Paramount Pictures heated up the final day of CinemaCon 2022 on Thursday by unveiling a trailer for Mission: Impossible 7, showcasing another death-defying stunt by Tom Cruise and teasing Damien Chazelle’s anticipated Hollywood fable Babylon. But the real centerpiece was the first full screening of Cruise’s new Top Gun: Maverick, which closed the program on Thursday morning.
The long-delayed Top Gun: Maverick, who portrayed Tom Cruise as a highly gifted and confident Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was originally slated to hit theaters in Summer 2020. The COVID-19 crisis thwarted those plans. Paramount and Skydance subsequently delayed the film several times to allow for a proper worldwide theatrical release.
The decision to treat theater owners to the film’s first screening was a way to thank them for their patience, and it seemed to be paying off. But before the big debut, the presentation kicked off with an electrifying performance by female rap trio JJ Fad of their hit single “Supersonic”, backed by more than a dozen dancers in red, white and blue sweats as footage of Par’s latest hit Sonic The Hedgehog 2 rolled on the big screen above us.
Known for his CinemaCon pranks, Paramount President of Domestic Sales Chris Aronson didn’t disappoint. He came on stage wearing the mustache and glasses worn by the Sonic character Dr. Ivo Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, preferred.
“Everyone awake?” asked Aronson. “Good! Welcome to Paramount Pictures, it’s great to be back.” Aronson brought good news, detailing the studio’s four consecutive #1 grossings: Scream ($140 million to date), Jackass Forever ($80 million), The Lost City ($130 million worldwide to date), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (opened for a record-breaking $72.1 million) “We can’t wait to keep the momentum going.”
He then mused that as audiences finally return to theaters, “fortune favors the bold,” adding, “But we’re not quite back yet. Now is not the time for complacency. We need to work together in every way we can.”
In doing so, he urged theater owners to meet the studios halfway (“Help Us Help You”) to improve the guest experience by not playing too many trailers that stun audiences and to ensure that the price ratio is fair for cinema-goers.
Aronson then presented footage from the studio’s 2022 and 2023 bids, with the biggest reveal being Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, an epic about old Hollywood’s transition from silent to talkies, starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Not much is known about the details of the plot, but it appears to be a high-octane, mind-bending drama, with Pitt playing silent film star John Gilbert and Margot Robbie as the icon Clara Bow. Pitt’s character, who appears in several scenes in white boxers and tank tops, once says, “When I first moved to Hollywood, the signs on every door said, ‘No Actors and No Dogs Allowed.’ We changed that.”
Robbie’s Bow is shown in preview footage on set and dancing at a huge backyard Hollywood house party. As the camera closes in on set to capture her face, Robbie says, “What do you mean, let’s come in for my close-up?”
The Babylon cast also includes Katherine Waterston, Max Minghella, Flea, Samara Weaving, Rory Scovel, Lukas Haas, Eric Roberts, PJ Byrne, Damon Gupton, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Phoebe Tonkin, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li, Jovan Adepo , Diego Calva, Chloe Fineman, Jeff Garlin and Troy Metcalf.
Paramount chairman Brian Robbins later called Chazelle’s film “brilliant” and “truly spectacular” in his first CinemaCon presentation. Throughout his time on stage, Robbins has reassured theater owners how much he appreciates the power of the big screen. He also promoted the studio’s recent hits The Lost City and Sonic 2, both of which were released in theaters only. “Motion films are the cornerstone of our business,” said Robbins.
Robbins then turned his attention to Cruise, calling him the studio’s most important relationship and the “hardest working, most daring performer in Hollywood.” Unfortunately for CinemaCon-goers, Robbins confirmed the actor would not be in attendance as he was busy filming. But Cruise delivered a “special message” to match the compliment and his CinemaCon story.
Cut to Cruise getting up from his seat in an antique red plane and when the camera zoomed out it was revealed that the plane was hovering high over a ravine in South Africa. “Hello everyone,” Cruise said, his voice muffled by the wind. “I wish I could be with you. Sorry for the extra noise. As you can see, we’re filming the latest part of Mission: Impossible.”
Just then, a yellow plane appeared with helmsman Christopher McQuarrie on it, and he told Cruise it was time to leave. Before departing, Cruise gave a first look at the film’s trailer, followed by Top Gun: Maverick in its entirety. “Let’s all try to have a great summer. See you at the cinema!”
The seventh Mission: Impossible is scheduled for release on July 14, 2023, with an eighth and likely final cruise-led mission scheduled for release on June 28, 2024. The seventh film is subtitled Dead Reckoning: Part 1.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, follows the new Top Gun Maverick, who is asked to train a new team of elite aviators at the behest of Val Kilmer’s Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, now Navy Admiral (Kilmer has a brief cameo appearance) . Kosinski and one of the film’s stars, Glen Powell, were in the audience.
Top Gun: Maverick has its world premiere in San Diego on May 4 before heading to the Cannes Film Festival. It lands in theaters domestically on May 28.
The film was the only summer tentpole shown in full to exhibitors at CinemaCon 2022, which is ending today.