CinemaCon 2026 is now in full swing, with presentations from Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. offering cinephiles plenty to chew on these past two days. Next up is Universal Pictures and Focus Features, who are expected to bring the house down with massive reveals. The official convention of Cinema United, formerly known as the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), CinemaCon has become one of the year’s top news events for eager moviegoers. The annual event brings together over 6,000 theater owners, distributors, exhibitors, industry professionals, and journalists from 60+ countries at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to celebrate the communal theatrical experience and discuss what’s to come.
While we have no confirmation of which films Universal and Focus Features will show or tease, fans can at least expect updates on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, and Robert Eggers’ Werwulf. Press and CinemaCon attendees might also get the latest news on Illumination’s Minions & Monsters, Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist sequel, and the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon 2. It wouldn’t be shocking if Shrek 5 is brought up as well, considering the high anticipation for it next year. Depending on what is shown from The Odyssey and Disclosure Day alone, Universal could easily generate the most buzz out of CinemaCon 2026.
CinemaCon is not open to the public, which means there are no online releases of exclusive footage or first-look reveals from the event. But look no further, as we at DiscussingFilm will be listing below every major news update and exclusive footage description LIVE from Universal and Focus Features’ CinemaCon 2026 studio presentation. Stay tuned as we continue to cover this year’s CinemaCon throughout the week, with presentations from Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios still to come.
Live Universal Pictures Updates From CinemaCon 2026
New Universal Movies Confirmed at CinemaCon 2026
- An official Snoop Dogg biopic, produced by Snoop himself and directed by Craig Brewer. Will be rated R and star Jonathan Daviss (Outer Banks) as Snoop.
Disclosure Day
Release Date: June 12, 2026.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Screenplay by David Koepp.
Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger & Steven Spielberg.
Main Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, & Colman Domingo.
Exclusive Footage Description: After a lengthy conversation between Colman Domingo and Steve Spielberg, Universal presented an expanded look at Disclosure Day that gives a much more detailed look at the film. The footage starts with a clip of Emily Blunt entering the news station and speaking an alien language, as seen in the first teaser. We then cut to Josh O’Connor showing his partner what appears to be a video of extraterrestrial bodies. Emily Blunt knows she needs to seek out Josh O’Connor’s character, who — like her — explains that he can understand the alien language as a sort of mathematical equation. There’s a twitchy, paranoid, slick vibe throughout.
There is then a look at an exciting-looking car chase where cars smash through a house, as Josh O’Connor’s character tries to escape government forces. We see houses bathed in light, as well as animal creatures that are appearing to transform. Colin Firth seems to be the movie’s villain, a government spook, while Colman Domingo is a doctor who thinks full disclosure is the way to go. Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor seem to have a childhood connection, perhaps from being abducted together or even from being aliens themselves. The footage ends with Emily Blunt on a table where a deer transforms into a full-on grey alien. Fans of Spielberg seem to be in for a major treat, as are all audiences, in a film that feels relevant, exciting, and bold.
Minions & Monsters
Release Date: July 1, 2026.
Directed by Pierre Coffin.
Screenplay by Brian Lynch & Pierre Coffin.
Produced by Chris Meledandri & Bill Ryan.
Main Cast: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, Christoph Waltz & Jeff Bridges.
Exclusive Footage Description: During the Illumination portion of the Universal Studios panel at CinemaCon, attendees were shown two different extended scenes from Minions & Monsters, the next entry in the Minions spin-off franchise. This time, the series is taking a departure to show the beloved mascots back in the 1920s on the West Coast. The first scene opens on a classic western chase scene, where the minions try to follow a bandit on a horse with a money bag. The minions hijack a train and run it into town, where they corner the bandit, who is scared and confused by their hijinks.
It turns out that the minions have hijacked a movie set, to the frustration of the director, voiced by Christoph Waltz. In the second scene, the studio head, voiced by Jeff Bridges, has fallen in love with the screen presence of the minions, so they are invited to the studio to shoot a combat scene against Vikings. The minions will eventually become movie stars and create a film of their own, titled Minions & Monsters. These two set pieces show that this entry in the franchise is a giant love letter to the act of filmmaking and a personal film for director Pierre Coffin.
The Odyssey
Release Date: July 17, 2026.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.
Based on Homer’s Odyssey.
Produced by Emma Thomas & Christopher Nolan.
Main Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, John Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, & Charlize Theron.
Exclusive Footage Description: The Odyssey footage that CinemaCon attendees were treated to was essentially the same Trojan Horse sequence that Avatar: Fire & Ash IMAX audiences had already seen. The main difference here was an opening that showed Odysseus (Matt Damon) washed up on a beach, where he’s greeted by the goddess Calypso (Charlize Theron, who asks him about his past life, which he cannot remember. Her costuming is a simplistic, elegant dress, indicating that the rest of the film will follow that look for the rest of the Greek pantheon. Additionally, we see more of Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus inviting Tom Holland’s Telemachus to sit with him at a large feast to recall the story of the Trojan Horse.
In a brief sizzle made up of mostly seen-before footage, we did get a brief glimpse at the giant hand of a Cyclops, right as he grabs one of Odysseus’ troops and eats him off-screen. All we hear is the poor man scream in pain as the Cyclops eats him to pieces. There were also quick glimpses of Robert Pattinson yelling crazily at a feast. Besides this. Christopher Nolan is keeping his cards close to the vest on this one when it comes to releasing new footage.
