Universal Goes Big on Sequels, Spin-Offs, and Established Franchises
Sequels and spin-offs dominated most of the running time of Universal’s presentation at CinemaCon 2025, showcasing a slate that will surely be familiar to moviegoing audiences.
On the tentpole side, Universal bookended its presentation by showcasing two of the year’s most promising titles. Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Davies and stars Mahershala Ali and Scarlett Johansson took the stage at the event to unveil previously unseen footage from the new sequel. Their time on stage highlighted the script by David Koepp—screenwriter of the original Jurassic Park—which Johansson claims gives the film more of a horror/thriller element than prior sequels by ramping up the scares. The tonal shift will seek to mitigate declining grosses for the Jurassic World franchise since its relaunch in 2015. Regardless of the downward trend, the trio of Jurassic World titles from the last decade have each crossed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Rebirth is expected to be a major hit when it comes out over the July 4th weekend, the only question it faces is if it can sustain the franchise’s billion-dollar streak at the global box office.
Universal will release the second half of its hit musical, Wicked: For Good, in the Thanksgiving corridor. Stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were joined onstage at CinemaCon by director Jon M. Chu and Wicked creator Mark Platt. This marks the third consecutive CinemaCon where Wicked plays a central role in Universal’s presentation. This time, however, the principals promoting the film didn’t carry the pressure of needing to sell its financial viability on the heels of underperforming musicals at the box office. Wicked is a hit, there’s no need to speculate about it anymore. The third-highest-grossing film of 2024 in the domestic market, the second part will seek to match or exceed the $473 million Wicked grossed in North America. Universal revealed previously unseen footage of For Good at the event, alongside a striking poster design.
Horror sequels were a theme at the presentation as well, with Blumhouse producer Jason Blum entering the stage wearing a life-size animatronic bear costume from Five Nights at Freddy’s fame. It was an easy gag to promote Five Nights at Freddy’s Two, which is set to open in theaters on December 5. Blum didn’t shy away from addressing the life-size animatronic bear in the room by directly referencing the studio’s controversial distribution strategy of opening the original Five Nights film day-and-date on Peacock. A blockbuster $80 million opening weekend touted the streaming-and-theatrical debut as a success; but a brutal 76% drop in the title’s second weekend confirmed that the opening weekend did little more than push audiences to watch the film online in subsequent weeks. Blum didn’t mince words when it came to discussing release plans for the sequel: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will receive a theatrically-exclusive run upon release.
Other Blumhouse horror sequels featured at CinemaCon included early looks at footage from M3gan 2.0 (June 27), The Black Phone 2 (October 13), and M3gan spin-off Soulm8te (January 2, 2026). The most compelling title from the Blumhouse portion of the presentation happened to be the only original title showcase: the Jordan Peele-produced football-horror-thriller HIM (September 19).
Family fare was also prominently featured at the Universal presentation, with the studio’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon (June 13) following up its screening at the event with the announcement of a sequel scheduled for June 11, 2027. Other animated features announced for 2026 include a Super Mario Bros. sequel in April 2026, Minions 3 in July, and Shrek 5 in Christmas.
Coming up this year on the Universal family front are a pair of animated titles: The Bad Guys 2 (August 1) and Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, both of which showcased previously unseen footage.
Focus Features, Universal’s specialty distribution arm, showcased a trio of titles at the event. Wes Anderson’s The Phoenecian Scheme is scheduled to counterprogram against Memorial Day tentpoles like Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and will open directly against Sony’ Karate Kid: Legends. The positioning on the calendar will have it fighting for screens at the multiplex, but arthouses across the country will be more than happy to have their own tentpole in the early summer corridor. Older audiences will send off a beloved TV-to-film franchise with Downtown Abbey: The Grand Finale (September 12), while fans of Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos will be happy to welcome the filmmaker’s latest picture, Bugonia, on November 7.
Despite the prevalence of franchises across Universal’s presentation, the studio did mention two upcoming originals from legendary directors Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. Spielberg’s untitled film is scheduled for June 12, 2026. Nolan’s highly anticipated The Odyssey, described by Universal president of domestic distribution Jim Orr as “a once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece,” is set to open a month later, on July 17, 2026. — Daniel Loria
Angel Studios Sets its Sights on New Heights
In just two years, Angel Studios has disrupted traditional film distribution methods and industry norms, breaking box office records and becoming a top 10 distributor in the U.S. Their focus on creating authentic, powerful storytelling is expanding internationally, with Angel Studios now working with partners across the globe, including Kova Releasing, set to bring Angel stories to UK cinemas.
The studio empowers its audience through the Angel Guild, where guild members vote on the films to be made and help drive box office success. The community now boasts over 1 million active members, rapidly increasing from 31k in October 2023. Their upcoming projects include next weekend’s Easter-timed The King of Kings. Based on Charles Dickens’ account of the life of Jesus, the film marks the first animated, Biblical theatrical epic in over two decades.
Angel drove home their commitment to theatrical and willingness to partner with exhibitors, highlighting five titles on the 2025 slate. Following The King of Kings, Angel Studios will be back in theaters on May 23rd with The Last Rodeo. Frequent collaborator Neal McDonough returns as an aging cowboy seeking faith, courage, and redemption in the fight for his family. On August 6th, Sketch continues to push Angel Studios into other genres with the story of a girl’s comically dark drawings coming to life and wreaking havoc. October 17th will see the historical drama Truth & Treason, which centers on a teen rebelling against the Nazis with the power of truth and a typewriter.
While Angel has been delivering solid performers, tapping into a market of moviegoers that has, historically, been underserved theatrically, we’ve been waiting for what could become the next Sound of Freedom. The promising Zero A.D. from Sound Of Freedom director Alejandro Monteverde could fit the bill. Angel’s Manager Theatrical Film Sales Shelley Schulz described it as, “the next evolution of Angel Studios.” The historical Biblical epic arrives December 19th and stars Deva Cassel, Sam Worthington and Ben Mendlesohn, with Gael García Bernal and Jim Caviezel.
Angel also revealed three title cards for the 2026 slate, including Fablehaven, an adaptation of the New York Times’ best-selling fantasy series; Young Washington, a founding father biopic timed to the Nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4th 2026; and Fellowship, which delves into the famed friendship between the fantasy writers and theologians C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. — Chad Kennerk
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