The Screening Lounge

Inside CinemaCon 2025: Must-See Movie Announcements + Superman Review

• Christy and Danielle • Episode 104

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From secret trailers to celebrity surprises, CinemaCon 2025 gave us a first look at the biggest upcoming movies of the year—and you won’t believe who showed up on stage! Plus, an honest, spoiler-free review of the new Superman movie. Does it truly soar, or is it just another reboot destined to flop?

Join Danielle and Christy as they recap everything you missed at CinemaCon 2025, from exclusive movie reveals and star-studded appearances to the titles that could define the year in cinema. They also share their unfiltered thoughts on James Gunn’s Superman—the cast, the cameos, the tone, and whether it’s worth seeing twice. Follow The Screening Lounge for more movie news, reviews, and insider updates on the biggest upcoming releases every week.

Highlights:

  • Biggest CinemaCon 2025 movie announcements and exclusive sneak peeks.
  • Upcoming movie releases for 2025, from The Long Walk to Avatar: Fire and Ash.
  • Surprising standout titles that could dominate the box office this year.
  • Theatrical vs. streaming debate: are short release windows hurting theaters?
  • Full, spoiler-free review of the new Superman movie: cast, cameos, and what worked (and what didn’t).

Love movie podcasts, reviews, and insider film news? Follow: The Screening Lounge on your favorite podcast app.

Join the conversation on Instagram @thescreeninglounge for weekly updates, recommendations, and more behind-the-scenes buzz.

Welcome to the Screening Lounge. I'm Danielle. And I'm Christie. If you're looking for something that'll grab your attention and won't let you go, then you're definitely in the right place. So grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and let's dive in.

Hey everyone, welcome back. Today we're gonna talk about some of the most anticipated movies coming our way in 2025, and trust me, there are a lot. Instead of listing to everything that's coming out, we're gonna highlight some of the movies that we think might be standouts and share my experience at this year's CinemaCon in Las Vegas, and then we'll dive into Superman.

But for those of you who don't know, CinemaCon is a fan con. It's an annual business conference for theater owners, is close to the public, and security is tight. Some of the things they presented hadn't been announced to the public yet. Studios like Warner Brothers Universal, Sony, Disney, and the like, were there to present their upcoming slates with exclusive trailers and presentations.

And honestly, it was a surreal experience. Every presentation included through creator or director, and the actors from the movies like Tom Cruise was there. Colin Domingo, Leonard DiCaprio, Glen Powell, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Vo were there and we wanted them to sing the song from Wicked, but they didn't.

But it was good to see them. And Zoe. So Donna was there, love her. And my celebrity crush, Gerard Butler, don't judge me. Hey, no judgment here. I love Gerard. I was texting Christie nonstop between presentations, like, oh my God, you won't believe who just walked out. Yes. And I was having serious fomo. Danielle was so great about sending updates when she could, so at least I had that.

Yeah. There were a few unforgettable moments like Tom Cruise holding a moment of silence for IL Keera who had just passed at the time, and NBC Universal brought their entire orchestra. They played well-known music scores from the movies along with a video presentation that was so nice. And if you watch Megan, they had 20 to 30 Megans coming out doing that little creepy dance, you know?

Wow. Because she just, it was so weird to see in person. And then Ginny Ortega surprised everyone by bringing out the weekend, who performed two songs live in front of the audience after introducing their film. Hurry Up Tomorrow. It was insane. That sounds so awesome. Yeah. And I am determined to go next year.

Yes. You have to come with me next year, so, cool. So. One of the first presentations they showed that looked really good was the Long Walk. Now this one could be huge. It's directed by Francis Lawrence from the Hunger Games franchise. It's based on the Stephen King novel of the same title, and it's described as a cross between Stand By Me Meets The Hungry Games.

So I'm already in, yeah. Um, it's about teenagers competing in an annual contest where they must maintain a certain walking speed. Or face deadly consequences. And actors. David Johnson and Mark Hamel were there. And David talked about how physically demanding the shoot was because he said that they had to walk 10 to 15 miles a day.

