During its presentation at CineEurope in Barcelona, Universal celebrated the success of the past weekend’s James Bond pic, No Time To Die, which grossed $121.3M across 54 Uni and MGM markets, setting a new pandemic record as the first film to cross $100M overseas in its opening without China in the mix.
In keeping with the sentiment of gratitude here this week, Uni execs thanked exhibition for its part in helping make winners of such films as F9 and No Time To Die, and for weathering through the last 18 months. Said Niels Swinkels, EVP and MD for Universal Pictures International, “Thank you for standing by us as we had to shift and reshift. Together we are bringing audiences back to theaters.”
The company’s President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, commented that throughout the pandemic, Universal kept its eye on delivering “a diverse and broad lineup to cater to a variety of tastes.”
To that end, Uni presented films banner by banner, beginning with Illumination and Sing 2 (which was also screened for attendees here) and next summer’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru which got an extended clip.
Next up were trailers for MGM titles House Of Gucci from Ridley Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, Joe Wright’s Cyrano and Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives.
From DreamWorks Animation came an exclusive look at heist comedy The Bad Guys and a reminder that Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is coming next year.
Switching gears, the presentation turned to horror pics ahead from Blumhouse. Jason Blum sent a video message saying he believes that “no genre benefits more from theatrical than horror.” The CineEurope audience got a look at the trailer, previously shown at CinemaCon, for Ethan Hawke-starrer The Black Phone from director Scott Derrickson.
From Focus, there were spotlights on Last Night In Soho with a new trailer for the Edgar Wright title that debuted at the Venice Film Festival in September. Footage was shown from Kenneth Branagh’s Toronto People’s Choice Award-winner Belfast. Branagh sent a message thanking exhibition, and quoting Shakespeare, saying they had done “a good deed in a naughty world.”
A promo for Focus’ Lesley Manville-starrer Mrs Harris Goes To Paris was also screened, as was the trailer for Downton Abbey: A New Era (which was earlier shown in Las Vegas) and Robert Eggers’ The Northman.
Rounding out the presentation were glimpses of titles from Universal Pictures including a trailer for Jennifer Lopez/Owen Wilson-starrer Marry Me, the Jake Gyllenhaal action pic Ambulance and a BTS look at Jurassic World: Dominion which starts stomping next summer.