LAS VEGAS (AP) — With a big 2023 dust-up, Best Picture wins And Top at the box officeUniversal Pictures is looking to the future. The studio’s upcoming releases include the big-screen adaptation of “Wicked,” “Twisters” and the newly announced sequel to “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
Universal brought some of its biggest movie stars, including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Ario, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Powell, Lupita Nyong’o, Daisy Edgar Jones and Anthony Ramos to CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Wednesday. To get an audience. Theater owners and exhibitors are also excited about it.
“The whole experience is just impossible to put into words,” said Grande, who introduced some new footage from the Thanksgiving release with Erivo.
Goldblum was also on hand to talk about “Wicked,” in which he plays the man behind the curtain.
“I’ve been chased by dinosaurs, I’ve flown into the belly of a huge spaceship … I’ve seen a bee,” Goldblum said. “But I’ve never been a part of the specific flavor or magic of that film. … The whole experience was dreamy.
The first part of “Wicked” will hit theaters on Nov. 25, with the second part coming in 2025, also on Thanksgiving. Directed by Jon M. Cho, Arevo plays the green-skinned Elphaba and Grande plays the popular Glinda. Yeoh plays the headmistress at their school, and, the studio recently announced, Peter Dinklage will be Dr. Delamond, a history professor and goatee.
Producer Mark Platt has been on the “Wicked” journey for 25 years, ever since he first read the novel.
“I always intended to make ‘Wicked’ a movie,” he said.
It was Stephen Schwartz who convinced him that he needed music. First to go to Broadway. The theater production also had a major influence on the film’s future director, bringing both a respect for the stage show and a vision of big-screen grandeur.
“We dreamed very, very, very big for ‘Wicked,'” Cho said.
“Twisters” star Powell debuted some intense new footage from “Twisters,” which hits theaters July 19. The film, a companion to the 1996 John de Bont blockbuster, was directed by “Minari” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung and produced by Frank Marshall. and Steven Spielberg, who Chung said is “obsessed with the storm.”
“We really tried to make this movie as immersive and real as possible,” Chung said. “It’s meant to be a fun, fun ride.”
Universal was the top-grossing studio in 2023 thanks to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and ” Oppenheimer, which contributed more than $2.3 billion in ticket sales alone, and other hits such as “M3GAN,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Fast X” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” the video game adaptation that became a worldwide hit. I earned more than $295 million day and date of release. All told, Universal earned nearly $5 billion in ticket sales. It’s the first time Universal has topped the chart since 2015, before Disney held the top spot for nearly a decade.
“Audiences are sending us a very clear message: They’ve put out a bright green flame that tells us they’re ready to do something new,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s head of distribution.
Also, he added, “We released more films in theaters than any other studio.”
Universal plans to release more than 20 films in theaters in 2024, more than any other studio for the third year in a row, spanning all genres and including original titles and franchises.
Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri talked about the upcoming “Despicable Me 4” (July 3) and a new Mario movie slated for 2026, but also said his “commitment to making original animated films Persistence.” His original “Migration,” released in late 2023, became a slow-moving hit, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide.
Universal also has offers from DreamWorks Animation, which recently released “Kung Fu Panda 4” and has “The Wild Robot” set for September, directed by “Lilo and Stitch” filmmaker Chris Sanders. by and is based on the children’s book by Peter Brown and features Nyong’o’s. the sound
“If you haven’t read it, please do yourself a favor and do it because it’s great,” Nyong’o said.
At the other end of the ratings spectrum, horror films are also an important component of the mix as one of the most consistent box office genres in recent history. Coming up, the studio has “Wolfman” with Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott, coming in January, “Speak No Evil”, a Danish horror remake with James McAvoy set for September 13 (a Friday). is gone, and then “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in the fall of 2025.”
Focus Features, Universal’s independent arm, which produced films like “Asteroid City” and “The Holdovers” last year, also revised its slate to include Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black.” (May 17), featuring Jeff Nichols. ‘ “The Bikeriders” (June 21), Edward Berger’s Machiavellian papal thriller “Conclave” (Nov. 8) and Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” (Dec. 25).
“This is definitely not your father’s ‘Nosferatu,'” said Peter Kojawski, chairman of Focus.
NBC Universal Studios Group Chairman Donna Langley took the stage to thank the exhibitors in the room. He noted that it would have been easy for Mike to leave after his last year.
But, Langley said, “We believe our best year should always be ahead of us and our best plans are always in the pipeline.”
Credit : apnews.com