Wow. Which is insane to me. And that his theaters this September. I'm really excited to see this one too. I am a longtime Stephen King fan and somehow missed this book back in the day, and a friend mentioned it last year and I finally read it. So when you said there was a film coming, I was just really excited and then seeing the trailer just made me wanna see it even more.

Yeah. And then for Lawrence talked about Sunrise of the raping, which is the next Hunger Games movie set in November of next year. Hopefully it redeems itself from that last installment because that one, oh my God, I was so disappointed because I love the first three Hunger Games movies. Aw. I might be in the minority here because I enjoy the Ballad of Songbird and Snakes.

Mm-hmm. No, Aw, I did look this up and. It was 89% on the popcorn meter, so I must not be the only one who liked it. Mm-hmm. Y'all are wrong. I, I like that it focused on snow, you know, it kind of gave us his backstory and why, and how he became the villain that we love to hate. Now. I agree it was not as good as the first three movies, but I didn't think it was a complete disaster.

Okay. Agree, disagree. We don't always have to agree. Right. Another movie that looked really good is The Housemaid. It's coming this December, and it stars Sydnee Sweeney. It's based on the novel by Frida McFadden, who's an excellent writer, but I haven't read this one. It's about a young woman with a troubled pass, finds a job as a living may for a rich family.

And as she's working there, she learns some dark secrets about this quote unquote perfect family. The trailer they showed us looked really amazing and I was thinking maybe we should do a book club about it. Like, what do you think? I love that idea. Let's definitely do that because this is one that I've heard great things about.

I haven't read it either, and I'd love to read it. Before the movie comes out, so let's do it. Yeah. Okay. We'll give you guys more specifics soon. Now, one I'm really looking forward to is Mercy with Chris Pratt. Chris comes out tied to this huge electronic chair and he does this bit, which is hilarious. And then he shows us this trailer about a detective who he plays.

Who is accused of a violent crime and forced to prove his innocence within a certain span of time while in the chair. He has access to all the public cameras and documents, et cetera, like everything that you knew need to prove your innocence. Hmm. And there's only him and the judge, which kind of reminded me.

You remember back in the day, judge dread. Yeah, I do. Yeah, that does sound like that. Yeah, it reminded me of that movie. So, and this is one that I've kind of looked for the trailer and it looks like there's not an official trailer yet, but just reading the synopsis and seeing a couple of interviews with Chris Pratt at CinemaCon, it sounds really good.

And yeah, I'm always up for a good crime thriller detective story. And you know, pretty much any movie with Chris Pratt. I'm up for her. Yes. Yeah, it looks really good. So now there's a project that could be revolutionary or a complete disaster waiting to happen. So Director Sam Mendez came out and presented the Beatles project.

So they're gonna be four separate Beatles films, each about a different band member. But Christie, here's the catch. All are releasing in the same month. He said it's gonna be the first bingeable theatrical experience and it could be awesome. But what if one or two of those movies don't do as well? I know people are gonna see Paul McCartney, right?

And John Lennon. Yeah. But what about George Ringo? Like, what if people don't go see those as much? Like I know people wanna see it, but like what if they don't do as well? I would feel so bad. I would too. But, you know, I like this concept and personally for me, like I do know more about John Lennon and Paul McCartney, so I'd be even more like incentivized to see the ones about George and Ringo because I'd like to learn more about them.

So maybe people will Oh, kind of have that approach. I don't know. But I, I really look forward to seeing how the cast play you or portray each of the Beatles. Yeah. So fingers across. Yeah. I mean, it's a bow move by Sam, so we'll see. Next they presented Tron Aries, Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges came out and they presented the trailer, which looks visually stunning.

It looks amazing, but it had very little dialogue, so I couldn't really gauge if it was gonna be good or not. But fingers crossed that it delivers. It really is hard to tell much from the, the trailers and the teasers that are out there. And I never saw the original, but it always intrigued me those special effects that it had.

