Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara was absent from the studio’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time in three years.
The presentation, titled “The Big Picture,” kicked off with Warner Bros. President of Worldwide Marketing Sue Kroll, who introduced TV host Maria Menounos as the evening’s emcee.
Warner Bros. Pictures President and Chief Content Officer Toby Emmerich, who replaced Greg Silverman just months ago, was also absent from the presentation. Both are on vacation.
While a sizzle reel touting $4.9 billion in box office receipts (WB’s second-best year in its history) was played ahead of Kroll’s appearance, it’s fair to say a lot is riding on the studio’s vision moving forward — especially for its superhero universe with DC Films.
DC Films was represented by stars from its largest and most important franchise “Justice League”: Ben Affleck (Batman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg) and Ezra Miller (The Flash) all came to support the superhero pile-on opening in November.
Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman”) was stuck in London on set but appeared via taped-message while introducing her director Patty Jenkins and co-star Chris Pine for a segment hosted to her June release.
While the famous league did hit the stage, the men did not speak a word — deferring instead to director Zack Snyder. It was an underwhelming end to a sizzle reel from what is perceived as the crown jewel on the Warner lot.
There were genuine sparks on the Caesar’s Palace stage — like a formidable horror slate in “Annabelle: Creation” and a terrifying update of “It” with Bill Skarsgard, a new installment of the Lego movies based on the that Ninjago toys and a breathtaking clip from Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk.”