Convention - CinemaCon 2026: Angel, Row K Entertainment, and STUDIOCANAL inaugurate the CinemaCon® Film Showcase

By Mulder, 12 february 2026

For the first time in its history, CinemaCon will open its Monday afternoon program with a new event called CinemaCon® Film Showcase, to be held on April 13, 2026, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, sending a strong signal to the global film exhibition community. The announcement, made by Cinema United, subtly redraws the traditional balance of the convention by shining a spotlight on three distribution partners with complementary profiles: Angel, Row K Entertainment, and STUDIOCANAL, who will present their future theatrical lineups to an audience of more than 6,000 professionals from the exhibition, distribution, and technical industries. This strategic move to the Colosseum, an iconic venue more commonly associated with major keynotes and premium shows, reflects a clear desire to celebrate the diversity of storytelling and to remind us, in a changing market, that the vitality of theaters depends on a constant flow of varied, ambitious works designed for the big screen, fifty-two weeks a year, in both large cities and medium-sized towns.

In official statements, Michael O'Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United, emphasizes this need for a diverse pipeline, pointing out that cinemas around the world thrive on a wide range of films from multiple partners, while Anna Marsh, CEO of STUDIOCANAL and Chief Content Officer of CANAL+, refers to a very special moment for the European studio, reaffirming an unambiguous commitment to works designed for the cinema and praising the platform offered by the organization. The same tone is echoed by Angel, where Brandon Purdie, Executive Vice President and Head of Theatrical, reminds us that theaters thrive when audiences have choice, championing a strategy based on a bold and eclectic slate, fueled by a claimed base of two million paying members of the Angel Guild and a model centered on values-driven stories that have already generated several notable commercial successes. Finally, Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh, Co-Chairmen of Row K Entertainment, refocus the discussion on the collective experience, described as the “heartbeat” of the industry, advocating an editorial line geared towards wide-release films, carried by stars and prestigious filmmakers, as exemplified by a 2026 catalog combining festival acquisitions and productions with strong international potential.

Beyond the symbolism, the composition of the three presentations paints an interesting picture of current dynamics. The Angel distribution studio continues to establish itself as a disruptive player by focusing on films chosen and supported by its community, a positioning that has already found tangible resonance at the box office with titles such as Sound of Freedom, an independent phenomenon widely documented for its unexpected performance in theaters, and which now fosters a close relationship with exhibitors seeking to diversify their event offerings. Row K Entertainment, a subsidiary of Media Capital Technologies and advised by CAA Media Finance, is capitalizing on a 2025 launch and moving forward in 2026 with highly identifiable offerings, including Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire starring Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha'la, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino, as well as Poetic License, the first feature film directed by Maude Apatow, starring Leslie Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Nico Parker, and Cliff Method Man Smith, not to mention Jaume Collet-Serra's Cliffhanger, starring Pierce Brosnan and Lily James, and Charlie Harper, directed by Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge, starring Nick Robinson and Emilia Jones. STUDIOCANAL, for its part, reaffirms its status as the European leader with a claimed capacity to finance, produce, and distribute around 200 films per year, a catalog of over 9,400 titles from 60 countries, and an investment of nearly €25 million dedicated to the 4K restoration of nearly 1,000 classics over seven years, while maintaining sustained serial production and an international network of partner companies covering Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and China.

This initiative is expected to change the usual rhythm of CinemaCon, traditionally dominated by major studio presentations in the middle of the week, by offering a space dedicated to distributors whose growth and editorial differentiation reflect the changing theatrical landscape. Several exhibitors interviewed at previous editions already emphasized the importance of these alternative showcases in identifying content capable of animating non-blockbuster programming, feeding local previews, and strengthening audience loyalty, an expectation that the Film Showcase seems to meet head-on. In Las Vegas, where decision-makers, programmers, and technology partners meet every year, the message is clear: the theater remains the strategic focal point, and the diversity of voices emanating from a historic European studio, a community distributor, or a recent American structure is more than ever a lever of resilience and attractiveness for the global cinematic experience.

Photos: Boris Colletier / Mulderville

(Source: press release)