Universal Pictures shows scenes from “Wicked” and announces “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”

LAS VEGAS (AP) — After a big 2023, in which they won best picture and topped the box office, Universal Pictures is looking to the future. The studio’s upcoming releases include the big-screen adaptation of “Wicked,” “Twisters” and the recently announced sequel to “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

Universal brought some of the stars of its biggest films, including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Glen Powell, Lupita Nyong’o, Daisy Edgar Jones and Anthony Ramos to CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Wednesday to excite the audience of theater owners and exhibitors for what is to come.

“This whole experience is absolutely impossible to put into words,” said Grande, who along with Erivo debuted some new footage from their film scheduled for release on Thanksgiving Day in late November.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo presenting “WICKED” to the entire CinemaCon audience:pic.twitter.com/0ookDOZMOl

—Ariana Grande Spain?? (@AGrandeSP) April 11, 2024

Goldblum was also on hand to talk about “Wicked,” in which he plays the man behind the curtain.

“I’ve been chased by dinosaurs, I’ve flown into the belly of a huge spaceship… I’ve turned into a fly,” Goldblum said. “But I’ve never been a part of the particular flavor or magic that is this movie. … The whole experience has been dreamy.”

The first part of “Wicked” hits theaters on November 25, and the second at the end of 2025, also for Thanksgiving Day. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the film stars Erivo as the green-skinned witch Elphaba and Grande as the popular Glinda. Yeoh plays the principal of her school and, the studio recently announced, Peter Dinklage will play Dr. Dillamond, a goat and history teacher.

Producer Marc Platt has been on the “Wicked” journey for 25 years, ever since he first read the novel.

“I always intended ‘Wicked’ to be a movie,” he said.

It was Stephen Schwartz who convinced him that he needed music and to go to Broadway first. The stage production also made a great impression on the film’s future director, who gained a reverence for theatrical spectacle and a vision of the greatness he would have in film.

“We dreamed very, very, very big for ‘Wicked,'” Chu said.

“Twisters” star Powell debuted some intense new images from the film, which hits theaters on July 19. The film, a companion to Jan de Bont’s 1996 blockbuster, was directed by “Minari” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung and produced by Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg, who Chung said is a “tornado fan.” .

“We really tried to make this movie as immersive and real as possible,” Chung said. “This is meant to be a joyous and fun journey.”

Universal was the highest-grossing studio in 2023 thanks to giants like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Oppenheimer,” which accounted for more than $2.3 billion in ticket sales alone. , and other hits such as “M3GAN”, “Cocaine Bear”, “Fast of its release date in October. In total, Universal earned almost $5 billion from ticket sales. It’s the first time Universal has topped the charts since 2015, before Disney dominated first place for nearly a decade.

“Audiences are sending us a very clear message: They’ve shot up a bright green flare telling us they’re ready for something new,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s distribution chief.

Furthermore, he added: “We release more movies in theaters than any other studio.”

Universal also plans to release more than 20 films in 2024, for the third consecutive year it would be the studio with the largest number of films, covering all genres and including original titles and franchises.

Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, talked about the upcoming “Despicable Me 4” for July 3 and a new Mario movie in development for 2026, but also said his “commitment to producing original animated films remains strong.” Their original “Migration,” released in late 2023, became a low-key hit that earned nearly $300 million worldwide.

Universal also has offers from DreamWorks Animation, which recently released “Kung Fu Panda 4” and has “The Wild Robot” scheduled for September, from “Lilo & Stitch” filmmaker Chris Sanders, based on the children’s book by Peter Brown and featuring the Nyong’o voice.

“If you haven’t read it, please do yourself a favor and do it because it’s wonderful,” Nyong’o said.

At the other end of the ratings spectrum, horror movies are also a key component of the mix as one of the most consistent box office genres in recent history. Coming up, the studio has “Wolf Man,” with Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott, arriving in January, “Speak No Evil,” a remake of a Danish horror film with James McAvoy scheduled for September 13 (a Friday). , and then “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” in fall 2025.

Focus Features, the independent arm of Universal, which released films such as “Asteroid City” and “The Holdovers” last year, also advanced its slate that includes Sam Taylor’s Amy Winehouse biopic. Johnson’s “Back to Black” (May 17), Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” (June 21), Edward Berger’s Machiavellian papal thriller “Conclave” (Nov. 8) and Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” (November 25). December).

“This is definitely not your father’s ‘Nosferatu,'” said Focus president Peter Kujawski.

Donna Langley, president of NBC Universal Studio Group, took the stage to thank the exhibitors in the room. She noted that it would have been easy to rest on her laurels after her senior year.

But, Langley said, “we believe that our best year should always be in front of us and our best projects always in progress.”