Cinemacon is happening while talking in Las Vegas, and Sony Pictures was honored to help start the annual Hollywood study and theater owners. They did so by doing a very big, scattered announcement: Oscar winner Sam Mendes has now confirmed that he is dealing with biopic (yes, plural) for the biggest band in band history, the Beatles. Called "Beatles-Chinese Four Films", the studio will release four films, one in the center of each member of the group, all of which will arrive in April 2028.

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To say that this is the only strategy would be a dramatic underestimation. It can be called madness, while another can call it brilliant. They are probably both right. Mendes and Sony gathered quite a lot of cast for the Beatles filmsWith Paul Mescal ("Gladiator II") like Paul McCartney, Barry Keogan ("Windnalls") as a Ringo Star, Josephosef Quinn ("Stranger Things") as George Harrison and Harris Dickinson ("Ironelesy Claws") as Johnon.

The short logic for the movies is: "Every person has their own story, but together they are legendary." Sony also charges this as "first theater experience with theater experience" after Diversity. Staying home to boost the Stranger Things season is one thing. But for many people, going to the theater four times within a month - if not a weekend - it's another perspective. For the time being, it has not been officially confirmed whether all four films will release on the same day, or whether they will be spread over several weeks. In any case, they all come out in April 2028, and this is an unexplored territory.

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It is clear that Sony is trying to recreate Barbenheimer (or, to a lesser degree, glued) a phenomenon. They love what the world has experienced with Barbie and Oppenheimer at that fateful weekend, but with the biggest, most important band in band history. The question is, can they actually get it out?

Given the 2028 issue, we will have to wait a few years to get a firm answer to that question. What we can definitely say is that it will last a lot to pull this. We know where your goals are and why Sony thinks this can work. Overcoming the Beatles' biography would have felt excessive here, but for decades, their music persisted in the wider cultural landscape. There is a very clear audience for this film, with Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and old all music icons on its own.

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From a financial point of view, the high watermark is the queen's biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which has entered a stunning $ 910 million worldwide. No one expects four films released at the same time for everyone to make this kind of money, especially after the pandemic, but can Elvis ($ 288 million worldwide) The numbers are on the table, on average, for these films? It is certainly imaginable.

Let's not forget that Mendes can be a very commercial director. In addition to the winner of the best picture "American Beauty", he also directed "Skyfall", which made more than $ 1 billion and remains the biggest film "Jameseims Bond" ever. That, along with generally desired music, a great team and a pretty wild hook means that this absolutely crazy experiment can, at least in theory, pay off.

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If Sony can somehow keep costs under control and effectively sell this as an event for moving tables around the world, the studio could seem brilliantly to come May 2028. If they allow costs to explode, say, more than $ 100 million on average for each film, plus Gargigan Marketing? The prospects are far less clear and gambling can come closer to crazy than a genius.

Now, we have many more questions than answers. How will all this work? Will you need to see all four films so that others make sense? Will this feel like Sonny try to make you pay for four tickets to get one experience? Will the movies actually be good? Will people want to see a movie at Ringo Star, or just want to see UN Lennon? Can theaters actually do this job if all four films are released at the same weekend?

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What we can say for sure is that this is a bold choice and one of the most risky, coolest gambling we've seen as a studio for a while. Hollywood had this strange obsession with the "Part One" films in recent yearsA movie business wants franchises. But those things do not always work, or waiting for tracking is too long. Sometimes waiting just creates more expectation. Sometimes the excitement dies and the whole company is scattered.

What makes Sony with these Beatles films is unprecedented and wild. At a time when theaters are still desperately trying to recover from the pandemic That changed the business forever five years ago, the innovation feels more than ever. The bar to get someone to leave the house is higher than ever before. To do the same old job just won't work. Is this risky? Oh my God, absolutely. Is that a risk worth taking? It is easy to say because it is not my money, but as someone who wants to see the theater experience not only survive, but it progresses in the future, I say hell. Turn those cubes, Sony. Take your big swing.

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We talked more about this at today's episode of /film daily podcast:

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Look for the "Beatles-Chinese Four Film event" in the cinema in April 2028.