CinemaCon: Warner Bros. Big Picture Presentation Recap

The Warner Brothers panel at CinemaCon kicked off with a sizzle reel of 2016’s successful films and a preview of upcoming movies.

Sue Kroll took the stage to begin the panel. She thanked the theater owners for the efforts and Smith Neuhauser for CinemaCon. 2016 saw a 33% increase at the box office for Warner Brothers by comparison to 2015.

“Where there is demand, somebody is going to step in and fill that void,” Kroll said, highlighting Warner Bros. efforts in being innovative and creative, to “move toward a future that will be beneficial and profitable for all of us.” She says she is excited about the IMAX Justice League VR which is coming up.

While speaking, Kroll shared Warner Brothers’ DC properties alone brought in $1.6 billion last year — Batman v. Superman being the big-hitter nabbing $873 million globablly while David Ayer’s Suicide Squad grossed $746 million worldwild.

Kroll points out that Harry Potter is still the top-grossing franchise of all time for the studio with Fantastic Beats raking in more than $813 million globally. Internationally, the studio has had several regional hits, including Death Note serving as the second biggest release in Japan in 2016.

The first film being showcased will be Wonder Woman. They’re going to show never before scene sequences from the film. There will be a sneak peak of Aquaman, as well.

Maria Menounos takes the stage to host the presentation. She turns it over to Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, stressing how real the setting of the movie is.

“Their backs to the water, home only 26 impossible miles away, they were faced with the choice of surrender and annihilation,” Nolan said. “The fact that the story ends in neither surrender nor annihilation is the reason I believe Dunkirk to be one of the greatest stories in human history.”

“It’s a huge story and encompasses various different aspects. At its heart, rather than a survival film, it’s a war story,” Nolan said. “I wanted to tell the story in the most visceral way possible. I wanted to put the audience on that beach.” He highlights the fact that the cast is a combination of newcomers and well-established faces — such as actor Tom Hardy — and footage of the movie begins to roll.

Once the footage for Dunknirk ends, they begin showing footage from David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle:Creation.

“Annabelle:Creation is a much bigger movie.We will really go all out in making you uncomfortable and scared,” Sandberg explained as the footage continues to roll.Sandberg went on to say the goal is to keep it real.

Expanding on today’s teaser trailer of It, additional footage of the much-anticipated reboot of Stephen King’s novel.

The Annabelle sequel is slated to hit the silver screen on August 11, 2017 while It will be released on September 8.

Next up is Unforgettable, which stars Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson and isdirected by Denise Di Novi. The three take the stage. They introduce footage from their upcoming suspense thriller. It is followed by Everything, Every Thing and its trailer, then Bastards — which stars Ed Helms. A clip from the comedy is introduced. Then it’s The House. Amy Pohler and Will Ferrell sent a message, emphasizing how important it is to watch The House in theaters. A trailer for the film follows.

Charlie Hunnam takes the stage to discuss King Arthur.

“You meet Arthur in the story, he’s from the back alleys of Lindon, serving through his cunning and his fists.” He doesn’t know that he is to be the King. “It’s a little bit cheeky. It’s a little bit naughty. And it’s a lot of fun.” Footage follows.

Next is the suspense thriller Geostorm. Footage plays.

Denis Villeneuve takes the stage with Jared Leto and De Armas to talk about Blade Runner 2049.

“Blade Runner is a very special movie,” Leto said. “There are very few films in my life that has struck me as deep as the original Blade Runner. This is an incredible group of people.”

“There are very few films that come together like this. I consider one of the greats honors of my life to be a part of this film and to work with these people.”

“I can truly say this movie was 35 years in the making,” De Armas said.

“I was truly honored to take the baton for Ridley,” Villeneuve said. “It was by far the most intense and exciting cinematic experience of my life.”

They introduce a behind the scenes look at the making of the film.

Footage: Gosling puts a quarter in a machine and creates a hologram/ He explores a very yellow, abandoned casino. Finding a piano, he plays a key before Ford emerges with a gun. Gosling has questions. “The story, the themes, the stunning visual elements, it was a pleasure getting back to the world of Blade Runner again,” Ford said. A clip shows him being flown “home.” Ridley Scott says he could never imagine how iconic his original film would be. Clips include “I think Blade Runner 2049 is a testament to the original movie and the characters that were created.” His name is revealed to be “Wallace” in the film. Footage shows the production crew working on the film which has insane lighting patterns and set pieces. “We’re marrying the familiar with the slight divergent,” the art dictator said. Gosling hears he is special. He looks at a book as he is told his story isn’t over. He flies through the world as vibrant colors flash off of his screen. He sees the white bodies in glass cases. Evenness find Gosling at Ford’s estate. Later, he is locked away, staring at a small wooden horse. “This is impossible,” he said.

LEGO films are next, focusing on The LEGO Ninjago Movie, starting with a sizzle reel of the already released properties. LEGO Batman kicks it off, glad to honor himself at CinemaCon. A clip of Ninjago follows it. Garmadon terrorizes the city of Ninjago. Lloyd talks to his mom about his terrifying dad and questions if he was an evil warlord when she met him. Romantic music kicks in as she describes their meeting in an office. She doesn’t regret it though, because she got Lloyd out of it. Lloyd and Garmadon have a show down. Jackie Chan is voicing one of the characters.

Dave Franco and Justin Theroux take the stage. “It was so cool to play a ninja alongside the master Jackie Chan,” Franco said.

Suddenly, a DC logo takes over the screen. Jason Momoa takes the stage.

“I’m here for Justice League which is kind of the greatest movie in the world,” Momoa said. “I’m leaving literally tonight to go to Australia to shoot Aquaman. I have an amazing James Wan, who I’m excited to get down there be with him.”

A trailer cut by Aquaman director James Wan consisting of conceptual art rolls.Then it’s on to the Amazon.

Gal Gadot sends a message to introduce Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins. They introduce never before seen footage of Wonder Woman before moving on to the creme de la creme — Justice League. Additional JL footage rolls with some footage not seen in the previous two trailers.

Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Momoa take the stage.

“Justice League is the culmination of a journey that’s been, for me, seven years,” Snyder said prior to thanking everyone for coming out and concluding the panel.