OpenAI Backs First AI-Animated Feature Film, Set for 2026 Cannes Premiere

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OpenAI is backing the accumulation of the archetypal movie mostly animated with AI tools, acceptable to premiere astatine the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The tech institution aims to show that its AI exertion tin revolutionize Hollywood filmmaking by enabling faster accumulation timelines and importantly little costs.

The movie is titled “Critterz” and volition beryllium astir woodland creatures that spell connected an escapade aft a alien damages their village. The film’s producers are aiming for a planetary theatrical merchandise aft the premiere astatine the Cannes Film Festival.

The task has a fund of little than $30 cardinal and a accumulation timeline of 9 months. This is simply a comparable and important difference, fixed that astir mainstream animated movies person budgets successful the scope of $100 to $200 million, whilst besides having a three-year improvement and accumulation cycle.

The OpenAI-backed task started arsenic a abbreviated film

Chad Nelson, a originative specializer astatine OpenAI, primitively began processing “Critterz” arsenic a abbreviated movie 3 years ago, utilizing the company’s DALL-E representation procreation instrumentality to make the concept. Nelson has present partnered with London-based Vertigo Films and Los Angeles workplace Native Foreign to grow the task into a diagnostic film.

In the quality merchandise that announced OpenAI’s backing of the film, Nelson said, “OpenAI tin accidental what its tools bash each time long, but it’s overmuch much impactful if idiosyncratic does it,” adding, “That’s a overmuch amended lawsuit survey than maine gathering a demo.” Crucially, however, the film’s accumulation volition not beryllium wholly AI-generated, arsenic it volition blend AI exertion with quality work.

OpenAI confirms they're helping marque an AI-generated movie called 'Critterz'

• Goal is to decorativeness accumulation successful 9 months
• Budget is ~$30M
• Plan is to debut the movie astatine Canne
• 'Paddington 3' writers penned the script
• They're present casting dependable actors
• Art volition beryllium fed… pic.twitter.com/PVMtrhVUaH

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) September 8, 2025

Human artists volition gully sketches that volition beryllium fed into OpenAI’s tools specified arsenic GPT-5, the LLM connected which ChatGPT is built, arsenic good arsenic different image-generating AI models. Human actors volition dependable the characters.

“Criterrz” volition beryllium funded by Vertigo’s Paris-based genitor company, Federation Studios, with immoderate 30 contributors acceptable to stock profits.

Critterz has immoderate of the penning squad down the smash hit, “Paddington successful Peru.”

Despite having immoderate of the penning squad down the deed movie “Paddington successful Peru”, it comes astatine a clip of aggravated ineligible battles betwixt Hollywood studios and AI and different tech companies implicit intelligence spot rights.

Studios similar Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. person filed for copyright infringement suits against Midjourney, different AI firm, alleging that they illegally utilized their characters to bid its representation procreation engine.

OpenAI mise sur un movie d'animation IA determination prouver ses capacités Hollywood !

Le movie Critterz vise une sortie mondiale en 2026 avec une 1ère au Festival de Cannes.

Le projet sert de trial grandeur quality determination l'IA générative dans la accumulation cinématographique professionnelle.… pic.twitter.com/RjjKvdn807

— Ender | IA (@ia_ender) September 9, 2025

Crucially, however, “Critterz” volition not beryllium the archetypal diagnostic movie ever made with generative AI. Last year, “DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict” was released and is wide considered the archetypal diagnostic movie wholly made by generative AI. It had a fund of $405.

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