Universal Pictures and its Focus Features division are the next Hollywood studios to give their presentations at CinemaCon 2024. Warner Bros. and Lionsgate have brought some headline-breaking reveals to the convention thus far. The official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), CinemaCon has become one of the top news events for moviegoers since it debuted in 2011. Every year, studios, distributors, exhibitors, industry professionals, and more unite at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to celebrate the communal theatrical experience and discuss what’s coming in the future. This year, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, and more are presenting their upcoming slate of theatrical releases to theater owners at CinemaCon 2024, and Universal/Focus Features are up next.
CinemaCon 2024 is not open to the public, but fear not because DiscussingFilm is on the ground this year reporting the biggest announcements and reveals. From Universal, fans can expect news related to upcoming releases like The Wild Robot, Despicable Me 4, Twisters, and Wicked. Last Year, Universal gave CinemaCon attendees the exclusive first looks at The Fall Guy, Fast X, and Kung Fu Panda 4. When it comes to Focus Features, this year The Bikeriders and Nosferatu are their two biggest heavy hitters. Last year’s CinemaCon is where Focus Features debuted the first footage from recent Oscar nominee The Holdovers.
Exclusive footage and first-look reveals from CinemaCon are never released to the public, so that’s where we come in. Aside from listing huge updates, we’ll also describe all exclusive footage shown to CinemaCon 2024 attendees. Stay tuned as we cover all the announcements and reveals from Universal Pictures and Focus Features CinemaCon 2024 presentation, and make sure to stay tuned as we report the presentations from Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures in the upcoming days.
Universal Pictures Updates from CinemaCon 2024
New Universal Pictures films confirmed at CinemaCon 2024
- Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel coming in the Fall of 2025.
Twisters
Release Date: July 19, 2024.
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
Universal debuted new footage for the legacy sequel Twisters at CinemaCon 2024. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos each play storm chasers who are trying to figure out how to prevent more damage from happening during an extreme Oklahoma storm season in their own different ways. Daisy’s character is a former storm chaser who is seekd out by Anthony Ramos’ scientist character who has an entire team of scientists at his disposal. Glen comes a more urban and DYI storm-chasing crew who does things his own way.
The team’s plan is to combine their practical and impractical methods to a disrupt a tornado from the inside. However, when they try to act out their plan they face twin tornados who combine to make the biggest one they have ever seen. Total destruction is shown on screen, from trucks flying straight through buildings and entire towns being blown apart to pieces. The footage ends with a massive tornado hitting a industrial plant, where it looks like its oil and flames combining to make a massive fire storm unlike anything we have seen in mother nature.
Despicable Me 4
Release Date: July 3, 2024.
Directed by Chris Renaud.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
Universal Pictures showed an entire scene from Illumination’s highly anticipated sequel Despicable Me 4 at CinemaCon 2024. Steve Carell’s Gru now has a baby son named Gru Jr. The scene CinemaCon attendees got to see featured Gru Jr. and a new young character voiced by Joey King named Poppy, who is described as an aspiring villain. Gru is acting like a mentor to Poppy, breaking into a giant medieval castle for a heist with her by his side. The only problem is that the minions are with them on this mission acting like the worst babysitters you could imagine for Gru Jr. The young Poppy is a mega fan of many of the famous villains of this franchise, but her excitement seems to get the best of her.
Because the minions lost all of Gru’s high-tech equipment, the team has to hilariously pull of this heist using only a bag of baby supplies, like diapers and baby powder. Their target is a rabid honey badger who they are stealing from another villain who’s an old lady with a rocket wheelchair. Things go wrong when the crazy badger gets loose but Gru Jr. is able to tame it with his innocent charm. The team barely escapes with the precious badger. Gru Jr. somehow proves to be the most valuable member of the team, which in true Depicble Me fashion comes with absurd hijinks and endless gags.
The Wild Robot
Release Date: September 20, 2024
Directed by Chris Sanders.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
CinemaCon got to see exclusive footage from DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot. Lupita Nyong’o voices the titular inquisitive robot named Roz, who is seen crash-landing on a remote island full of rich forests. The lonely robot seeks to fulfill its programming by aiding human life, but there are no humans to be found. Instead, the islands’ various talking animals come to meet the robot, which disrupts its functions since it is not programmed to interact with animals. We meet a talking Fox voiced by Pedro Pascal, who tries to guide the robot and introduce it to the rest of the critters, which includes bears, possums, deer, and geese.
The story takes a wild turn when Roz stumbles upon a goose egg. The hatchling imprints on the robot, embarking them on a journey as robot mother and Gosling child. We see Roz try to teach the little Gosling how to swim and fly across time until it grows into a young Goose. The footage takes another turn when Roz accidentally discovers another robot of her kind, but it looks like its crash-landed on the islands years ago and is powered down. When Roz powers it back up, it clashes with Roz as it claims that its newfound feelings for the islands’ animals are wrong and against its programming. The visuals of The Wild Robot are beyond imaginative and its heartfelt story is looking to be a real tear-jerker.
