CinemaCon: Crunchyroll and Sony Presentations Open Tuesday Show

On Tuesday morning, CinemaCon continued its 2024 show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Crunchyroll and Sony were the first studios billed to show off their upcoming slates. On Monday night, Universal screened The Fall Guy to kick off the show. Later today, Warner Bros. is expected to deliver a star-studded presentation of their upcoming slate.

At 9:06am, a 70-years-of-Godzilla sizzle played. It went back to 1954 and included appearances as recent as Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong. “The journey of Godzillla is far from over,” a narrator declared. Hiro Matsuoka, President & CEO, Toho Company Ltd., takes the stage to highlight the success of Godzilla titles and thank the exhibitors in the audience for supporting those titles. He points out that Godzilla Minus One became a global success when Godzilla fans went to see it and encouraged others to go with them, all leading to the film winning an Oscar. He ultimately introduced a retrospective video, looking at the biggest films of 2023 to start CinemaCon. 

The video is set to “Dance The Night,” by Dua Lipa as the CinemaCon logo goes pink to honor Barbie. Animated version of Mario, Miles Morales, Oppenheimer, and more start the sizzle before footage takes of.Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I, Jihn Wick Chapter 4, Fast X, Creed III, The Meg 2, he Hunger Games – The Ballad of Songbirgs and Snakes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Super Mario Bros Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Elemental, Migration, Wish, Guardians of thee Galaxy Vol. 3, The Flash, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Five Nights at Freddy’s, The Nun 2, Oppenheimer, The Sound of Freedom, Napoleon, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, The Little Mermaid, Wonka, and Barbie plays.

NATO is working on a project called x which creates short documentary films, highlighting theaters and the people who operate them around the world. The six videos will play at CinemaCon and be available on the newly updated NATO website. The MPA notes that the box office lifted 20% in 2023 compared to 2022. Still, there is no denying the challenges facing theaters lately. The MPA then unveils a plan to work with Congress to develop a site blocking plan to combat digital piracy, which calls on Internet providers to block sites hosting stolen materials. 

At 10:28am, Sony Pictures began its presentation. It opens with a Crunchyroll sizzle, highlighting popular titles in anime. Crunchyroll’s Senior Vice President of Global Commerce, Mitchel Burger takes the stage to talk about the studio’s plans. “Anime is red hot right now,” Berger said. “Everyone else is catching up and realizing it is a cultural and economic force to be reckoned with.” Berger proceeds to explain what anime is to the crowd. “Anime is made for the big screen,” Berger declared. 

The presentation turns to the slate. Next is Haikyua!! The Dumpster Battle, arriving May 31. Next is Bluelock Episode Nagi, hitting theaters on June 28, playing a clip which is yet to be completely finished. Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom has been acquired by Crunchyroll and will be coming soon. The first trailer plays. It’s loaded with carnage, fire, and action. “The Sorcerer King is dead,” a voice declares, before dark clouds and sweep the kingdom. The final title being discussed is Crunchyroll’s next title, Spy x Family Code: White, which releases on April 19. The first ten minutes of the film, dubbed in English, plays to close out Crunchyroll’s CinemaCon show.