Runway has joined forces with IMAX to present the finalists from its fourth annual AI Film Festival in a 10-city U.S. commercial run, with four days of screenings at each location, from August 17 to 20. Tickets are on sale now for IMAX theaters in Manhattan, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Washington, D.C. The 10 finalists vied among 6,000 submissions for the 2025 competition, which marks the first time the AIFF finalists will get a national theatrical release. In 2024 finalists screened for one day at only two theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

The partnership “marks a milestone, a kind of big-leagues debut for AI-generated films,” writes Forbes, suggesting that IMAX’s giant screens are a fitting environment for a genre “often known for their surreal, mind-bending visuals and wild energy.”

“The IMAX Experience has typically been reserved for the world’s most accomplished and visionary filmmakers,” but this collaboration allows the company “to open our aperture and use our platform to experiment with a new kind of creator, as storytelling and technology converge in an entirely new way,” IMAX Chief Content Officer Jonathan Fischer explained in a Runway news post.

Deadline reports that “while plenty of anxiety remains in Hollywood about the implications of AI for the creative community, an increasing number of players are looking to develop AI projects and systems,” while “funding for a wide range of AI firms is continuing apace.”

On an earnings call last week, “Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos didn’t shy away from the topic,” calling AI “an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” according to Deadline, which said the streaming executive cited the Argentine sci-fi series “El Eternauta” as an effective example of using AI “for visual effects and other production elements.”

The Wrap notes that “among the 10 films selected are ‘One,’ a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film about transhumans who travel to a new planet and find lost souls eager to reclaim human bodies, and ‘Distance Between Two Points of Me,’ a short that explores the sense of loss many Ukrainians have felt after being forced to leave their homes following the Russian invasion.”

The showcased films range from two- to 10 minutes.

Runway provides descriptions of all 10 AI Film Festival 2025 selections, while IMAX lists theater details. “The quality, variety and storytelling of these films deserves a premium viewing experience,” Runway co-founder and CEO Cristobal Valenzuela said in the announcement.