CINEMACON Announces Its 2026 Big Screen Achievement Award Nominees
James Cameron, Queen Latifah, LaKeith Stanfield, Zoey Deutch, Adam Scott, Noah Centineo, and Catherine Lagaʻaia to be Recognized
Awards Caps Week-Long Celebration of Theatrical Exhibition on Thursday, April 16
LAS VEGAS (April 10, 2026) –CinemaCon®, the world’s largest convention for the global cinema industry and the official convention of Cinema United, revealed today the honorees for the 2026 Big Screen Achievement Awards, taking place on April 16 at The Dolby Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This year’s honorees are James Cameron (Cinema United Spirit of the Industry), Queen Latifah (Cultural Impact in Film), LaKeith Stanfield (Star of the Year), Zoey Deutch (Vanguard Award) Adam Scott (Award of Excellence in Acting), Noah Centineo (Star of Tomorrow), and Catherine Lagaʻaia (Rising Star of 2026).
Designed to recognize the remarkable achievements of the extraordinary talent behind the movies made for the theatrical experience, the Big Screen Achievement Awards afford an opportunity for the global theatrical exhibition industry to show their gratitude to the performers and filmmakers who bring the magic of movies to their screens.
“Our industry is at its best when those in it come together to celebrate the power of seeing a movie on the big screen,” said Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United. “This includes the incredibly talented people both in front of and behind the camera, whose work is at the heart of what makes the moviegoing experience so powerful and enduring. The films from this year’s honorees will undoubtedly capture the imaginations of audiences around the world, and we are proud to honor their achievements.”
The Big Screen Achievement Awards, hosted by CinemaCon’s official co-presenting sponsor The Coca-Cola Company, takes place at The Dolby Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and represent the finale to the world’s premier showcase of theatrical exhibition, CinemaCon. Hosting the awards this year will be Entertainment Tonight's Nischelle Turner.
Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron's upcoming film, Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), opens in theaters on May 8, 2026 via Paramount Pictures. Captured during Eilish's sold-out world tour using Cameron's own proprietary 3-D camera systems, the film brings an innovative new concert experience to the big screen featuring one of the most celebrated and successful artists of this generation. Presented in immersive 3D, the film is directed by Cameron and Eilish.
With billions generated at the box office, James Cameron's movies have placed him among the highest-grossing filmmakers of all time. A highly influential director, producer and screenwriter, Cameron has shaped modern cinema through technical innovation and large-scale storytelling writing and directing such iconic sci-fi masterpieces as The Terminator,Aliens, The Abyss, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He achieved historic milestones with Titanic, which became the highest grossing movie of all time and earned eleven Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. That box office high water mark was later surpassed by Cameron's own Avatar, which redefined cinematic 3D and went on to earn nearly $3 billion globally. The Avatar franchise's box office dominance continued with the massive success of its sequels, Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash, expanding the series into one of the highest-grossing franchises in film history. Cameron has written and directed three of the four highest grossing movies of all time.
Queen Latifah returns to cinemas next year as the voice of Ellie in Ice Age: Boiling Point, due in theaters February 5, 2027. A dinosaur-and-lava-filled madcap adventure, Ice Age: Boiling Point takes Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, Scrat and the rest of the herd to visit never-before-seen corners of the treacherous Lost World. Latifah is a GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, Oscar®-nominated actress, producer and entrepreneur with a career spanning music, film and television. Since making her bigscreen debut in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, Latifah has delivered standout performances in films including Chicago—for which she was nominated for an Academy Award®, Golden Globe® and SAG Award—as well as Set It Off, Living Out Loud, Bringing Down the House, The Secret Life of Bees, Hairspray, Mad Money, Just Right, Joyful Noise,The Last Holiday, Beauty Shop, Girls Trip, Miracles from Heaven and Hustle, to name just a few. On the small screen, she received an Emmy® Award nomination, Golden Globe win and SAG Award win for her role in Life Support. Other television credits include Living Single, Steel Magnolias, The Queen Latifah Show, Star, The Wiz Live!, The Little Mermaid and Bessie,for which she received an Emmy Award nomination, Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award win. Latifah most recently led the hit CBS series The Equalizer.
