Sony — the first major Hollywood studio to unveil its slate presentation at this year’s CineEurope convention in Barcelona — rewarded attendees w
Sony — the first major Hollywood studio to unveil its slate presentation at this year’s CineEurope convention in Barcelona — rewarded attendees with two sizeable chunks of upcoming films.
The first, Resident Evil, might seem a surprising choice — this is the eighth film in a zombie videogame-originated series that has stayed profitable while seemingly having little cultural impact beyond its committed fandom. The modern film is directed by Weapons’ Zach Cregger — creating the potential to place the franchise in a modern relationship with film audiences. The film’s title, Resident Evil, also signifies a fresh start.
Sony showed the first 18 minutes of Cregger’s film, which stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier who finds himself in a race for survival over the course of one night.
Sony’s presentation on day one of CineEurope (June 22-25) climaxed with the first 18 minutes of Spider-Man: Brand New Day — the fourth film in the series starring Tom Holland in the title role.
The trailer for the film, which launched earlier this month, achieved more than 1 billion views in seven days — the most-viewed content launch in history, reportedly.
Steven O’Dell, Sony’s president of international marketing and distribution, began the slate presentation not so much with a celebration of his own studio’s achievements, but one that captured and amplified the current buoyant mood. “What a difference a year makes,” he began, before going on to join the dots between recent successes Obsession, Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2.
“Different genres,” he continued. “Different audiences. Different paths to success. But they all point to the same conclusion. Audience passion matters.
“There was a time when a relatively miniature number of films, television shows and cultural moments reached almost everyone. Today, audiences have more choices than ever before. Attention has fragmented. Entertainment has fragmented.
“And yet something fascinating has happened. As audiences have become more diverse, communities have become more powerful. People gather around the stories, characters, worlds and creators they care about most.
“That’s what we’ve seen behind so many of the theatrical success stories this year. Not just audiences. Communities. Not just awareness. Passion. Not just consumers. Fans. Sony is betting on community and fanship.”
This is a theme that is likely to resonate throughout the four days of CineEurope, and was also front of centre in the earlier presentation by Angel Studios, known for its faith and values-based content and its community of fans that weigh in on feature film projects under consideration for green lightweight.
There are a record 11 studios presenting film slates at CineEurope this year. Angel and Sony were joined by Lionsgate yesterday. Today is the turn of Laika, Mubi, Amazon MGM Studios, Studiocanal and Warner Bros. To follow are Paramount, Disney and Universal.
Sony was not the only studio yesterday to offer the opening chunk of a film. Lionsgate ended its own slate presentation with the first 20 minutes of The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, adapted from Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel.
The story is set 24 years before the events of the first Hunger Games book and film, and offers on origin tale for Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original film quadrilogy. The Sunrise On The Reaping footage was introduced in person by a pair of Hunger Games franchise veterans, director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson. The film stars Joseph Zada as 16-year-old Haymitch, alongside established names such as Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, Kieran Culkin and Elle Fanning.
Sony slate
In addition to huge chunks of Resident Evil and the modern Spider-Man, Sony showed footage of seven other upcoming films.
With Jumanji: Open World, the assembled European exhibitors were reminded that Jumanji has become a Christmas tradition, and that the last two films in the series the series — 2017’s Welcome To The Jungle and 2019’s The Next Level — both grossed over $800m worldwide each. Sony showed footage from the modern film, which brings the avatar characters out of the game and into the human world.
Next came trailers for Aaron Sorkin’s sequel The Social Reckoning and Taika Waititi’s literary adaptation Klara And The Sun.
Producer/stars Dakota and Elle Fanning sent a video message to introduce their modern film The Nightingale, adapted from the Kristin Hannah bestseller, and set in German-occupied Second World War France. This film from director Michael Morris (Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy) will be the first to star the Fanning sisters together.
Insidious: Out Of The Further was showcased via a complete sequence. Press attending CineEurope are embargoed from describing any of the footage… but if Sony’s intention was to remind cinema operators that Backrooms did not invent films about liminal spaces, then the point landed.
This sixth Insidious film is produced by companies including Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster — respectively involved with Obsession and Backrooms, the two films that earned most name checks on day one of CineEurope.
Evil Dead Burn, the next instalment of the successful horror franchise, was showcased via an exclusive clip. France’s Sebastien Vanicek (2023 Venice premiere Infested) makes his Evil Dead debut as writer and director.
Rounding out the Sony presentation was footage from two more films leaning into fandoms — Grandgear and Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse. The former is the English language debut of Japan’s Takashi Yamakazi whose Godzilla Minus One won the visual effects Oscar in 2024. Grandgear has yet to start shooting —release is set for 2028 — so the teaser shown was evidently test footage.
Lionsgate slate
Fandoms and film communities were likewise evident in the films presented by Lionsgate. In addition to the modern Hunger Games prequel, presenter Helen Lee Kim, president of international motion picture group, introduced highlights of the 2027 slate including The Housemaid’s Secret (a filmed segment with director Paul Feig, producer Todd Lieberman and star Sydney Sweeney) and Untitled Blair Witch Project (with filmed contributions from producer James Wan and director Dylan Clark).
From the world of John Wick, Caine is directed by and stars Donnie Yen, playing the blind assassin introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Two films on the Lionsgate slate — one a prequel and one a sequel — lean into strongly established IP. The former is John Rambo starring Noah Centineo. The latter is The Resurrection Of The Christ, Mel Gibson’s belated follow-up to his 2004 blockbuster The Passion Of The Christ. A filmed segment with Gibson offered details on the biblical tale, which will be released in two parts on Ascension Day in May 2027 and May 2028.
CineEurope is the annual convention for the cinema industry jointly presented by Cinema Expo Group and UNIC, the International Union of Cinemas, and staged at Barcelona’s CCIB convention centre.
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