Paramount once again showed wit and invention at CineEurope, thanks to the comic curtain raiser that regularly launches its slate presentation at the annual convention for the cinema industry in Barcelona.
The filmed comic skit this year saw Mark Viane, Paramount president of international theatrical distribution, in the title role of the studio’s upcoming Ebenezer – with territory heads (and Phil Clapp and Laura Houlgatte from CineEurope partner UNIC) in supporting roles. Viane, as Ebenezer, was challenged by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future to deliver more films.
That was an apt fit with Paramount’s overall message this year — that the pace of production has increased, the 2026 slate is fuller than in recent years, and with more to come.
“The future has never been brighter and the Paramount lot is a vibrant and thrilling place to work once again,” said Viane.
“We’re scaling to give your audiences movies for every season, every genre and every cinema goer. That means 15 theatrical films in 2026, nearly double last year’s releases with an eye to building towards a robust slate, year after year.”
The implication of Viane’s words was clear: regardless of the acquisition of Warner Bros, Paramount has big ambitions for its own slate, and the studio under CEO David Ellison’s leadership is already investing for success.
Before the slate got under way, Viane presented a short film by Jon M Chu, narrated by Tom Cruise, celebrating the legacy of Paramount, and showcasing current filmmaker partnerships. The film ended by revealing Cruise on screen, wrapping up his narration from an iconic location – sitting on top of the Paramount Water Tower in Los Angeles.
First up in the slate was Ebenezer, Ti West’s “imaginative retelling” of A Christmas Carol, starring Johnny Depp in the title role. A sizzle reel showed Depp as Scrooge — a role that will likely see the actor make another big swing and deep immersion.
Viane then pivoted to a focus on family animation, with footage from Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, the Spanish-produced franchise entry Tad And The Magic Lamp, and The Angry Birds 3. The latter sees the titular birds take on their biggest challenge yet — parenting. Keeping with the family theme, next came a sizzle for Sonic The Hedgehog 4.
Music-powered coming-of-age tale K-Pop: The Debut is produced in collaboration with K-pop label Hybe, and tells the story of a Korean American girl who is given a shot at becoming the next global K-pop sensation. Paramount showed a sizzle for the film, which is directed by Benson Lee, and set for release next February.
Hollywood has adapted numerous YA fantasy novels, and the latest from Paramount looks distinctive within the genre. Children Of Blood And Bone is the first book in Nigerian American novelist Tomi Adeyemi’s Legacy Of Orisha trilogy, and follows a young heroine as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orisha. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s film stars Thuso Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Regina King, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Viola Davis. Paramount showed more than three-and a-half minutes of footage in the sizzle, and Viane dubbed the film “epic, action-packed, magical and unlike anything you’ve seen before”.
American football films traditionally struggle in most markets outside North America, so Paramount will hope for better for Mr Irrelevant, the inspiring true story of John Tuggle who joined the New York Giants in 1983 in inauspicious circumstances, going on to surprising success on the field before being diagnosed with cancer. Superman star David Corenswet stars in the title role, and Jonathan Levine directs.
Dark tales led by female characters are a notable trend at CineEurope this year, and Paramount’s is thriller A Place In Hell starring Michelle Williams as a ruthless criminal attorney who sees her ambitions challenged when a young lawyer (Daisy Edgar-Jones) joins the firm. Paramount showed a three-minute sizzle, depicting an escalating battle between the two women.
Franchise projects
Viane then looked further ahead to a raft of films yet to come, for which footage was not ready, or they have yet to shoot.
Crime thriller High Side will reunite A Complete Unknown’s James Mangold and Timothée Chalamet. Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow is adapted from Gabrielle Zevin’s novel and stars Daisy Edgar-Jones for director Sian Heder. Damian Chazelle directs Daniel Craig and Cillian Murphy in an as-yet-untitled prison drama. Potsy Ponciroli’s thriller The Rescue sees a rodeo cowboy (Brandon Sklenar) go in search of his kidnapped daughter.
The upcoming genre slate includes a new Paranormal Activity, produced by Jason Blum and James Wan; a new Longlegs reuniting director Oz Perkins and star Nicolas Cage; and an update of Possession (1981), directed by Smile’s Parker Finn and starring Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley.
James Wan is directing and producing a fresh take on 2019 South Korean thriller The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil; and One Battle After Another’s Teyana Taylor makes her directing debut with dance film Get Lite. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 is set for August 2027 release.
Paramount is working on new installments of popular franchises Star Trek, GI Joe, Transformers and World War Z, and the next Top Gun is in development, reuniting Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer.
After this run-through of future films, Viane had five cards yet to play. The first was A Quiet Place: Part III, which sees John Krasinski return to the director’s chair, and brings back stars Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy.
Paramount has two major videogame adaptations in the works: Call Of Duty and Street Fighter. For the former, Peter Berg directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Taylor Sheridan. Paramount teams with regular Warner Bros collaborator Legendary on the Kitao Sakurai-directed Street Fighter. Andrew Koji and Noah Centineo star as estranged street fighter brothers who must set aside their differences, and the large ensemble cast also includes Jason Momoa, Callina Liang, Eric André and Curtis Jackson (50 Cent).
From director David Ayer, Heart Of The Beast reteams the director with Brad Pitt after 2014’s Fury, and tells the story of a retired Army Special Forces officer and his loyal ex-military dog banding together to survive in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash.
The Paramount presentation wrapped up with a four-minute sizzle for Focker-In-Law, on which the studio has international rights (Universal retains North America). John Hamburg directs the franchise’s returning regular stars plus new cast member Ariane Grande, who plays a confident, highly capable woman who is welcomed into the family as the fiancée of the Fockers’ now-adult son (Skyler Gisondo).
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