So. I think the casting is promising. For this one. I'm just wondering if it's gonna be all special effects and no real substance, so I guess we'll just have to see. That also brings me to the bride. It's Maggie Dillen Hall's retelling of the bride of Frankenstein. Now she's not the star, she's actually the director of the movie.

The trailer she showed was insane. It's a darker, more in depth storyline. The camera work, the makeup. Work looks so beautiful. I mean, in this horrible horror way. Right? Um, but the buzz is strong on this one. I'm, it might get nominated during the award season for sure, because it kind of reminds me of poor things with Emma Stone, right?

Who won an Academy Award for her role. Remember that? Mm-hmm. I do. Yeah, it does remind me of that. And this one is another one where you can't find any trailers or teasers out there, so you were lucky to get that trailer at CinemaCon. And I'm hearing a lot about it in the visual, so I'm intrigued by this one.

Yeah. Now. They also showed the Running Man set in November of this year. It's a remake of the 1987 Schwarzenegger film based on another Stephen King novel. I mean, Stephen is having a moment over these last years. He go, Stephen. Yeah. So now this remake is gonna be a little different, is set as a nationwide manhunt and not a gladiator style arena, like back in the eighties.

So Coleman Domingo Stars alongside Glen Powell and Josh Brolin. Josh Brolin is hilarious in person. He had us rolling. Um, but the concept concept for this remake is to survive for, I think it's like 30 days or so, while the whole nation tries to track you down. So I'm sold on it. Oof. It sounds really good.

And you know, back in the day, even though the original movie wasn't super true to the book, I did like it. Of course, I was also a teenager, so the bar, you know, probably wasn't set very high back then. But I saw the trailer for this one and it does look like a great ride. It looks really good. No, one of the last ones that I'm looking forward to is.

Avatar Fire and Ash. This one caught me completely off guard. I wasn't even a fan of the first avatar, but this looks epic. The villain. Oh my gosh, she looks like she does not play. She looks so sinister. James Cameron, um, came on video because he was still working on the post-production, but he said that the Suli family is gonna be tested like never before by both the humans.

This new threat, which is called, they're called the ASH people. It's out in December as well. So December is gonna be full of great movie watching. And then he talked about there are two more sequels planned through 2031, I think he said. We need to see this in theaters together. Like I am serious. I think this is gonna be like a knockout movie.

Yeah, let's do it. We should do that. And you know, it seems like forever, since I watched the original, but I love the original. I can't believe you didn't like that one. I dunno. I fell asleep. I dunno why. And I don't know if it was like the story that I loved. I do remember. It was really long. So I get that.

Um, but this, you know, I don't know if it was the story or the amazing CGI at the time or both that I really liked, but I'll be honest, I never saw the second one because there was just such that, that, such of a long gap. Yeah. I never went to see it. I saw the second one, the second one I really liked. Okay, so see, I need to go see it.

And then you're right about the visuals. They do look stunning. So I'm game for seeing it. Let's, let's get a group together. Go do that. Let's do it. This year might be a turning point for theaters, everything they've endured from pandemics to strikes to lackluster movies that nobody wanted to see, including me.

I think there's finally hope this year of reviving, you know, people going back to the theaters. But one thing that's still looming and was talked about constantly as Cinema Con was this 45 day release window. So studios want a quick turnaround for streaming. Everyone pointed out families aren't gonna spend a hundred dollars for an out out if they know that the movie's gonna hit digital in a few weeks, that's a real issue.

Right? Yeah, I get that. And I used to work at Blockbusters, so back in the day, and I'm probably telling my age, but it was common to wait two to three months for a release. They're only asking for 45 days, and I don't understand why the studios aren't taking the theaters into consideration because longer theatrical windows equal more revenue, equal more incentives for people to go to the movies.

So guys, go to the movies when you can. Yeah, definitely go to the theater. So now let's talk about Superman. So one of the biggest presentations at CinemaCon. Superman Director James Gunn brought out the entire cast. So that was my first time getting introduced to David Corn Sweat. So Christie, what did you think of Superman?

