OpenAI is hoping an animated short film called “Critterz” that it got off the ground will have its feature-length debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2026. OpenAI is providing the AI technology to produce the film, which is being funded at $30 million by Paris-based Federation Studios, whose UK subsidiary Vertigo Films will produce in conjunction with Culver City’s Native Foreign, a firm known for blending AI with conventional techniques. OpenAI is providing use of its generative models, including the Sora video generator and DALL-E imager, to create what it hopes will be a test case. The idea is to complete in nine months what would normally take years at a fraction of the cost. Continue reading OpenAI Making Its Film Debut with $30M Animation ‘Critterz’

TikTok has teamed with Fandango to sell movie tickets, allowing entertainment fans “to go from movie discovery to ticket purchase directly within the TikTok app.” The integration is powered by TikTok Spotlight, a film and TV vertical the social platform launched last summer. The first film on offer is Disney’s “Tron: Ares,” opening in theaters October 10. “Fans will see a ‘Get Tickets’ button on movie-related in-app hubs, which will seamlessly connect them to Fandango’s ticketing flow,” TikTok explains, noting that from there, moviegoers can select seats and purchase tickets. Continue reading TikTok Partners with Fandango for In-App Movie Ticket Sales

Netflix has issued partner guidelines outlining use of generative AI in content workflows. The guidelines emphasize circumstances in which the use of generative AI requires advanced written approval, such as altering a character or performance, any inclusion of generative AI in the final product or using AI in a way that materially impacts union work. Fabricated content that could be “mistaken for real events” is to be avoided. Use of AI for “ideation” is deemed generally acceptable if done within guidelines. Allowing models to train on input or output of material destined for Netflix is off-limits. Continue reading Netflix Publishes Partner Guidelines for GenAI Production Use

AI audio firm ElevenLabs has launched Eleven Music, which lets businesses and individuals generate studio-caliber music using natural language prompts. Users can generate tracks in any genre or style, even adding vocals in different languages. The Eleven Music model was developed in partnership with music licensing firm Merlin and independent publisher Kobalt. Artists and songwriters from the two groups will participate in the development of Eleven Music Pro, a subsequent model planned for release in the coming months. The company says it built-in guardrails to protect rightsholders. Continue reading ElevenLabs Debuts Eleven Music with Kobalt, Merlin Backing

Kansas-based AMC Entertainment Holdings reported substantially improved financials for Q2 2025, reducing losses by 150 percent year-over-year to $4.7 million from $32.8 million from the same period a year prior. The world’s largest theater chain reported a 26 percent attendance increase during the period. CEO Adam Aron attributed the strong showing to an industrywide box office recovery that produced strengthened results across AMC Theatres in the U.S. and Odeon Cinemas in Europe. Total revenue of $1.4 billion marked a 35 percent improvement compared to Q2 2024, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) grew a stunning 150 percent to $189 million. Continue reading AMC Entertainment Turns Corner: Sales Surge, Losses Narrow

Warner Bros. Discovery reported revenue growth in Q2 with a $9.8 billion total compared to $9.7 billion for the same period in 2024. Propelled by the success of films like the action/comedy “A Minecraft Movie” and the horror hit “Sinners” starring Michael B. Jordan — in addition to the international rollout of HBO Max — the company turned a profit of $1.58 billion for the quarter, a significant increase over the same frame last year. Television series including “The Last of Us” and “Abbott Elementary” were hailed as examples of “creative excellence.” In the shareholder letter, WBD says it “optimized” linear networks, while making “substantive progress” in the movie studios and streaming arms. Continue reading WBD Earnings Buoyed by ‘Minecraft’ Film, HBO Max Growth

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. Continue reading Runway Sets a 10-City IMAX Release for AI Film Fest Finalists

Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to split into two publicly-traded companies by next year, one company focused on film, streaming and content production and the other concentrating on traditional television, including cable TV properties CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports. The Streaming & Studios company will contain Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as the film and television libraries. Global Networks will include CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S. as well as top free-to-air European channels, Bleacher Report and the Discovery+ streaming network. Continue reading WBD Will Split into Two Publicly Traded Companies Next Year

