In a nod to its recent deal to distribute the 25th James Bond installment overseas, Universal showed off the morphing of the studio’s and 007’s logos ahead of its presentation at CineEurope. Uni won rights for international as well as for home entertainment to the next 007 in a deal with EON Productions and MGM last month and this was its first chance to show that off to offshore exhibitors. Universal President of International Duncan Clark then opened the show saying, “We are thrilled, honored and very proud,” to have the next Bond.
Universal also will release a handful of titles overseas from MGM including this year’s Oscar Isaac-starrer Operation Finale, for which it showed a trailer; next year’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake The Hustle; and Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family, Deadlilne has confirmed.
Universal is coming off a $150M+ offshore opening for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and its last four years have been the best in the studio’s history. From “Minions, fast cars, your classic sadomasochistic romance or, as we discovered this past weekend, a tale of Jurassic World dinosaurs, you have all played a role in this remarkable run of unprecedented success,” Clark said.
U’s President of International Marketing, Simon Hewlett, and EVP of International Distribution, Niels Swinkels then took over and included a Robert Zemeckis highlights reel during the show and an extended first sneak of his Welcome To Marwen. The Steve Carell-starrer is set for a domestic release during prime awards season in November. Carell plays a victim of a brutal attack who finds a unique and beautiful therapeutic outlet to help him through his recovery process.
La La Land-helmer Damien Chazelle’s upcoming reteam with Ryan Gosling, First Man, was also highlighted with a trailer that expands upon the one released last week. The story of Neil Armstrong and the road to putting a man on the moon releases in October domestically, also during awards season, and is expected at the fall festivals.
Other featured titles included footage from The Secret Life Of Pets 2 which was introduced by Illumination chief Chris Meledandri via video. The sequel releases in June 2019 after the original made $507M overseas in 2016. There was also footage from holiday pic The Grinch with Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular Dr Seuss character.
Skyscraper star Dwayne Johnson appeared in a pre-taped video to show off Legendary’s Die Hard-esque summer actioner which bows in July. U also noted Legendary’s Detective Pikachu, which will be the first live action take on the $50B Pokémon franchise.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which features the cast from the 2008 $610M WW grossing original as well as Cher, got an extended preview. The summer box office counterprogrammer releases beginning July 19.
Further showcased were Focus and Working Title’s Mary Queen Of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, and an extended clip from Focus, Working Title and Studiocanal’s threequel Johnny English Strikes Again with Rowan Atkinson.
The Mortal Engines trailer, which was out last week, was intro’d by Peter Jackson from New Zealand, and Robert Downey Jr chatted up 2019’s The Voyage Of Doctor Doolittle in a behind-the-scenes featurette. The Iron Man/Avengers star cheekily noted that it releases in spring, a corridor that “tends to work” for him.
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