Wolfman
Release Date: January 17, 2025
Directed by Leigh Whannell.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
CinemaCon got the very first look at Leigh Whannel’s Wolfman, which is still in the earliest days of shooting. Christopher Abbott plays a troubled father who is trying to protect his young daughter in a remote cabin in the woods. Ozark‘s Julia Garner seems to be playing the mother role, as no other characters are shown besides these three. Abbott is extremely paranoid about a danger that seems to be stalking his family from outside of their home. It’s teased that it’s some kind of large dog, which Abbott is eventually bit by on the arm.
As Christopher Abbott starts to slowly transform for the first time out of the frame, Julia Garner’s mother character grabs her daughter away slowly in fear. There’s a real sense of irony as Abbott is now becoming the very threat he is trying to protect his daughter from. It’s implied that this story then takes a turn as mother and daughter vs father. This is a totally modernized take on Universal’s classic Wolfman tale, and even though CinemaCon didn’t get to see the creature, it is teased via a shadow that it could be more in line with the traditional design of the Wolfman walking upright.
Wicked
Release Date: November 27, 2024.
Directed by Jon M. Chu.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
CinemaCon attendees got an extended look at Jon M. Chu’s Wicked. The footage begins with the voice of Ariana Grande’s Glinda, “Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? with a few of the same establishing shots of Oz, Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba from the first trailer. This time we get a first look at Michelle Yeoh’s headmaster Madame Morrible assigning Elphaba to be roommates with Glinda at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. The iconic song ‘Popular’ begins to play in the background. There’s also a quick look at Doctor Dillamond, a CGI goat in fancy attire voiced by Peter Dinklage, instructing a class.
There are more University scenes with Elphaba and Glinda combat training. Glinda gives Elphaba a makeover. In a scene with Bowen Yang’s Pfannee, he makes a comment about a black witch hat that he finds in Glinda’s stuff. She says it used to be her Grannie’s and she’d only give it to someone she hates. Elphaba enters the room and she offers it to her. We then get the first shot of Elphaba putting on the iconic hat in the middle of the ballroom. Elphaba receives a letter to meet the wizard in Emerald City since she proves to have the most potential with her magic skills. As Elphaba hops on a train, she begs Glinda to join her and she doesn’t hesitate to join her and jump on the train.
There’s a glimpse of Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard of Oz and the CGI purple flying monkeys. Elphaba says to the wizard, “You have no real power.” To which he replies, “That’s why I need you.” We then cut to her running away from the Wizard. ‘Defying Gravity’ begins to play in the background. We see Glinda in her pink dress inside a large bubble. Madame Morrible declares Elphaba the enemy. We see a giant nasty poster of Elphaba, depicting her with evil eyes and sharp teeth, being revealed in front of a large crowd with a large burning wooden statue of the wicked witch in the middle of a city square. Elphaba is then given her witches’ broom for the first time. Finally, Glinda and Elphaba are at a large open window. As Elphaba escapes on her broomstick she states, “It’s the Wizard who should be afraid of me.”
Focus Features Updates from CinemaCon 2024
Nosferatu
Release Date: December 25, 2024.
Directed by Robert Eggers.
Exclusive Footage Description from CinemaCon 2024:
CinemaCon got to see the very first trailer for Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, a bold new reimagining of the classic horror tale. The trailer opens with Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter saying, “Come to me, hear my call,” right before a hand reaches out to grab her. She goes on to say, “Evil comes from beyond,” and tells Willem Dafoe’s Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, sporting a giant white beard, that “he is coming to us” while laying in a hospital bed plagued by some kind of sickness. We then cut to atmospheric shots of 19th century Germany, quick glimpses of a Gothic castle, a horrifying cemetery, the local city, and its many citizens carrying around coffins.Throughout all of this, we see Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas Hutter running away from some kind of danger.
The real money shot of the trailer is the image of Nosferatu’s crooked hand going over the town as a gigantic shadow and covering it in darkness, only to then cut to Anna Harding with blood all over her face. Willem Dafoe’s character, chewing up the scenery like a madman, starts rallying up townsfolk to face a dark evil. He’s then seen surrounded by thousands of (real) rats in an old mausoleum. “We are here encountering the… vampire,” Dafoe says before opening up an ancient coffin. We see a side profile of Nosferatu’s iconic hook nose but don’t get to see Bill Skarsgård’s face. This is followed by a visual of his dark and imposing silhouette floating down a giant hallway. The trailer ends with Dafoe’s character seemingly coming face to face with this creature when he chillingly says, “Nosferatu.”
