Disney Brings Superheroes, Springsteen and 3D ‘Avatar’ to CinemaCon

For years, Andrew Cripps was known at CinemaCon for showing up at Warner Bros.’ presentations in all sorts of costumes. This year, he showed up in a much different role: as Disney’s new head of theatrical distribution.

Cripps took over the position from Tony Chambers, who now serves as Disney’s president of EMEA, at a time when Disney’s successful 2024 gave way to a 2025 start in which “Captain America: Brave New World” had to fight just to reach break-even territory while “Snow White” has fallen to the ignominious status of the biggest flop in Disney’s remake series.

Fortunately for the studio, the rest of the year’s slate is looking much brighter, and Cripps noted that the films to come, like all of Disney’s films over the past two years, come with the longest theatrical window in the industry. Without much fanfare, Disney started a 100-day theatrical window on all of its films starting with “Avatar: The Way of Water,” with no promotion of the film’s release on Disney+ prior to the day it hits streaming.

“For many years, I have sat where you are watching in awe at the breadth and width of Disney’s slate, and it is an honor to now stand up here to show you what we have coming to your theaters in the months ahead,” he said.

The changes weren’t limited to Cripps. In past years, Disney eschewed the cast and filmmaker appearances that other studios would do at CinemaCon, instead just letting the cameras roll with lengthy sneak peeks. This time, they went the traditional route with in-person appearances from cast members of many of their films.

The show opened with a sneak peek of “Lilo & Stitch,” with Lilo, played by the six-year-old Maia Kealoha, trying and failing to get the CGI Stitch to put down a soda gun.

In a rare absence, Kevin Feige spoke to CinemaCon attendees from a video message rather than in person, as he is now on the London set of “Avengers: Doomsday.” He introduced a first look at Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer in “Fantastic 4: First Steps,” while the cast of “Thunderbolts” showed up in person to present one of their film’s fight scenes.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the presentation was 20th Century Studios, which is now under the leadership of David Greenbaum and, along with franchise titles like “Predator: Badlands” and commercial biopics like “Deliver Me From Nowhere” starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen, is also now producing the sort of mature fare that Disney once released under labels like Touchstone Pictures.

CinemaCon attendees got a first look at Greenbaum’s efforts with Ella McCay, a dramedy starring Emma Mackey as an idealistic politician who suddenly finds herself as the governor of Rhode Island when the previous one resigns. Now in a seat of power at the age of 34, she must balance her difficult new job with personal struggles with her family. The film is currently in production under the direction of James L. Brooks, who showed up to receive an award from Cinema United.

But after sneak peek clips of Pixar’s “Elio” and Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2,” the show ended with the first teaser of what will likely be the highest grossing movie of the year, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” a film that marks a pivotal point in James Cameron’s planned five-film saga on Pandora and shows a raging tribe of Na’vi called the Ash People who have forsaken Eywa.

While Disney may be struggling with its recent films, “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Snow White” still stand as the two highest grossing movies of the year so far. And with the rest of its slate, it is expected to be the top grossing studio in Hollywood for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

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