Lionsgate's AI Deal

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Cine-files

Lionsgate, the studio behind hit franchises ranging from “John Wick” to “The Hunger Games” and cult classics like “American Psycho,” is entering into a major partnership with the AI firm Runway, The Wall Street Journal reports.

As part of the deal, announced Wednesday, Runway receives access to Lionsgate’s extensive library of movies and TV shows. In return, the startup will use this material to develop a new AI model tailored exclusively for the Hollywood studio.

Runway claims the resulting model will be capable of generating “cinematic video.” Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns told the WSJ that the technology could save the company “millions and millions of dollars,” hinting at potential efficiencies in areas traditionally handled by humans—such as storyboarding and visual effects.

“We do a lot of action movies, so we blow a lot of things up and that is one of the things Runway does,” Burns added.

Copy That

This marks the first deal of its kind between Runway and a major Hollywood studio. For Lionsgate, however, the timing is less than ideal: only last month the company faced criticism for using fabricated, AI-generated quotes attributed to well-known film critics in a trailer for “Megalopolis,” Francis Ford Coppola’s forthcoming sci-fi epic.

Runway also brings its own challenges to the partnership. Along with other generative-AI companies such as Midjourney, it is currently being sued by artists who allege copyright infringement after their work was used to train AI models without permission.

By securing direct access to Lionsgate’s library, Runway sidesteps many of these legal uncertainties—an approach that could set a more compliant precedent for future AI adoption across the industry.

Jeff Katzin, a partner at Bain & Co. who advised Lionsgate on its AI strategy, noted that this arrangement is distinctive: most other studio–AI collaborations do not grant companies permission to train models on proprietary film and television content.

Above Board

The agreement underscores a pivotal moment for the film industry, which stands at an AI crossroads. Major studios are increasingly exploring the technology, even as it remains a point of contention among creative professionals.

These tensions reached a peak last year, when actors and screenwriters staged a historic joint strike that secured landmark contractual protections against unauthorized AI use.

This week, California strengthened those safeguards with two new pieces of legislation that prohibit the use of AI to replicate an actor’s likeness or voice without explicit consent.

For now, Runway’s tools cannot yet produce imagery of sufficient quality for final movie or television productions, the WSJ observes. With access to Lionsgate’s vast archive, however, the startup may eventually bridge that gap.

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