Anna Marsh speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2026. Getty Images for CinemaCon One indie distributor’s alleged financial woes became a boon for Sony Pictures Classic which was given a chance to hawk its wares at day one of CinemaCon seemingly out of the blue.
Organizers had anticipated that Row K would take the stage at “CinemaCon Film Showcase,” but on April 2, the distribution label, plagued by financial problems according to multiple reports, pulled out of its presentation allowing SPC to join Angel Studios and StudioCanal to make their case to the publicists and reporters who were on hand at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
SPC kicked things off and delivered a lively enough presentation, led by its newly-minted VP of Sales John Z. Shahinian. He shared previews of upcoming titles including “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty,” “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” and my personal favorite, “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” which stars Zoey Deutch as a young woman hell bent on repairing her relationship the only way she knows how — by sleeping with her celebrity hall pass, Jon Hamm.
John Shahinian, Vice President, Sales, Sony Pictures Classics speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2026. Getty Images for CinemaCon During their presentation, Angel Studios announced five new projects: a Ronald Reagan drama “The Brink of War,” a Zachary Levi-led reimagining of “Angel and the Badman,” chocolatey origin story “Hershey,” Christmas musical “Drummer Boy” and lastly, “Runner,” an Alan Ritchson–Owen Wilson action flick about an organ delivery man pursued by black market criminals while delivering a liver.
StudioCanal closed out the showcase by giving the people exactly what they were craving: more “Paddington,” revealing a fourth film is in the works (a voiceover touted it as the most successful independent family franchise of all time). Other key StudioCanal announcements included a reimagining of the 1981 horror classic “The Howling” and a feature adaptation of the bestseller “The Midnight Library.” Danny Boyle closed out the showcase with a surprise appearance to show footage from his upcoming film “Ink,” a Broadway adaptation featuring Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch.
A source with knowledge of Row K’s operations tells P6H that it was unclear what exactly the distributor would have shown if it had gone forward. Row K has three upcoming movies (“Poetic License,” “Cliffhanger” and “Charlie Harper”) in the can — and has been heavily focused internally on its January release of Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man’s Wire.” We’re told marketing agencies made creative pitches to land campaigns for the reboot of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film “Cliffhanger,” but studio brass never followed up.
It was all slightly chaotic as the three other labels learned of Row K’s issues like everyone else did: in the headlines, with Variety reporting the company was “being beset with unpaid bills and concerns about its finances.”
Danny Boyle and John Shahinian at CinemaCon 2026. Getty Images for CinemaCon Row K brass previously told Variety: “Row K is well-capitalized, continues to support its existing projects, and is focused on long-term, sustainable growth with a clear emphasis on commerciality.”
