The Rise of AI in Hollywood: Seven Major Studios Leading the Charge
Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept in Hollywood. It has become an integral part of the entertainment industry, reshaping how films and television shows are created, distributed, and consumed. From pre-production to post-production, AI is being embedded into every stage of the filmmaking process. Here are seven major studios that are at the forefront of this transformation.
Walt Disney Studios
Disney has been cautious about AI due to labor concerns and copyright issues. However, behind the scenes, the company has been actively experimenting with AI tools for production, visual effects, and content generation. In late 2025, Disney signed a three-year partnership with OpenAI, involving Sora, OpenAI’s video generation platform. This deal included a $1 billion equity investment and access to over 200 Disney-owned characters for AI-generated video creation.
The agreement was reportedly shutting down, and Disney is now restructuring its AI tech stack across divisions like Industrial Light & Magic, Disney Research, and Imagineering. AI is being explored for visual effects pipelines, digital asset generation, recommendation systems, theme park experiences, virtual production, and interactive storytelling technologies.
Amazon MGM Studios
Amazon MGM Studios has officially entered the AI filmmaking race. In May 2026, the studio launched a multi-million dollar GenAI Creators’ Fund alongside Amazon Web Services during the “AI on the Lot” conference hosted directly at Amazon’s Culver City studio lot. This event marked a clear signal that generative AI is no longer a side experiment but a full-scale studio strategy.
As part of the announcement, Amazon unveiled its first wave of AI-assisted animated projects, including Cupcake & Friends from BuzzFeed Studios, Love, Diana Music Hunters from Albie Hecht and pocket watch, and Punky Duck from filmmaker Jorge R. Gutierrez. All three projects are planned for Prime Video.
AWS has already invested billions globally into generative AI infrastructure, including major AI partnerships, custom chips, Bedrock AI services, and Anthropic-backed systems that can eventually integrate into entertainment production workflows.
Netflix
Netflix has become one of the most aggressive studios in deploying AI. Rather than quietly testing the technology, the company has integrated it directly into production, visual effects, advertising, and platform infrastructure. In 2025, Netflix confirmed using generative AI in the Argentine sci-fi series The Eternaut for a major VFX sequence involving a collapsing building in Buenos Aires.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the AI-assisted sequence was completed nearly ten times faster than traditional VFX workflows while also significantly reducing production costs. More recently, Netflix expanded its AI ambitions by acquiring InterPositive, an AI filmmaking technology company founded by Ben Affleck in 2022.
Fox Entertainment
Fox Entertainment has taken a different approach to AI, focusing on creator-driven content, vertical video, AI-assisted storytelling, and scalable digital production infrastructure. One of its earliest moves came in 2021 when Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment launched Blockchain Creative Labs, a digital content and technology division focused on NFTs, blockchain-powered entertainment, and creator monetization systems.
In 2025, Fox Entertainment expanded its AI ambitions by taking an equity stake in HOLYWATER, an AI-powered vertical video and micro-drama platform. The company operates several AI-supported entertainment apps, including My Drama, My Passion, and My Muse, with the latter specifically focused on vertical series developed using generative AI tools.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery has been expanding its AI initiatives through collaborations with Google Cloud. In 2024, the company announced an AI-powered captioning system for Max built using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform. This system reduced caption production time by nearly 80 percent while cutting costs by roughly 50 percent for unscripted programming.
Warner Bros. Discovery has also worked with AI video infrastructure companies like Moments Lab. The company’s AI-powered MXT platform helps media companies automate archival indexing, rapidly identify usable footage, and streamline the creation of trailers, highlight reels, and social media clips using multimodal AI analysis.
Lionsgate
Lionsgate became the first major Hollywood studio to publicly go all-in on a custom generative AI model. In September 2024, the company announced a landmark partnership with AI startup Runway. The model is designed to assist filmmakers across multiple stages of production, including pre-production planning, storyboarding, visual effects, post-production workflows, and cinematic video generation.
Lionsgate Vice Chair Michael Burns framed AI as a major financial opportunity for the studio, suggesting it could save millions in production and effects costs. Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela positioned the partnership as the beginning of a new era in entertainment production.
Paramount
Paramount Global has taken a cautious and infrastructure-focused approach to AI, prioritizing backend integration over high-profile AI filmmaking announcements. In 2024, Paramount Advertising announced a partnership with the generative AI platform Waymark to develop AI-assisted video advertising tools for local businesses and television advertisers.
Backer RedBird Capital is funding AI-focused B5 Studios to create agile, low-budget cinema pipelines. Beyond advertising, Paramount has integrated AI into the operational backbone of Paramount+ recommendation engines, metadata organization, and engagement analytics. Industry reports suggest Paramount may be exploring partnerships or internal testing involving generative AI platforms such as Runway and OpenAI-linked technologies.
