There’s nothing like watching a movie. Nothing like letting yourself escape and enjoy. Nothing that matches the power of a great story that invites you in, gives you the space to watch and wonder, leaves you thinking or laughing or crying or all of the above. Nothing like the shared experience of sitting in a theater, alongside friends and strangers, traveling to new places, enduring thrilling journeys, and seeing a perspective you never considered before.

Every year, CinemaCon brings together this special community to celebrate the unique place of film in our society, economy, and culture. As Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, I love being a part of that community and joining you in Las Vegas to shine a spotlight on the state of our industry today and where it’s headed tomorrow.

At the MPA, we are proud to advocate on behalf of iconic American studios – in the halls of government at home and in capitals around the world. And as we mark 250 years of America’s independence this year, we know we can never take for granted the starring role played by cinema in our country. Because for a nation founded on the promise of freedom, defending the rights of creators, casts, and crews to speak, express, imagine, and inspire is absolutely essential.

In that spirit, we will keep fighting for what this industry means for our workers, businesses, and audiences – a driver of jobs, prosperity, culture, and connection. We will keep fighting to protect content from threats of theft. We will keep fighting to safeguard the copyright principles etched into the U.S. Constitution. We will keep fighting to maintain the centrality of human creativity even as we recognize the potential of new technologies. We will keep fighting to ensure our ratings system remains strong and trustworthy – a vital part of the process when families are deciding what to watch in theaters.

Our team at the MPA is leading that battle on every front. Through legislation in D.C. and all 50 states. Through legal cases brought against companies or entities seeking to undermine our ratings or threaten our intellectual property. Through actions to spur U.S. competitiveness in the production landscape and bring more filmmaking jobs to our local communities. Through partnerships with law enforcement around the world helping us take down piracy operators and ensuring fans see movies the way they’re meant to be seen.

No one should sugarcoat the challenges we face right now. This industry finds itself in a period of unmistakable uncertainty, fueled by the advent of AI, the divisions in our politics, and the changing ways people consume entertainment.

Yet across Americans’ love affair with film, there’s a fact we should never forget: change is part of our industry’s DNA. So, too, is innovation. And every time the prognosticators issue warnings of doom and gloom, all of us – studios large and small, theaters, actors, writers, directors, below-the-line workers, and more – adapt, persist, persevere, power through, and write another remarkable scene in the endless screenplay of great cinema.

That tradition is rooted in values as American as anything else – hope, opportunity, and the belief that better days lie ahead, if we work at it, dream about it, and apply our imaginations to it. That sounds like just the kind of energy found at CinemaCon each spring. To me, there’s nothing like it. I look forward to forging that future together.