Hollywood Studios Are Spending On AI To Control The Future Of Film

Hollywood studios are shifting from experimenting with third-party AI to building and governing proprietary production systems—most visibly Amazon MGM’s AWS-backed Project Nara and Prime Video’s GenAI Creators’ Fund (three ordered animated series). The move aims to speed production, protect IP and cut costs while keeping artists and unions reassured through provenance and consent controls. Disney’s high-profile OpenAI Sora deal highlighted risks of outsourcing IP to outside platforms, while Lionsgate’s Runway partnership and Netflix’s acquisition of InterPositive show studios investing to internalize AI capabilities. Market impact: companies that own content libraries and build controlled AI stacks (e.g., Amazon, Netflix, Lionsgate, Adobe, Google) may capture efficiency gains and new product lines, while outsourcers face governance and labor headwinds; labor rules and rights-management remain material risks for valuation and operating costs.