The four actors who will play the Beatles in ‘bingeable theatrical experience’

Las Vegas: Hollywood studio executives are making their case for theatre-going with a little help from John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – along with the newly announced stars set to play them.

Sony Pictures kicked off the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show in Las Vegas on Monday by touting their four upcoming biopics, told from the perspective of each member of the Beatles.

(From left) Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan and Harris Dickinson, who will play the Beatles in four films about their journey.Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

At their presentation on the main stage at Caesars Palace, the studio confirmed and brought out the long-rumoured leads for each film – Paul Mescal as McCartney, Joseph Quinn as Harrison, Barry Keoghan as Starr and Harris Dickinson as Lennon.

Director Sam Mendes said all four films would premiere in April 2028, calling it the “first bingeable theatrical experience”.

“I’ve been trying to make a story about the Beatles for years,” Mendes said.

The convention draws thousands of movie theatre employees from around the world each year, as all the major Hollywood studios make big presentations packed with film clips, trailers and stars to make the case that their upcoming slate will lure audiences to cinemas.

Director Sam Mendes is keen to get audiences back into cinemas. Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Sony also brought out Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle to debut the new trailer for 28 Years Later, his long-awaited zombie apocalypse sequel to 28 Days Later, which will theatres in June, as well as the team behind Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to tease their third film in the Spider-Verse trilogy.

CEO Tom Rothman encouraged movie theatre owners to get creative with weekday discounts, and Sony executive Adam Bergerman made the case for keeping films in cinemas for longer.

The convention comes fresh off an Oscars rallying cry for seeing movies in theatres.

Although a fuller release schedule is expected this year compared to 2024’s depleted calendar thanks to dual historic strikes, Hollywood marked the first quarter of 2025 with a sizable box office deficit. Sales are down 11 per cent from the same point in 2024, and nearly 40 per cent from 2019, according to media analytics company Comscore.

AP

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