CinemaCon 2026 Round 2: The Other Four Studios Just Revealed Hollywoods Next Two Years
Sony and Warner Bros. showed their hands Monday and Tuesday. Then Universal brought Nolan and Spielberg. Amazon brought Rick Moranis back as Dark Helmet. Paramount dropped a Street Fighter trailer. And Disney? Disney brought Chris Evans back as Captain America — and the whole room demanded they play the trailer twice.
Sony and Warner Bros. already showed their hands Monday and Tuesday — Riley Vox broke down that half of CinemaCon here. Then Universal brought Nolan and Spielberg. Amazon brought Rick Moranis back as Dark Helmet. Paramount dropped a Street Fighter trailer. And Disney? Disney brought Chris Evans back to play Captain America — and the whole room demanded they play the trailer twice.
Here's the other half.
Universal + Focus Features — Tuesday, Apr 15
The Odyssey (Jul 17, 2026) was the headline. Christopher Nolan made his first-ever CinemaCon appearance to show off a film shot entirely on IMAX — meaning every format you can see it in IS the IMAX version. Matt Damon plays Odysseus, Tom Holland is Telemachus, and Anne Hathaway is Penelope. The Trojan Horse sequence screened was scored only to screams and Ludwig Göransson's percussion. No dialogue. No music. Just dread.
Right after Nolan came Steven Spielberg — also his first CinemaCon ever. He accepted the MPA's America 250 award, showed a sneak peek of Disclosure Day (his alien thriller with Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor), and made his ask directly to exhibitors: "45 days? But do I hear 60?" He wants longer theatrical windows. The room applauded.
Focus Features brought Werwulf, Robert Eggers' next film after Nosferatu — and he's reuniting the entire lead trio: Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe. Billed as "the most horrifying motion picture yet." Eggers doesn't miss.
Also from Universal: - A new Sense and Sensibility adaptation with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Caitríona Balfe (Focus) - An untitled Snoop Dogg biopic directed by Craig Brewer, produced by Brian Grazer and Snoop himself (2027) - Minions & Monsters — Illumination doing 1920s golden age of Hollywood - Forgotten Island (DreamWorks), and Michael, the Jaafar Jackson-led MJ biopic
Verdict: Two living legends (Nolan + Spielberg) at one presentation is a power move nobody else can match. Universal didn't try to win on volume — they won on gravitas.
Amazon MGM Studios — Tuesday, Apr 15
Amazon came with receipts for a studio that's still earning its theatrical credibility. CEO Mike Hopkins pledged 15 theatrical films per year and framed Project Hail Mary as "just the beginning."
The crowd-pleaser: Spaceballs: The New One (Apr 23, 2027). Mel Brooks announced the official title via video. Josh Gad co-wrote and stars. Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, Anthony Carrigan join. Bill Pullman, George Wyner, and Daphne Zuniga all return from the 1987 original. And — the one nobody saw coming — Rick Moranis is back as Dark Helmet. After years of turning down Hollywood, Moranis is suiting up. The room lost it.
The tentpole bet: Masters of the Universe (Jun 5, 2026). Travis Knight directs. First in-costume footage showed Nicholas Galitzine fully hulked-up as He-Man — blond locks, massive London sets, the works. Camila Mendes as Teela, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. The original was a beloved disaster. This one wants to finally do it right.
Also from Amazon MGM: - How to Rob a Bank — David Leitch directs Nicholas Hoult in a story about masked robbers streaming heists live on social media - I Play Rocky — Peter Farrelly directs a Sylvester Stallone biopic - Verity — Colleen Hoover adaptation starring Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway - Madden — Nicolas Cage as John Madden. Yes, really. - 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank — Liam Neeson - Bond 26 — still in development. Villeneuve directing, Steven Knight writing. No casting. No footage. No date.
Verdict: Bond 26 is still a tease. MOTU is the serious swing. But Spaceballs + Moranis was the room's loudest moment of the afternoon.
Paramount Pictures — Wednesday, Apr 16
Paramount's slot was dominated by the Warner-Paramount merger shadow — the $111 billion Skydance/WBD deal. Exhibitors are worried. Paramount answered with comedy and gaming.
