Deadline, Paramount
Paramount goes all out Gladiator II Today at CineEurope, an exclusive extended scene from Ridley Scott's sequel to his 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner was shown. Introducing the footage in a video clip, Scott promises that Gladiator IIComing nearly two and a half decades after the original, it's “worth the wait”; audiences today agreed. That pre-roll clip also featured stars like Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn. Paramount will release the film globally in November.
At the top of the show, President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Vian once again found the CineEurope crowd laughing when his annual entrance was attached to a major Par title; this time he appeared in a cheeky pre-recorded video as Marcimus Vianus in gladiator garb and a vest emblazoned with the Paramount logo, celebrating the film and theatrical experience as he urged members of Par's international distribution team (wearing swords, sandals and togas), “On my signal, deliver the hell!”
Appearing on stage, Vian looks back at Par's strong start to the year mean Girls, Bob Marley: One Love And Ifand promised “the biggest Paramount presentation ever” at CineEurope.
He then showed two extended 3D scenes from the highly anticipated September release Transformers OneStar Chris Hemsworth sent in a video to talk about the film, enthusing, “Believe me when I say it's out of this world.” A work-in-progress version of the animation, directed by Josh Cooley, was recently screened at Annecy to a standing ovation. The original story is set on Cybertron and tells how Optimus Prime and Megatron, originally known as Orion Pax and D-16, go from being siblings to sworn enemies. There was enthusiastic applause for this buzzworthy picture here today.
Big attention was also given to the prequel A Quiet Place: Day OneDirected by Michael Sarnoski and starring Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou and Alex Wolff, the $638M+ global franchise's origin story is based on what happens the first day aliens arrive on Earth and the mayhem that follows. When one of the world's noisiest cities goes quiet, Nyong'o promises in a video clip, “Audiences will be on the edge of their seats.”
CineEurope also got to see the first five minutes of the autumn release Smile 2The trailer of which was released yesterday. Parker Finn's sequel to his 2022 surprise horror hit features a set of new characters from the same universe. What was shown today brought screams from the attendees.
And, the studio promoted the release during the holidays Sonic The Hedgehog 3 A mysterious shadow is introduced, giving an exclusive sneak peek of the film.
Other footage shown today is taken from the dark comedy Savage House starring Richard E Grant and Claire Foy, and an animation test of the upcoming The SmurfsTom Cruise doesn't make the occasional surprise appearance, but when CineEurope previewed his return, he was celebrated. Impossible Goal Franchise – Exactly one year later M:17 The world premiere took place in Rome. M:18 It's going to happen next summer.