I really like Superman. I just some, some first impressions. I love that it skipped the origin story. I mean, thank God we, we know where Superman came from. Yeah. And it when the movie starts, Superman is already, um, known as this hero. It's a metahuman hero. He's already built this relationship with Lois. And speaking of that, I really love the chemistry between Lois and and Clark Kent.

I just thought it was really great. They had better chemistry. Henry Cabell and Amy Adams did. Definitely. Yeah. I totally agree. And I just love that the tone feels fresh, but it's still kind of classic. You've got that warmth and humor and heart, and it reminds me of those movies from the eighties Yeah.

With Christopher Ree. Yeah. He has that charm that Christopher Ree had. You know? Yes. And I think that's the part of the warm humor that you feel and why it feels so much like his movie. Yeah. He, he brings just this great vibe to the, to the role. And I love that. And then the pacing, I have to say gun knows how to make a story move.

Yes. Like he keeps it going. It's very fast paced, which I love. I appreciate that. I also love the casting with Clark's parents. They were just so real. Oh, I love them. Like his mom looks like you. She knows how to bake a pocket. Exactly. You know? Yeah. They look like normal parents, which I love. I mean, don't get me wrong, I did love, you know, Kevin Costner and I thought he was great, but like these parents look like real parents.

I agree. And the mom looks like she could win the blue ribbon at the county fair with that vibe? Yes. Yes. And then also I think another thing that I really thought was a good, um, takeaway from this was crypto, the dog. We had a superD dog in this movie and still is the show, but it's not just so much that you're tired of seeing him.

Yeah. I mean, James Gunn, when he was talking about. You know, having crypto in the movie, he said it was based on the dog that he rescued, and this dog tore up his entire house, nipping at his feet. Oh God. Tearing up furniture. And he said, what if. This dog has superpowers and so that's who, how crypto came to be.

I was like, oh my God, if that's the dog you have in your house, oh my God. Poor you. Yeah. Oh, but he's so cute. Poor house. He's so cute. He's cute. Also, you, you and I talked about, there were so many cameos in this movie. Oh my God. There were tons of cameos and I won't tell everyone, all of them, but.

Christopher Reeve's son was there as a journalist. Right? Uh, John Cena was a peacemaker. Of course that was easy to, to see, right. Um, Bradley Cooper as the dad, and I love the interpretation of the message because it makes me think of something different like that message with the parents, because I'm wondering why didn't the robots put.

The message together since they're from Krypton and like I feel like the message could be misunderstood. Can't remember which Superman it was, but how there was a misinterpretation about the S on his chest meant super. But he said it meant something else like hope and I wonder if she Right. I do remember that.

Put it, if the engineer, when she put everything. Misinterpreted something and it came out to be that. Now it could completely be what the, they said that the message is, but I wonder if later on that message will be something else. Ooh, interesting. It it's possible. Yeah. So anyway, love Bradley Cooper in this movie, and there was other stars from Guardians of the Galaxy that were in it as well.

They lent their voices mm-hmm. To the movie. And then Lex, my Lex Luther from Smallville was there who played a small vocal role. Yes, I also loved Mr. Terrific in this film. Uh, he's the tech genius. He teams up with Lois. I like that he has this calm confidence and dry wit. I felt like that just made his character stand out so well.

And then Eve, Lex Luther's girlfriend. You know, at first. You know, she seems like this ditzy influencer, wannabe. She's constantly taking selfies and she's got these crazy outfits, but then you kind of learn that there's more to her than Meeti. So I really liked her. And overall, I just love the lighter, more optimistic tone because it's just more true to the original comic book hero.

Agreed. So we talked about what we like about the movie, what, let's talk about what didn't work. I think we both agreed that Hot Girl and Green Lantern just kind of felt like afterthoughts. Yeah. In this one. Very true. I feel like Green Lantern had some great, great lines and there was a lot of, you know, talk about his hair and that kind of thing, which is pretty funny.

