Every year, Hollywood makes a pilgrimage to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, a theater convention where studios and major distributors show up with flashy star-filled presentations to get exhibition owners excited about upcoming movies.
This year, as always, franchises were a major highlight of the convention; footage was shown from Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Three,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and Disney’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
But a major highlight at CinemaCon for me is always checking out the non-franchise movies. And this year, there were plenty to choose from. From the latest work from auteurs like Christopher Nolan (“The Odyssey”), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“Digger”), and Steven Spielberg (“Disclosure Day”), to trailers for original movies I didn’t even know existed, this collection of films showed you don’t need a cinematic universe to tell a compelling story.
Here are 12 non-franchise titles coming out this year to get excited about.
“Disclosure Day” (June 12)
The trailer for Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi tale from Universal already debuted, but the director showed up to CinemaCon for the first time ever to show an extended version, and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
From the film’s mysterious plotline that’s seemingly about aliens, to the great performances from stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, to the John Williams score, it’s hard not to be excited for this one.
“The Odyssey” (July 17)
Going all the way back to his “Batman” trilogy, Christopher Nolan has made it a tradition to kick-start his movie campaigns at CinemaCon.
Like Spielberg, Nolan’s trailer had already been released, but he showed up with additional footage.
Nolan admitted at the Universal presentation that his new adaptation of Homer’s Greek epic was an “absolute nightmare to film, but in all the right ways.”
The challenges — including the creation of a brand new IMAX camera — look to have all been worth it, as everything from the stunning locations to performances led by Matt Damon tease another film where Nolan is at the top of his game.
“The Brink of War” (August 14)
Angel, the studio that brought you “Sound of Freedom,” will release this political drama at the end of the summer, focusing on the 1986 Reykjavik Summit that pitted President Ronald Reagan against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Jeff Daniels plays Reagan and Jared Harris plays Gorbachev.
“Verity” (October 2)
If you’re looking for the next steamy thriller in the vein of “The Housemaid,” this release from Amazon MGM Studios might be it.
Based on the novel from “It Ends with Us” author Colleen Hoover, Dakota Johnson plays a writer who’s hired by the husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) to ghostwrite the rest of Verity’s book series following a mysterious accident that has left her in a vegetative state. Josh Hartnett plays the husband.
As Johnson’s character works to finish the series, she uncovers some strange clues that make her question what really happened to Verity.
“Digger” (October 2)
Let the Tom Cruise Oscar hype begin!
Cruise teamed with Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) for this outlandish satirical comedy from Warner Bros.
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a wealthy elderly oil tycoon who the president (John Goodman) turns to when it’s revealed that the world is on the brink of destruction. Cruise is almost unrecognizable in the role.
“Other Mommy” (October 9)
I’ll never forget a few years back when CinemaCon blessed us with the first-ever footage of “M3GAN” and the crowd went wild. I got the same this-is-something-special feeling when I saw previews of “Other Mommy.”
Produced by Jason Blum and James Wan for Universal, the movie follows a young girl who encounters an entity who seems to have entered the body of her mother, played by Jessica Chastain.
“The Social Reckoning” (October 9)
Yes, this is a sequel to the hit 2010 movie “The Social Network,” but it’s not what you think. David Fincher did not return to direct, and none of the cast from the first movie has returned, including Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg.
“The Social Network” writer Aaron Sorkin returned to write and direct this spiritual sequel from Sony, which chronicles a more recent time when young people are becoming seriously damaged from using social media.
Jeremy Strong plays an adult Zuckerberg, while Oscar winner Mikey Madison plays the whistleblower who told everything to a Wall Street Journal reporter, played by Jeremy Allen White.
“Klara and the Sun” (October 23)
For Sony, Oscar-winning screenwriter Taika Waititi adapts this beloved Kazuo Ishiguro novel for his next directing effort.
Jenna Ortega plays Klara, a robot whose purpose is to ease the loneliness of the human who purchases her. Klara soon discovers there are some challenges in doing this when she’s brought home to a troubled family.
“The Great Beyond” (November 13)
This movie from Warner Bros. marks J.J. Abrams’ first time directing an original story since 2011’s “Super 8.”
Also written by Abrams, “The Great Beyond” plot has been kept under wraps, but the footage shown definitely suggested the genre is science fiction, and I can tell you for sure that Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega, and Samuel L. Jackson star in it.
I know I’m excited.
“I Play Rocky” (November 13)
I’ll admit I was skeptical when I first heard about this Amazon MGM Studios biopic about a then-unknown Sylvester Stallone launching his career by not just writing the first “Rocky” movie, but demanding that he also play the lead.
What has convinced me this could be a special movie is Anthony Ippolito’s performance. He doesn’t just look like Stallone; he has the mannerisms down and talks exactly like him. Exactly!
That, mixed with “Rocky” nostalgia, could lead to a hit.
“Werwulf” (December 25)
Following the Christmas Day-release success Focus Features and Robert Eggers enjoyed with “Nosferatu” last year, Focus and Eggers are running it back again this holiday season with another horrific tale.
In “Werwulf,” Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a man in 13th-century England who can’t resist the wolf-like craving inside him when the full moon is out.
Eggers regulars Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe also star.
“Heart of the Beast” (Fall 2026)
Brad Pitt re-teams with his “Fury” director David Ayer for this survival movie from Paramount. Pitt plays a retired Army Special Forces soldier who survives a plane crash with his combat dog. The two must endure some harrowing circumstances in the Alaskan wilderness to survive.
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