Hollywood A-listers bring sparkle to Amazon MGM Studios’ CinemaCon debut

In its maiden CinemaCon presentation, Amazon MGM Studios rolled into Las Vegas one week after the ouster of Jennifer Salke to deliver a show that was low on James Bond and high on A-list talent as executives promised to supply exhibitors with 15 features a year by 2027.

“It’s still early days for us and we have a ton of work to do,” said Mike Hopkins, the head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios who announced Salke’s departure. The executive said Amazon MGM Studios was ahead of schedule with a 14-strong 2026 slate that includes the Ryan Gosling sci-fi adventure Project Hail Mary, which judging from the footage that bookended the session is clearly the studio’s big tentpole hope for next year.

Head of theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson told attendees at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace that the studio was building an international distribution arm “to eventise films on a global scale”. A head of that division is yet to be announced, however the executive and his colleagues Courtenay Valenti, head of film, and Sue Kroll, head of global marketing, did not miss an opportunity throughout the presentation to reassure the exhibitor crowd that they are building a theatrical-first business with four-quadrant appeal.

And the audience was entertained, starting with a goofy on-stage segment with Gosling and co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller talking up the March 20 2026 release of Project Hail Mary. Gosling stars opposite Sandra Hüller as a brilliant science teacher tasked with saving Earth in the adaptation of Andy Weir’s (The Martian) novel.

Bond, where’s Bond?

Amy Pascal is among the producers on that film, and has just signed a first-look deal for her Pascal Pictures with the studio. As everyone in the film industry now knows, she has also been hired alongside David Heyman to produce the much-anticipated Bond 26 after Amazon MGM Studios closed a deal to gain creative oversight of the property, reportedly paying longtime Bond guardians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson $1bn. The Bond property came under Amazon’s roof when it acquired MGM three years ago. 

“We are committed to honouring the legacy of this iconic character, while bringing a fresh, exhilarating new chapter to audiences around the world alongside Amy and David,” said Valenti. There is currently no screenplay, lead actor or director to take the Bond franchise forward since No Time To Die came out in 2021. Referring to the producers, Valenti said: ”They are both in London getting started and couldn’t be here tonight, but we wanted to thank them for what we know will be an incredible partnership.”

Chris Pratt appeared on stage to talk up the sci-fi thriller Mercy from Timur Bekmambetov about a detective framed for a crime who is strapped into a chair and is given 90 minutes by an AI criminal justice system to exonerate himself. In a taxing stunt, Amazon MGM Studios put Pratt in the same chair on The Colosseum stage and gave him four minutes to give fulsome thanks to exhibition partners.

Luca Guadagnino, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri talked up October 10 release After The Hunt without the headline star Julia Roberts, and showed a teaser from the psychological thriller about a college professor whose dark secret comes to light when a student levels an accusation against her colleague.

Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Crime 101 director Bart Layton walked onto the stage to promote up the Los Angeles-set heist thriller from Working Title based on Don Winslow’s novella. Vivica A. Fox, Kara Young, and Mallori Johnson whipped up enthusiasm for Aleshea Harris’s directorial debut Is God Is, a revenge drama centred on two sisters that one of the actors described as a blend of “Greek tragedy, Afropunk and spaghetti Western.”

Ben Affleck and cast members from Gavin O’Connor’s recent SXSW Headliner audience award winner The Accountant 2 had fun on stage promoting the April 25 release.

Sheep, ‘Verity’, ‘Thomas Crown’ remake

There were recorded messages and footage from Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson for family whodunnit Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie, and Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett in Michael Showalter’s romantic mystery Verity. Michael B. Jordan teased his remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, which will mark the second time the 1968 United Artists romantic heist caper has been remade. 

Travis Knight, who founded and runs independent animation powerhouse Laika, enthused about his upcoming live-action Masters Of The Universe adaptation starring Nicholas Galitzine. Mahershala Ali also sent a taped message about Your Mother Your Mother Your, while en route to Georgia to begin filming, hours after he was on stage for Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth. Ali said the film centres on a hitman dealing with loss and contains action.

Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios head Hopkins said last week that in the wake of Salke’s departure after seven years her role would not be filled. It is understood that Salke, a television specialist who was previously NBC Entertainment president, was pushed out of the door after clashing with Broccoli and because the studio preferred an experienced film head like Valenti to build the feature pipeline.

The Amazon MGM slate appears below. Credits are not final.

2025

The Accountant 2
Dir. Gavin O’Connor
Crime mystery.
Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, J.K. Simmons
April 25, 2025

After The Hunt
Dir. Luca Guadagnino
Psychological drama.
Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny
October 10. Limited exclusive, New York/Los Angeles; moderate expansion October 17.

Sarah’s Oil
Dir. Cyrus Nowrasteh
Drama about one of the first female African American millionaires at age 11.
Zachary Levi, Naya Desir-Johnson
December 2025

Preparation For The Next Life (Orion Pictures)
Dir. Bing Liu
Drama about Uyghur immigrant in New York struggling to survive.
2025 TBC

2026

Mercy
Dir. Timur Bekmambetov
Sci-fi thriller.
Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson
January 23, 2026

Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie
Dir. Kyle Balda
Family mystery.
Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd,
Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson
February 20, 2026

Project Hail Mary
Dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Sci-fi adventure.
Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller
March 20, 2026

Verity
Dir. Michael Showalter
Romantic mystery adaptation of Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us) novel about ghostwriter whose assignment takes a dark turn.
Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Cordóva, Brady Wagner
May 15, 2026

Masters Of The Universe
Dir. Travis Knight
Action fantasy.
Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Charlotte Riley, with Jared Leto and Idris Elba
June 5, 2026

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank (Orion Pictures)
Dir. Frankie Shaw
Graphic novel mystery comedy adaptation about girl who goes to great lengths to keep her grandfather on the straight and narrow.
Liam Neeson, Talia Ryder, Whitney Peak, Jack Dylan Grazer, Spike Fearn, Jim Sturgess, George Basil, Sam Strike, Teresa Palmer.
2026 TBC

Crime 101
Dir. Bart Layton
Heist thriller.
Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Halle Berry
2026 TBC

The Thomas Crown Affair
Dir. Michael B. Jordan
Romantic crime caper.
Michael B. Jordan, Taylor Russell
2026 TBC

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Orion Pictures)
Dir. Bassam Tariq
Drama with action sequences about a hitman dealing with loss.
Mahershala Ali
2026 TBC

How To Rob A Bank
Dir. David Leitch
Action film.
2026 TBC

Is God Is (Orion Pictures)
Dir. Aleshea Harris
Revange saga about sisters on a quest who are forced to confront their family history.
Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross, with Vivica A. Fox and Sterling K. Brown
2026 TBC

The Roots Manœuvre (Orion Pictures)
Dir. Raine Allen-Miller
Comedy about wedding planner who organises heist to recover stolen artifact.
Plan B, DJ Films and BBC Film heist drama.
202

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