Yeah, that was funny. But Hot girl on the other hand, I felt like she had not much to work with there. Yeah. She barely had any lines. She was very underdeveloped. We didn't know anything about her. She was just there. Almost like a prop. Almost like she Right. She had no real part of the movie. Let's talk about Nicholas Holt, his Lex.

I felt like he, he did a great job of being intense and angry. Yeah. Um, but is it gonna be memorable? I feel like there's not a lot of substance there. Yeah. I, I don't know. I have mixed feelings about this Lex. Like, I thought he should have been a little bit more sinister. I don't know. I'll have to see how he progresses.

Throughout like the franchise, but right now he's just like, he is a question mark for me. That makes sense. I think one of the other things that I didn't love was just that there were so many subplots, and in the end it all works out, but you have the two countries that have the conflict going on that Superman interferes in.

You have this pocket universe and this high security prison. You're introduced to Metamorpho, but you also have these political schemes that Lex is involved in. And then you have his Planet Watch Army, the Raptors, you know, that he is talking about. And then there's just a lot, it is a lot going on. Maybe a little bit too much.

It's a lot. And other than that, I think just learning about some of the other characters, like the engineer or the rest, you know, the Justice gang and we know their corporate backed right, but what's the rest of their story? And. Some of the Daily Planet friends, Jimmy and the whole game. Yeah. Need to learn a little bit more about them.

So other than that, I thought it was a really good, a really good movie. It was. It was good. I liked it. I felt like the story was very surface level, like when you compare to Thunderbolts. Mm-hmm. That was, had more layers to it and the characters had more interaction and this one just wasn't as developed.

Now that could be because we know. The characters in the thunder boats more than we know, like this new James gun world of Superman. I just wish it gave me more, especially since you passed the origin story, right? We're past that. We're into like this new story in this new version of Superman. Like, give me a little bit more and make me want to be a part of the universe and like these characters more.

I, I just didn't feel. Too much anything for any one of these characters. So I just wish the story gave me more because I really liked the engineer and I wanted to know more about her story, but it just kind of, she was just a villain, you know, that there's something else there, but they just didn't pull it out enough.

Gotcha. That makes sense. And you know, we mentioned Henry Cabell and his version of Superman, right? I know there's a big debate about him versus David Cor sweat. Yes. I'm one of those people that are still loyal to Henry Cabell. Okay. And I don't mean loyal, I mean like I still love Henry Cowell's version.

I like that darker. Version of Superman because it played well mm-hmm. With the darker version of Batman. Right. Right. It definitely did. You're right. Um, I didn't like the Batman versus Superman movie, but I did love Henry Cal's Superman because it, it, it stood on its own. Mm-hmm. But I love David Korn sweat.

I will have to say he's a great Superman. Like we said before, he brings that charm that Christopher Reeves had. Without losing the seriousness of the character. It's a different Superman, but maybe that's what we need. I. I just think the Superman is more human and flawed and, and maybe a bit goofy too.

Yes. Like those red trunks. There was a lot of talk about the red trunks, but overall I think it works well and, and like you said, it felt more like the Christopher Ree version and it is very surface level, but if you're just going for an entertaining, fun movie, that's exciting too. Then this is a good pick.

Yeah, definitely. Now would you watch it again? In the theater? Probably not when it dreams. Okay. I don't think it's, it's, it's a good booby, everybody. Please go watch it in the theaters. And I would say definitely I would watch it again because I have watched it again. I took my son, he loved it the first time.

I took him to see it a second time, and I, I think I liked it even more when I saw it the second time. Okay, so go see it, go see it a couple of times. You know, if you, if you do like it, support your theater. That's right. That's a wrap on this episode of the SA Screening Lounge. Thanks so much for hanging out with us, and if you've enjoyed the show, be sure to follow, subscribe, and leave us a five star review.

It really helps us out. If you want even more recommendations of what to watch, read, or listen to next, then follow us on Instagram at the screening lounge. Can't wait to see you next time.