Other Mommy
Release Date: October 9, 2026.
Directed by Rob Savage.
Screenplay by Nathan Elston.
Produced by James Wan.
Main Cast: Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Sean Kaufman, & Karen Allen.
Exclusive Footage Description: CinemaCon attendees were treated to the utterly unhinged first trailer for Rob Savage’s Other Mommy. The trailer starts off with a mother (Jessica Chastain) excitedly greeting her daughter, but something seems off. She keeps recommending strange items to make for breakfast, then asks her daughter if she remembers where she came from. The daughter says her tummy, and the mother corrects her, saying she was in his heart, asking if she wants to go back into her heart. Cut to the father coming in to the smell of burning breakfast, telling the daughter she can’t cook alone, only to scream when the contorted mother crawls out from under the dinner table.
The trailer then introduces the movie’s concept when another Jessica Chastain walks out. The “other mommy” we saw earlier is, in fact, an uncanny doppelganger with ill intentions toward the daughter. Through a quick succession of horrific images of Chastain coming after the family, the trailer ends when the mother enters the daughter’s bedroom. The daughter asks if she’s her real mommy. Chastain says, of course, she is, but the fact that the audience doesn’t know is the real hook of the movie.
If ever there was something primed to be catnip for horror audiences, it’s this movie, as Savage has an impressive grasp on terror with just the right amount of camp appeal in its “evil Jessica Chastain” versus “real Jessica Chastain” concept. Moreover, Chastain really seems to be going for the role, and Other Mommy provides another opportunity for Rob Savage, a growing voice in the horror space, to hone his voice.
Sense & Sensibility
Release Date: October 16, 2026.
Directed by Georgia Oakley.
Screenplay by Diana Reid.
Based on Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen.
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, India Flint, & Jo Wallett.
Main Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, George MacKay, & Fiona Shaw.
Exclusive Footage Description: The first trailer shown at CinemaCon for the new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility indicates a fairly faithful adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel. A group of young women, led by Daisy Edgar-Jones, experiences the trials and tribulations of choosing between love and a more logical, serious disposition. The dialogue feels ripped right out of the novel, whereas the naturalistic cinematography and the rolling green hills and estates therein are exactly what many would think of Jane Austen’s work. Sense & Sensibility looks like a no-frills adaptation that maintains what has made the novel a classic without reinventing too much, which might be the right take.
Focker In-Law
Release Date: November 25, 2026.
Directed by John Hamburg.
Screenplay by John Hamburg.
Based on characters created by Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke.
Produced by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Jay Roach, Ben Stiller, John Lesher & John Hamburg.
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, & Ariana Grande.
The first trailer was publicly released online!
Violent Night 2
Release Date: December 4, 2026.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Screenplay by Pat Casey & Josh Miller.
Produced by Kelly McCormick & David Leitch.
Main Cast: David Harbour, Daniela Melchior, Kristen Bell, Jared Harris, Joe Pantoliano, Maxwell Friedman, & Andrew Bachelor.
Exclusive Footage Description: An exclusive first look trailer for Violent Night 2 premiered at the Universal Studios panel at CinemaCon 2026. The trailer catches audiences up on this cynical version of Santa Claus (David Harbour) and his mission to kill those on the naughty list. This sequel turns that concept on its head, as Santa himself makes the naughty list since he has lost touch with the meaning of Christmas. Santa tries to reconnect with his festive roots by playing Santa at a local mall, but when assassins come to destroy the mall and take revenge on Santa, he teams up with the mall’s workers. In one fight, they stuff a goon into a food court oven.
Various fight setpieces are shown set to “Last Christmas”, but the big addition to the trailer is the introduction of Kristen Bell as Mrs. Claus, wielding a sword and teaming up with Harbour’s Santa to find his Christmas spirit along the way. Violent Night 2 takes the first film’s concept and seems to double down on the silliness and bloodshed as an action-comedy sequel should.
Werwulf
Release Date: December 25, 2026.
Directed by Robert Eggers.
Screenplay by Robert Eggers & Sjón.
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robert Eggers, & Sjón.
Main Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, & Ralph Ineson.
Exclusive Footage Description: Focus Features debuted an exclusive trailer for horror auteur Robert Eggers’ brand-new film, Werewulf. The trailer was presented in a 4:3 boxy aspect ratio, and Egger’s historical gothic aesthetic is on full display as we are shown images of frail, grimy townsmen with torches and a meticulous rendition of a medieval English countryside. Willem Dafoe is narrating the legend of the werewolf, a beast that everyone in town fears. We see brief images of his character and Lily-Rose Depp’s as well, both looking dirty and almost maniacal.
The real meat of the trailer starts as we see Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s character staring at a full moon while he stands in a shed. There is a long, wide shot of Taylor-Johnson as his body starts spasming, intercut by some footage of other characters, his character soaked in blood, and the townsfolk being terrorized. In a vintage font, the title card and its Christmas release date flash. It’s classic Eggers imagery, once again releasing for a moody and spooky option for the holidays.