Google has quietly launched a film and television production initiative called “100 Zeroes” to fund projects (initially from respected indie studios) that are positive about tech and could help promote a positive take on Google’s own products and services. Google is teaming with talent management and production company Range Media Partners on the initiative. While product placement is expected to be one element (for example: a movie character uses an Android device rather than an iPhone), Google is reportedly more focused on a broader plan to promote a general positive view on technology, especially to younger demographics such as Gen Z. Continue reading Google Launches Initiative for Positive Film, TV Views on Tech

Runway has introduced a new video generation model, launching a next phase of competition that could transform film production. Notably, its Gen-4 system improves the consistency of characters, locations and objects across multiple scenes, an elusive prospect for most AI video generators. The New York-based startup calls its new development “a step towards Universal Generative Models that understand the world.” The key, Runway says, is to provide a single reference image of the character, item or environment as part of the model’s project material. Runway Gen-4 can generate 5- and 10-second clips at 720p resolution. Continue reading Runway Gen-4 Tackles AI’s Elusive Video Scene Consistency

Los Angeles-based AI startup Moonvalley has released a video generator purpose-built for entertainment and advertising. Called Marey, its creators say it was designed with the “specifications and tastes” of filmmakers and studios in mind and trained exclusively on owned or fully licensed source data to protect users from lawsuits. Asteria, a partner in the venture, owns a large documentary library through its subsidiary XTR. Its founders say Marey aims to usher in “a new era of GenAI video built to empower — not replace — the creative forces behind modern motion pictures.” Continue reading Moonvalley and Asteria Unveil Cinematic GenVid Model Marey

Staircase Studios AI — the film, television and gaming studio launched by “Divergent” franchise producer Pouya Shahbazian — has announced its investors and shared plans to produce more than 30 projects at budgets under $500,000 over the next 3-4 years. The company will be using a proprietary AI workflow it invented called ForwardMotion that the company says will revolutionize film and television production. The company has acquired multiple pieces of IP, including more than 20 scripts that have appeared on the Black List, which tallies the most popular unproduced scripts. Continue reading Staircase Studios AI Plans 30 Projects Over Next 3 to 4 Years

The U.S. Copyright Office has released Part 2 of its report on artificial intelligence, dealing with the legal and policy issues pertaining to copyright and generative AI. The two main takeaways are that legal questions concerning copyrightability and AI can be settled using existing federal law, requiring no legislative change. Also, “where AI ‘merely assists’ an author in the creative process, it does not change the copyrightability of the output.” Additionally, it reaffirms that any work created entirely by prompts (content “entirely generated by AI”) cannot be protected by copyright. Continue reading Copyright Office Says AI ‘Assisted’ Content Can Be Protected

CES’s Eureka Park is a section of exhibits where startups and early-stage products from all over the world solicit feedback and explore opportunities. From this year’s Italian delegates at Eureka Park, our team found EYE2DRIVE, a semiconductor company that develops CMOS chips for digital imaging inspired by the human eye. Their image sensors use AI to mimic the human eye’s ability to adapt its response to changing environmental light conditions. As a result, quality and color of the captured image remains unaffected. While currently focusing on autonomous navigation applications, the tech has potential for media production as well. Continue reading CES: Image Sensors Adapt to Light Changes Like Human Eye

When walking through the Japanese exhibits at CES 2025, it was difficult to miss the huge black spherical drone aircraft HAGAMOSphere that was prominently positioned as if demanding the passerby’s respect. And respect it deserved, for this drone prototype was one of this year’s CES Innovation Award recipients recognized for outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology. HAGAMOSphere’s innovation is its distinct ability to move both horizontally and vertically without tilting the aircraft. If the HAGAMOSphere is outfitted with a suitable camera, jerky movements in captured drone footage could potentially be eliminated or mitigated. Continue reading CES: Spherical Drone Design Could Benefit Media Production