Sony relies on Spider-Man and Ghostbusters to bring audiences back to theaters

Shaken by the pandemic and streaming platforms, the film industry is trying to recover and is counting on big productions like the next

and a new

, presented at the professional CinemaCon festival in Las Vegas, to encourage audiences to come back to the theaters.

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facing his past demons

Last year CinemaCon, where Hollywood studios ordinarily dispatch star cohorts to flatter movie theater owners, had to be canceled due to the coronavirus. Now that nearly 90% of North American cinemas have reopened their doors, Sony Pictures wanted to boost the morale of the troops by unveiling the trailer for

, the next installment in the adventures of the leaping superhero, then by showing a preview of

, the sequel to the

released in 1984, strongly tinged with nostalgia.

,

admitted Josh Greenstein, who chairs the cinema department of the giant Sony.

he said.

Sony's Monday night presentation also featured brief footage from

, starring Brad Pitt, and another superhero film titled

sequel to the series that began with

Also on the menu for the evening were excerpts from

, directed by Denzel Washington, and a film adaptation of the successful novel

, produced by Reese Witherspoon.

was presented by its director Jason Reitman and his father Ivan, who had directed the initial opus almost forty years ago.

The plot still remains ultra-confidential but the new part follows the adventures of the descendants of the first ghost hunters, who take over the suit and the ectoplasm vacuum cleaner from their elders.

Video platforms versus cinemas

Organizers maintained CinemaCon despite fears over the explosion of cases of the Delta variant, but a large number of stars preferred to stay away from Las Vegas casinos despite the

put in place for it. 'event. Disney is almost absent, but other traditional studios, such as Warner, Universal and Paramount, have made the trip. Since the start of the pandemic, each of them has resorted in one way or another to video-on-demand platforms to broadcast their works, to the chagrin of cinema operators who are worried about their work. to come up.

The only major Hollywood studio without a streaming service, Sony on Monday pledged to

before the arrival of films on other media, eliciting strong applause from CinemaCon participants.

,

said Josh Greenstein. Its managing director, Tom Rothman, cited the success of

comedy produced by its competitor Disney, as an example. Unlike the flops recently suffered by other films,

, he judged.

added Tom Rothman. The CinemaCon festival continues through Thursday.