What CinemaCon Winners Tell Us About the Movie Year Ahead

With CinemaCon 2024 behind us, which studios came out ahead? On the latest episode of IndieWire’s “Screen Talk,” we discuss the presentations with the most promising slates, from Universal and Focus Features (like Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu”) to Disney (Barry Jenkins’ new “Lion King” movie “Mufasa”) and more.

We also discuss the big changes at the Sundance Film Festival announced this week, as it begins to explore possible host cities other than Park City in the wake of Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente’s departure. The 2025-2026 editions of the festival will take place in Park City. However, if Sundance wants to extend its contract with Park City beyond 2026, the deadline is October 2024. That already represents an extension of the original deadline, which was in March. What other American cities might want to take on the festival?

In a packed episode, Anne Thompson has finally caught up with “Challengers” (April 26) and “Civil War” (now in theaters). While Alex Garland’s film marked the biggest opening ever for A24, this weekend will be the real test to see how the dystopian drama about a fractured United States, and starring Kirsten Dunst, holds up with audiences.

Meanwhile, on the TV front, Anne and Ryan Lattanzio also dive into what makes Steve Zaillian’s black-and-white Patricia Highsmith adaptation, “Ripley,” work so well. It’s currently streaming on Netflix and stars Andrew Scott as the title grifter.

Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.

Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here, subscribe here, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.