CinemaCon Analysis
The important part about this part of the year when it comes to the film slate is starting to modify one’s expectations of what is expected to be released in the future and, in some instances, what to truly expect from these said films. Oftentimes, studios prioritize the projects the executives think will go the distance and create noise financially or culturally.
This was evident in panels such as the one conducted by Warner Bros, where Paul Thomas Anderson’s film One Battle After Another had a five-minute preview that was shown exclusively to those in attendance, and Joseph Kosinski’s F1 had a significant preview. Whether or not either of these films ends up resonating with the public or awards voters remains to be seen. Despite being pushed to March 2026, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride still had a spotlight presence and sounds promising.
Universal Studios made it very clear that Jon M. Chu’s Wicked For Good will be a major event, and judging by the reactions from what was shown at the panel; it seems we have a pretty ambitious and epic second act to this well-known Broadway musical.
Focus Features was probably the most interesting slate, both because of what was prioritized (Lanthimos’ next film, Bugonia, might be a bigger contender than I initially thought) and because of the absence of Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, which makes us wonder its fate or if it is even releasing this year.
Paramount Pictures, in addition to spotlighting some of their populist films such as Mission Impossible, also showed a quick look at Derek Cianfrance’s (co-writer of Darius Marder’s Sound Of Metal) Roofman, slated for an October release. Interestingly enough, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael was not shown, and reports suggest that the project might not only be delayed this year but split into two parts to cover the entire story.
The Amazon/MGM panel’s biggest story was the focus on Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt. Many emphasized the propulsive trailer, which suggests a powerful Julia Roberts performance. The film is slated for release this fall.
In addition to showing off some of their animated slate, Walt Disney Studio’s panel revealed that Scott Cooper’s Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen, is slated for 2025. Is this the music biopic that will go the distance in the Oscar race? That remains to be seen. Jay Roach’s The Roses, a remake of Danny Devito’s A War with the Roses, was also reinforced at the panel. Whether or not this film becomes a major contender remains to be seen.
Though Neon did not have a panel, Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck was given some special treatment and coverage, a sign this film might be the real deal.
First shot at a bonafide top ten/top five in some Oscar categories
I know this is probably reactionary to the panels. Still, I felt it was in the right interest to really sort of nail down what the top four (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress) might be in my eyes after seeing what the major distributors are pushing, with some added hypotheticals as Cannes will be announcing soon, etc.
Best Picture
- One Battle After Another (Warner Bros)
- Marty Supreme (A24)
- Sentimental Value (Neon)
- Ann Lee (No distributor but neither did The Brutalist at this moment, which was directed by Mona Fastvold’s husband)
- Wicked For Good (Universal)
- Jay Kelly (Netflix)
- The Life of Chuck (Neon)
- Bugonia (Focus Features)
- The History of Sound (Mubi)
- Looking Into The Sun (No distributor, and was originally known as The Doctor Says I’ll be Alright but I’m Feeling Blue. My major swing and is headed to Cannes)
Alts: After The Hunt (MGM), and Roofman (Paramount), F1 (Warner Bros), among others.
Best Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
- Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
- Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
- Mona Fastvold, Ann lee
- Mascha Schilinski, Looking into the Sun (International Cannes pick)
Alts: Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia & Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly
Best Actor
- Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
- Leonardo Dicaprio, One Battle After Another
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Anemone
- Paul Mescal, The History of Sound
- Jeremy Allen White, Deliver Me From Nowhere
Alts: Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine & Colin Farrell, The Ballad of a Small Player
Best Actress
- Amanda Seyfried, Ann Lee
- June Squibb, Eleanor the Great
- Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
- Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
- Cynthia Erivo, Wicked For Good
Alts: Emma Stone Bugonia & Tessa Thompson, Hedda
It’s somewhat redundant, but CinemaCon really was the first puzzle piece in even potentially narrowing the field, but this is all speculation.
Cannes preview
It’s very hard to make formal Cannes predictions, so let’s take a look at what our friend Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel is predicting. His full article and website can be found here
Down below are his top 30 to keep an eye on if he had to say.
Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsay)
Alpha (Julia Ducournau)
Father Mother Sister Brother (Jim Jarmusch)
Eddington (Ari Aster)
The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)
Untitled (Jafar Panahi)
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)
Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoca Filho)
The Young Mother’s Home (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
Yes! (Nadav Lapid)
Disappearance (Kirill Serebrenikkov)
Miroirs No. 3 (Christian Petzold)
L’interet D’Adam (Laura Wandel)
Looking into the Sun (Mascha Schilinski)
Sirat (Oliver Laxe)
Private Life (Rebecca Zlotowski)
Une Affaire (Arnaud Desplechin)
The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee)
Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
Two Prosecutors (Sergei Loznitsa)
Fuori (Mario Martone)
Tu ne fera point d’image (Kaouther Ben Hania)
The Love That Remains (Hlynur Pálmason)
Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)
Resurrection (Bi Gan)
Woman And Child (Saeed Roustaee)
Rose (Markus Schleinzer)
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
It’s a big festival to watch, and this Thursday, we will know much more about what this year has in store, especially internationally. Ruimy might put out a final prediction piece as this was released one week ago, so keep an eye out for that, too, among other predictions.
Other Industry Tidbits
- Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine is slated for an October release date, signifying a very possible Film Festival run
- Nia DaCosta’s Hedda has been slated for a release in the fall of this year
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