Street Fighter (Oct 16, 2026) got the first full trailer release of the presentation. Kitao Sakurai directs. It's set in 1993 — full "arcade-core" nostalgia, faithful costume designs (Ken's red gi, Guile's flat-top). Noah Centineo stars. Nerdist called it "pure Shoryuken cinema." This isn't the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme version — the tone is closer to a love letter than a cash grab.
Scary Movie is back — the Wayans brothers return in full creative control with Anna Faris and Regina Hall. Jackass is getting a new revival installment. A Quiet Place Part III was teased.
The wildcard: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (May 8, 2026). James Cameron co-directed a 3D Billie Eilish concert film with Eilish herself. Cameron's pitch: "This is going to blow people's minds." It documents her Manchester shows from July 2025.
Also from Paramount: - Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Mar 19, 2027) - PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (Aug 14, 2026) - TMNT: Mutant Mayhem 2 (Aug 13, 2027) + an untitled CG/live-action TMNT (Nov 17, 2028) - Angry Birds 3 (Dec 23, 2026) - Heart of the Beast — David Ayer directs Brad Pitt - Teasers for Children of Blood and Bone, a Damien Chazelle prison drama, Dropz, Muttnik, Swan Lake animated, Mighty Mouse
Verdict: No prestige play, but a lot of franchise revival money on the table. The Cameron/Eilish concert film is the project that could genuinely surprise.
Walt Disney Studios — Wednesday Night, Apr 16
This was the event.
Avengers: Doomsday (Dec 18, 2026) got its first full trailer — and it was the single biggest moment of CinemaCon 2026. Robert Downey Jr. entered the room through the audience to "Sympathy for the Devil." Then, on the trailer itself, Chris Evans returned as a bearded Captain America — saying "Hey pal" before calling Mjolnir. Evans explained after the trailer: "I'd only come back if there was a real reason."
The trailer kept going. Gambit vs. Shang-Chi. Mystique disguised as Yelena. Doom catching Thor's axe with his bare hand. Professor Xavier. Incursions. The Fantastic Four meeting the Avengers. And crucially — the X-Men are officially in the mainline MCU. The Russos and Kevin Feige came out on stage afterward. The audience demanded the trailer play twice, and Disney complied. Two plays at CinemaCon is basically unheard of.
And that wasn't all.
The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22, 2026) — Jon Favreau screened 18-20 minutes of the opening. No opening crawl. Text slides establish Din Djarin working for the New Republic hunting Imperial remnants. The final trailer dropped online right after. Tickets on sale Friday.
Toy Story 5 (Jun 19, 2026) — Tom Hanks and Tim Allen on stage. Full scene shown: Bonnie gets a "Lily Pad" tablet (voiced by Greta Lee) and is instantly hypnotized. The original Toy Story turns 31 this year. The theme is technology vs. play. It tracks.
Moana live-action (Jul 10, 2026) — Thomas Kail directing. Catherine Laga'aia (playing Moana) and Dwayne Johnson appeared on stage. Exclusive trailer shown.
Star Wars: Starfighter (May 28, 2027) — announced in brief. Ryan Gosling stars. Shawn Levy directs. Jonathan Tropper wrote it. Cast also includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams. Standalone story, set roughly five years after The Rise of Skywalker.
Disney also unveiled Infinity Vision — a new premium large format certification rolling out to 75 US theaters and 300 abroad. Technical standards include the largest screens, laser projection, and immersive audio. First showcase: Avengers: Endgame re-releasing in Infinity Vision in September 2026.
Smaller items: Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1, 2026) got an update. Title cards flashed for Hexed, Wild Horse Nine, The Dog Stars (Ridley Scott), Gatto, Ice Age: Boiling Point, and Super Troopers 3.
Verdict: Disney won CinemaCon outright. The Doomsday trailer alone would've done it — add Mandalorian, Star Wars: Starfighter, and a new premium format, and nobody else was close.
The Big Picture
CinemaCon 2026 ends with Disney holding the winning hand. But the real takeaway isn't which studio "won" — it's the volume. Six studios just scheduled 100+ films across the next 36 months. Nolan is shooting entirely on IMAX. Disney is building a whole new premium format. Amazon is pledging 15 theatrical releases per year. Paramount is dropping trailers. Universal is flexing with Spielberg and Nolan on the same stage.
The theatrical business isn't dying.
It's scheduling.
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