Next up on the lineup after Sony kicked things off is Lionsgate, and they really brought the house down with their slate.
Their stacked lineup included updates and footage for Ballerina, Donnie Yen’s John Wick spin-off featuring his character Caine, the 4th installment of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Michael (the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic), and an excited announcement for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
In an amazing surprise, The Weeknd took to the stage to close out the night as he performed a short set for an amped up crowd. His short setlist included the debut of a song from the upcoming film Hurry Up Tomorrow—followed by a light-filled performance of his smash hit “Blinding Lights.”
Let’s take a look at what else they brought to Vegas this year.
Lionsgate’s Slate at CinemaCon
Hurry Up Tomorrow (May 16, 2025) – We see Abel Tesfaye (global superstar The Weeknd) take another stab at acting alongside Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan. It’ll be directed by Trey Edward Shults and showcases what appears to be an odd romance between an artist and a fan. The visuals look promising and the audience here at CinecaCon were all for it!
Ballerina (June 6, 2025) – If there was ever going to be a female version of John Wick’s character, I would have imagined it to be Ana de Armas, and that’s exactly what we got. In this unexpected spin-off, we see footage showing off Armas’ killer fight sequences and even an appearance from Keanu Reeves himself, reprising his titular role. While spin-offs, reboots, and sequels often leave people rolling their eyes, that was 1000% not the case with Ballerina, as the crowd erupted in cheers.
The Long Walk (September 12, 2025) – From the mind of Stephen King comes another one of his book-to-film adaptations. The trailer was shown for The Long Walk and gives a different take on the horror genre. Lots of excitement when Mark Hamill appeared on screen. Looks to be a fan favorite, especially for those who are naturally advent readers of King’s novels.
Michael (October 3, 2025) – Now THIS is the one! The Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic is finally on the way, and boy, does it look GREAT. Jaafar Jackson stars as the King of Pop alongside a stacked cast including Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, and more. When tackling these types of stories, it’s important to get it right, and Lionsgate seems to have locked in a future box office hit that we’ve long awaited.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (November 14, 2025) – The first trailer was shown, and the original Four Horsemen return alongside new cast members, including Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith, and Dominic Sessa! We see Jesse Eisenberg’s character recruit the young crew to pull off a heist, only to run into his old crew as they appear to be doing the same thing. In the villain role, we get the brilliant and talented Rosamund Pike, who excited the audience. It seems this time around, while the plot is fairly similar, the production has definitely gotten a boost in the budget, as it looks fantastic. To top it off, the studio went ahead and took the time to announce the 4th installment was also in the works with Ruben Fleischer back to direct!
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (November 20, 2026) – This one stirred the crowd up in the biggest way as Suzanne Collins’ latest book gets the movie treatment. Haymitch Abernathy’s origin story is coming to the big screen with Francis Lawrence returning to direct. It’s sure to blow the box office wide open upon its release. Casting info will be released soon, so the anticipation will be building over the coming year.
Animated John Wick Movie – Anime fans will be HYPE about this one as a prequel following John’s “Impossible Task” is in the works with Keanu Reeves returning to voice Wick. In the director’s seat is Shannon with a script from Vanessa Taylor (go women!). The conversation amongst audience members was that, although very excited, many wished the “Impossible Task” were a feature-length film. Instead, we did get confirmation that John Wick 5 is on the way as well, with Reeves and Chad Stahelski returning!
Caine – The John Wick news keeps rolling with a spin-off on the way, with Donnie Yen set to direct the film that’ll follow the events from John Wick: Chapter 4. Even more exciting news was thrown at us when they announced The Batman – Part II’s Mattson Tomlin will be writing the script!
Good Fortune – Although we got the sneak peek announcement at last year’s CinemaCon, the film still hadn’t come out, so now Aziz Ansari is back to discuss his directorial debut. It co-stars Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves (interesting enough as an angel!), and it looks to be a funny, yet deep story about valuing the life you were given rather than materialistic possessions.
Power Ballad – If there was any surprise film that we didn’t expect to see coming, it’s definitely Power Ballad. Who would have thought a film with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas would ever come to fruition? Not me, but I am 1000% sat for it! The premise is set around Rudd’s character being part of a band that didn’t work out, and him sharing a song he wrote with Jonas’ character. Jonas turns around and releases the song, and it blows up, causing some legal issues between the two characters. This one, directed by John Carney, seems like the unexpected release that’ll be very popular when it hits theaters.
