LAS VEGAS – Sony Pictures ended with a bang after kicking off CinemaCon 2025. Not only did they reveal the new title of the fourth Tom Holland Spidey flick, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and introduce the cast of Sam Mendes’ ambitious four-part “The Beatles” movie event, but they had other news items to break as well. The biggest being that the long-delayed “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” the third installment of the Oscar-winning Sony Pictures Animation series, will arrive in theaters on July 24, 2027.
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For those who may have lost track of time, that means it will have been four years since the previous chapter, “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse,” arrived in theaters. Producer Phil Lord and directors Bob Persichetti and Justink K. Thompson were all on hand to explain the long process of making these dynamically designed animated features. They also screened a teaser, which, frankly, it was impossible to tell if there was new footage in the teaser, but a source at Sony Pictures confirms there was (as well as five new images released, two of which you can find in this story).

The rest of the previews were intriguing enough, but perhaps Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman and President of Sony Pictures Releasing Adam Bergerman‘s comments deserve the most attention. Rothman, who has stood by the theatrical window since the end of the pandemic when many of his peers made deals to shorten them, spoke about “costs and windows” that can “work for us or against us” (the collective us being the studios and theater owners). He also noted how often the highest grosses of the week are on Tuesdays (discount day in North America). He made the subtle suggestion that maybe if theater owners lowered ticket prices on Mondays and Wednesdays, grosses would also increase (art house theaters might disagree, but it’s an intriguing prospect).
Bergman was left to remind everyone in the room of a recent survey that reported one out of three respondents believe they can now watch a new movie at home in less than a month. Clearly, that mindset hurts all theatrical releases and is a reason for movie fans not to head to their local multiplex. These callouts were somewhat preaching to the converted. Theater owners would love for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and several mini-majors to return to shortened windows. Whether there is a large enough incentive for them to do so remains to be seen, but it doesn’t hurt for one of the majors to make it a needed talking point.
Some quick thoughts on the filmmakers and their projects who took the stage.
*”28 Years Later”Danny Boyle was on hand to show a new trailer and crack jokes about how many of his cast members should have been cast as James Bond. As for the movie, the more we see of this highly anticipated sequel, the more familiar it looks to a long line of zombie apocalypse films and series that have come down the pike since “28 Days Later” premiered way back in 2002. It also looks visually… dull? It was also slightly awkward that Boye was publicly pleading for Rothman to finance the third movie before the second hit theaters in June. We did love that Nia Dacosta showed up to show some stills from the second chapter, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” even though she can’t show footage until after the next movie is shown to audiences.
*”Caught Stealing”1. Darren Aronofsky still seems annoyed this was the first time a studio had ever invited him to CinemaCon or its predecessor, ShoWest. We did like his sweater, though. 2. The preview proved that “Stealing” is hands down the most commercial movie Aronosfky has ever made, and we’re not mad at it. Think Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and you’ll get the vibe. 3. The trailer features numerous shots of Austin Butler in nothing but ’90s Calvin Klein boxer briefs. Again, not mad at it. 4. Matt Smith with a punk-inspired mohawk (dated in this pre-2000 era) is very inspired casting.
*”A Big Beautiful Journey”The first trailer for Kogonada’s latest – from an original script by Seth Reiss – gives a romantic “What Dreams May Come” vibe. Fantasy and time travel elements with a romance between Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell at the center of it. The release date scares the hell out of us (a usual dump date for TIFF premieres that sort of work but sort of don’t), but maybe Sony’s distribution team sees something we don’t. Also, when was the last time Robbie wasn’t involved in one of her projects as a producer? Odd.
*”Karate Kid Legends”Listen, we’re just happy Jackie Chan can still pull off some stunts, let alone walk without a limp at 70. If “Cobra Kai” can last six seasons – four on Netflix, no less – this can make some coin for the bean counters in Culver City.
Oh, and Tyree Dillihay, the director of next year’s animated “GOAT,” faked out the audience that Steph Curry was going to walk on stage when, in reality, he just sent a video message. It was not cute.
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