Spider-Man, Bad Bunny at summit

Hollywood bosses showcased new Spider-Man sequels and brought rap superstar Bad Bunny on stage to kick off a bullish meeting of movie theatre industry leaders in Las Vegas this week.

The CinemaCon summit draws Tinseltown executives to giant casino ballrooms each year, where owners of theatres – from global chains to tiny independents – are treated to never-before-seen footage and A-list appearances.

Big-screen operators were back in a buoyant mood, with box office hauls recovering from Covid-hit years and news that streaming juggernaut Netflix recorded its first subscriber loss in more than a decade.

“What are you doing here? Everyone said you’re dead, everyone said you’re finished,” joked Tom Rothman, chair of Sony Pictures, to cheers from theatre owners.

Theatres have particularly been encouraged by hits like Sony’s recent Spider-Man: No Way Home – the third-biggest US box office success to date, grossing $1.9 billion (about R30.4 billion) worldwide.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller, directors of Oscar-winning 2018 animation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, unveiled unfinished footage from the first 15 minutes of their sequel Across the Spider-Verse.

It featured various “Spidey” heroes, hopping between dimensions – and will be followed by Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2024.

Sony also presented footage from Brad Pitt action thriller Bullet Train, based on a Japanese novel and out in July.

Early scenes showed Pitt’s wise-cracking hitman pacing through neon-lit Tokyo streets before brawling with music superstar-turned-actor Bad Bunny on a train.

“That’s not my first fight,” joked the chart-topping Puerto Rican rapper, the first Latino to lead a live-action Marvel superhero film, El Muerto, out in January 2024.