AMC Refuses to Screen AI Movie After Online Backlash

By Olivia Armstead 

Courtesy of Deadline

With the surge of AI taking over many industries, including the creative ones, some might assume that AI films would start being shown in theaters soon. However, following the news that an AI short film was going to begin screening before feature presentations at AMC Theaters, conversations have been sparked around AI movie screenings. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, last week it was announced that Igor Alferov’s short film titled “Thanksgiving Day” had won the first ever Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival. As a reward for winning the contest, “Thanksgiving Day” was set to screen in theaters for two weeks nationwide. 

Controversy and uproar on social media surrounding AI content in films being welcomed by exhibitors led to the screening of “Thanksgiving Day” being put on hold. The screening was set to be programmed by Screenvision Media, a third party company who is responsible for showcasing advertisements before a movie starts, and not exhibitors, per Hollywood Reporter. 

Screenvision Media organized the Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival in collaboration with Modern Uprising Studios and provided film to several cinema chains, not solely AMC. 

AMC released a statement about the controversy saying: “This content is an initiative from Screenvision Media, which manages pre-show advertising for several movie theatre chains in the United States and runs in fewer than 30 percent of AMC’s U.S. locations. AMC was not involved in the creation of the content or the initiative and has informed Screenvision that AMC locations will not participate.”

This recent discussion has young aspiring filmmakers and creatives looking to work in film, concerned and confused about the future of the industry. 

“I think the AMC situation reflects a larger tension in the film industry...Whether we like it or not, AI is here,” said Ravyn Medina, vice president of Hampton’s Student Film Organization. “I think it can be good when it supports human creativity rather than replacing it [and] it can definitely enhance storytelling in many ways … [but] I [do] feel like AI is slowly replacing things that humans have been doing for decades and it’s just taking away from the arts.”

It is unclear whether or not other cinema chains will screen the movie.