LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Paramount Pictures, still riding high on the nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide ticket sales, brought a slew of stars from Rihanna to Martin Scorsese to CinemaCon for its presentation to theater owners Thursday.
Paramount has fewer releases than the other big studios, but they have several big, IP-driven titles like 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,鈥� (Aug. 4) 鈥淭ransformers: Rise of the Beasts鈥� (June 9) and 鈥淧aw Patrol: The Mighty Movie鈥� (Sept. 29). It is also handling the theatrical release of Martin Scorsese鈥檚 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� which next month and opens in theaters on Oct. 6. And, of course, Paramount has 鈥淢ission: Impossible.鈥�
The studio showed an extended clip of a comedic and exciting chase sequence with Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell from the seventh installment in the series, 鈥淒ead Reckoning Part I." The film will now open in theaters two days earlier than planned, now on Wednesday, July 12. Cruise did not attend.
The studio announced, for 2025, 鈥淭he Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants鈥� and 鈥淭he Smurf Movie,鈥� starring Rihanna as Smurfette. She also produced.
鈥淚 tried to get the Papa Smurf part but it didn鈥檛 work out,鈥� Rihanna said. 鈥淕etting to do animation is a fun journey for me. In this I got to play a part where I got to just imagine, I got to be, I got to show up in my pajamas in my third trimester and play a little blue (expletive).鈥�
She added: 鈥淚 hope this gives me a little bit of cool points with my kids one day.鈥�
The star-power even had 鈥淭ransformers鈥� director Steven Caple Jr. a little flustered: 鈥淚 just met Rihanna backstage,鈥� he exclaimed.
On stage, 鈥淭ransformers鈥� star Dominique Fishback gave a shoutout to Regal owners. She used to work at one in New York when she was younger, she said, and just dreamed of being up the screen.
Scorsese got a long ovation from the theater owners when he came out to talk about 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� an Apple Original Films production that is getting a major theatrical release.
鈥淭his is a picture that I designed to be projected on a big screen,鈥� Scorsese said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean films can鈥檛 be appreciated on small screens but this is a big screen movie, as you鈥檒l see.鈥�
The director showed the first trailer for the film, about a series of murders in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the early 1920s. There were plenty of gunshots, tears and even some laughs with Jesse Plemons鈥� detective who arrives to 鈥渟ee about these murders.鈥�
鈥淭his is my sixth picture with Leonardo DiCaprio. It鈥檚 my 10th with Robert De Niro. And it鈥檚 my first with both of them together,鈥� he said.
Later, the director was given an inaugural icon award that will be known as the Scorsese award in the future. He made a plea to get independent films back in the major multiplexes before DiCaprio moderated a conversation with Scorsese as exhibitors ate lunch.
鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles鈥� producer Seth Rogen had the crowd laughing noting that it seems 鈥渦nfair to make studio executives hold a stage meant for the biggest stars in the world.鈥� The studio presentations at the trade convention are held in the 4,100-seat Colosseum theater in the Caesars Palace hotel.
鈥淭hey built this for Adele!鈥� Rogen joked.
CinemaCon, he said, is 鈥淧erfect if you want to have an hour-long drunken conversation with a guy who owns two screens in Wilmington. That鈥檚 why we come!鈥�
Rogen introduced a funny extended clip of the animated 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,鈥� which opens Aug. 4
鈥淚f you show this to your children, you鈥檙e not a terrible parent,鈥� he promised.
John Krasinski showed a clip from the 鈥淎 Quiet Place鈥� prequel 鈥淒ay One,鈥� directed by Michael Sarnoski and starring Lupita Nyong鈥檕. It chronicles that first day of the invasion form her perspective in New York. It opens in theaters March 8.
Krasinski gave the 鈥淨uiet Place鈥� spinoff to another director so he could focus on his movie 鈥淚f,鈥� also due in 2024. He said he wanted to make because he wanted to give his kids a movie they could see before they were 40. 鈥淚f鈥� stars Ryan Reynolds and is about imaginary friends. Reynolds said it was like a 鈥渓ive-action Pixar movie.鈥�
Paramount also unveiled the voice cast for an animated 鈥淭ransformers鈥� movie, due in 2024, 鈥淭ransformers One鈥� including Chris Hemsworth as 鈥測oung Optimums Prime,鈥� Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Laurence Fishburne, Keegan Michael-Key and Jon Hamm.
Ziggy Marley made an appearance too for the just-wrapped film about his father Bob Marley, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch as Bob and Rita Marley. It was directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and arrives next year.
Paramount president and CEO Brian Robbins echoed a common refrain this week, that 鈥渨e need theatrical to make streaming work.鈥�
鈥淭he evidence is really clear,鈥� Robbins said, noting that Paramount+ is the fastest growing streaming service.
Chris Aronson, president of domestic theatrical distribution, challenged the audience of theater owners to change the status quo when it comes to movie ticket prices.
鈥淧re-COVID, admissions were going down and ticket prices were going up,鈥� Aronson said. 鈥淲e should be experimenting with variable pricing, like we did with '80 for Brady,鈥� and we need to amplify those efforts. Let鈥檚 work together to get it right.鈥�
Tickets for screenings of 鈥�80 for Brady鈥� at AMC, Cinemark and Regal were sold for matinee prices (which vary depending on location) for all showings. The movie made nearly $40 million ultimately.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
