David Reads Cinemacon Day 4 Morning
Toplines
- CinemaCon Day 4 features Paramount presenting in the morning and Disney in the afternoon, marking the final day of the annual exhibition conference.
- Amazon MGM held a presentation earlier in the week, described as concise and focused on a “more movies” message consistent with messaging from multiple studios at the event.
- David Ellison’s attendance at the Paramount presentation was uncertain heading into the morning session.
- Amazon MGM distributed physical prop swords as promotional swag for a He-Man project, raising logistical concerns about the items clearing TSA checkpoints as attendees depart Las Vegas.
David Reads CinemaCon, Day 4: The Shortest One Ever
Good morning from CinemaCon, Day Four. I’m writing this from the second row, waiting for the Paramount presentation to begin. It’s the final day of the show — Paramount in the morning, Disney in the afternoon. I would have shown my face on camera, but I glanced at the lens and realized my hair was a complete disaster. Vanity won. So instead you get a dispatch from the mania of a theater filling up before a major studio presentation.
I should note that I’m not really supposed to be broadcasting from in here — or videotaping, or doing much of anything — but it’s pre-show, so it’s not that big a deal.
Amazon MGM: Good Show, Real Substance
I haven’t reported yet on Amazon MGM’s presentation, which I thought was very, very good. Lean — not as thick as I would have liked — but they stayed on point and did what they needed to do. I came away pretty pleased with how it went.
Like several other studios this week, they leaned heavily into the “more movies” message. At this point, roughly half the studios at CinemaCon have made that their central theme, which is encouraging in the abstract. What nobody is talking about, though — and this genuinely frustrates me — is the SVOD window. The pay streaming window. It is extremely important right now, and it’s way too short. The problem is that Cinema United didn’t bring it up, and the MPA speeches — both of them, frankly kind of ridiculous — didn’t bring it up either. So naturally no studio is going to put themselves in harm’s way by raising it on their own. They’re busy celebrating themselves. Fine.
What to Expect This Morning
The big question going into the Paramount presentation is whether David Ellison shows up. Word is he won’t be here, but we’ll find out shortly. Looking at the stage, there are no musical instruments set up anywhere, which suggests we’re going to get our first show without an opening live musical number in several days. No Billie Eilish playing live today, apparently. Maybe she’ll appear with a backing track. Who knows.
The He-Man Sword Problem
I can’t close without mentioning the most delightful logistical catastrophe to emerge from this week. At the Amazon MGM event last night, they gave out swords. As in, physical prop swords, for He-Man. Adorable promotional item. Great bit of swag. Except that now everybody in town is quietly panicking about the thousands of swords that are about to hit TSA checkpoints as the entire film industry tries to fly home tonight and tomorrow morning.
My read: those swords are not making it through. TSA agents are going to have a field day. After months of the Trump administration starving the agency of funding, they are about to inherit a massive haul of He-Man merchandise to take home to their kids. Confiscation as compensation. There are worse outcomes.
What’s Coming
I’ll be back later today with a proper breakdown of both Amazon MGM and Paramount — probably before the Disney presentation this afternoon — and then a full Disney piece tonight or tomorrow morning. My regular David Reads the Trades drops Friday, usually somewhere between 11:30 and 12:30 Pacific.
This is almost certainly the shortest entry in the history of this column. But I’m sitting here with nothing to do while people find their seats and the third floor balcony slowly fills in, so here we are. Have a great Thursday. I’ll see you at the movies.