LaKeith Stanfield can be seen next month starring in NEON’s I Love Boosters, releasing in theaters on May 22, 2026. Written and directed by Boots Riley (Sorry To Bother You), Stanfield stars opposite Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore in a film about a crew of professional shoplifters who take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. An Academy Award nominee whose work spans film, television and music, Stanfield is best known for his work in Judas and the Black Messiah, Get Out, Sorry to Bother You, Knives Out, Uncut Gems, The Harder They Fall, Selma, and Snowden. On television he is widely known for his role in the FX series Atlanta.
Zoey Deutch can be seen this summer in Sony Pictures Classics Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, releasing in theaters on July 10, 2026. Deutch stars as a small town hairdresser, Gail Daughtry, who is engaged to her devoted high school sweetheart, Tom. Her life takes a turn when a trip to a book signing leads to Tom meeting and sleeping with his “celebrity pass.” Reeling from the betrayal, Gail impulsively joins her friend Otto on a trip to Los Angeles, where a psychic convinces Gail that the only way to save her marriage is to “even the scales” with her own celebrity pass: Jon Hamm. Most recently, Deutch garnered rave reviews for her role as Jean Seberg in the Golden Globe nominated Novelle Vague, earning her a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination. She executive produced and starred in The Threesome and in the suspense thriller Anniversary. Deutch can soon be seen in Voicemails for Isabelle and additional credits include Set it Up, Juror #2, Not Okay, and Something from Tiffany’s. In the fall of 2024, Deutch made her Broadway debut as Emily Webb in Our Town.
Adam Scott stars in Hokum, NEON's supernatural horror film arriving in theaters May 1, 2026. When novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront dark corners of his past. Widely known for his role in Step Brothers, Scott’s other film credits include The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Black Mass, The Vicious Kind, Sleeping With Other People, Bachelorette, The Disaster Artist, Our Idiot Brother, Monster-In-Lay, Knocked Up, and The Aviator. Scott has earned Emmy, Golden Globe , Screen Actors Guild, Film Independent Spirit and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for his starring role in Apple TV's Severance. Other notable small screen work includes Parks and Recreation, Big Little Lies, Party Down, and The Good Place.
Noah Centineo will star in Street Fighter, from Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures, in association with Capcom, arriving in theatres October 16, 2026. Filmed for IMAX®and set in 1993, Street Fighter is set to bring the battle from the arcade to the big screen with Hadoukens, roundhouses, and all your favorite characters. In addition to Street Fighter, Centineo recently wrapped production on John Rambo and will star in and produce the live-action Gundam movie. Centineo rose to fame in the popular To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. His additional credits include the Sundance breakout Union County, as well as Warfare, Black Adam, and the television series The Recruit, on which he also served as an executive producer. In 2023, Centineo founded Arkhum Productions alongside Enzo Marc, producing films such as Our Hero, Balthazar, and the upcoming Iconoclast.
Catherine Lagaʻaia will make her big screen debut in Moana, Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved Oscar®-nominated animated adventure opening exclusively in theaters July 10, 2026. In the film, Moana (Lagaʻaia)answers the Ocean’s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people. Prior to landing the role of Moana following a worldwide search, Lagaʻaia appeared in the limited series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Her upcoming roles include the 2027 feature film thriller Crashout.
About Cinema United
Founded in 1948, Cinema United is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 31,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 30,000 screens in 80 countries worldwide. Its membership includes theatres of all sizes, from the largest cinema chains to one-screen theatres in cities and towns around the world. For additional information, please visit cinemaunited.org. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter.
About CinemaCon
CinemaCon attracts upwards of six thousand motion picture professionals from all facets of the industry – from exhibition and distribution to the equipment and concession areas – all on hand to celebrate the moviegoing experience and the cinema industry. The Coca-Cola Company – one of the industry’s most highly regarded and respected partners in the world of movies – and Barco – a global technology company leading in visualization, networking, and collaboration solutions – are the official co-presenting sponsors of CinemaCon 2026. For more information, visit cinemacon.com. Follow CinemaCon onFacebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
