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Though CinemaCon is a trade convention for exhibitors, it has increasingly functioned more like Comic Con in how it gives the studios a platform to show off their slate, take a victory lap on the past year, and schmooze with theater owners from the Midwest. Fan bloggers and film journalists attend to get an early look at superhero stuff, an entire movie or two gets screened, and it’s gotten big enough to the point that “The Studio” dedicated its entire season finale to a presentation on the Caesar’s Palace Colosseum stage.
So it’s nice to see that the convention is not entirely for the big studios. For the 2026 edition, kicking off April 13 in Las Vegas, CinemaCon will host its first ever “Film Showcase,” which will give three different distributors the chance to present their slate on the big stage. Those this year are Angel Studios, upstart distributor Row K Entertainment, and Studiocanal.
Increasingly, theater owners are looking to some of these emerging players as a way to diversify their screens away from the same old studio tentpoles and give patrons more options in the hopes that they keep coming back more regularly. So it makes sense that CinemaCon would give those players a platform on par with what the studios can offer.
In addition to those three, Neon is also going to have a chance to present, and Amazon will attend the convention for the second time. The “Film Showcase” trio of presentations will take place on the afternoon of Monday, April 13, meaning that technically, these three indies will be the first presentation of the week, even ahead of Sony on opening night. Though it also suggests that perhaps some theater owners will only just be getting into town and checking into their hotels at that time.
Angel Studios finished 2025 as the tenth most successful distributor at the domestic box office by market share, bringing in $167 million across 10 films, most notably the animated “The King of Kings” from last Easter. It just released the Kevin James film “Solo Mio,” and it has been at CinemaCon before, but for the last two years it presented during a breakfast session away from the Colosseum.
Row K is a fascinating addition, as to date it has only released one film, Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man’s Wire,” which has only made $2.2 million worldwide. We’ve written at length, however, about how they’re a distributor with something to prove and some money to throw around. It’s upcoming releases include Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License,” the Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson romance “Charlie Harper,” and Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Cliffhanger” remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Lily James.
Studiocanal has been around for a while but is a big name on the international distribution market. This year it will be releasing the Glen Powell drama “How to Make a Killing,” the sci-fi “Cold Storage,” and the horror film “Silent Night, Deadly Night.”
“As a global industry that depends on a diverse pipeline of movies from a wide array of distribution partners, we are incredibly excited to welcome Angel, Row K Entertainment, and Studiocanal to be part of this important new program on Monday afternoon,” said Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United in an official statement. “Movie theatres around the world in cities and towns of all sizes rely upon these movies 52 weeks out of the year. They are essential to our industry, and by shining a light on these companies, we celebrate their importance in bringing great movies to fans of all ages across the globe.”
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