AMC Theatres Won’t Screen AI Short Film ‘Thanksgiving Day’ After Online Outrage

AMC Theatres has opted out of screening the AI-generated short “Thanksgiving Day,” which won a film festival contest whose prize included showcasing the winner at cinemas across the U.S.

Earlier this week, the inaugural Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival announced the victorious project would be granted a two-week run in nationwide theaters. The initiative hails from the festival’s distribution partner Screenvision Media, an advertising company that supplies the 20-minute pre-show engagement that runs before the feature presentation at major theater chains, including some AMC locations as well as Classic Cinemas and TCL Chinese Theatres. Exhibitors, however, don’t seem to have been involved in the terms of the Frame Forward contest.

“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,” a spokesperson for AMC said in a statement. “AMC was not involved in the creation of the content or the initiative and has informed Screenvision that AMC locations will not participate.”

Created by Igor Alferov, “Thanksgiving Day” used AI software, including Gemini 3.1 and Nano Banana Pro, to craft an intergalactic story about a bear and his platypus assistant who encounter all kinds of characters as they travel through the galaxy.

Modern Uprising Studios, which organized the Frame Forward event, released an unwieldy statement to defend the use of AI in film and asserted it’s even “supporting the theatrical window with compelling events.”

“There is a natural alignment between innovative storytelling, including GenAI-augmented productions, and the scale at which stories must operate to draw audiences together in the real world. When AI enhances production workflows, it also accelerates the development of companion experiences including immersive adaptations, spatial storytelling extensions, and interactive environments that complement and ‘eventise’ theatrical releases,” said Modern Uprising Studios’ senior VP of production and strategy Sverre Norfliet. “Rather than existing separately, theatrical and immersive will work in tandem, deepening audience engagement, enriching cultural impact, and extending the life of stories and franchises. MUS immersive is set to become an enabling layer across the creative and commercial lifecycle by helping storytellers build richer worlds, supporting the theatrical window with compelling events, and opening new avenues where audiences will participate in narrative universes.”

AI has been a widely dissected topic as Hollywood grapples with the opportunities and consequences of using such tools for making movies and television. In Variety and CNN’s recent town hall conversation with Matthew McConaughey and Timothée Chalamet, the two A-listers talked about the entertainment industry’s need to brace itself for the rise of AI.

“It’s coming. It’s already here. Don’t deny it,” McConaughey said. “It’s not going to be enough to sit on the sidelines and make the moral plea that, ‘No, this is wrong.’ It’s not gonna last. There’s too much money to be made, and it’s too productive. So I say: Own yourself. Voice, likeness, et cetera. Trademark it. Whatever you gotta do, so when it comes, no one can steal you.”

Chalamet said although he’s preparing for potential harms, he believes the business will find a healthy way to embrace the rapidly developing technology.

“I’m fiercely protective of actors and artists in this industry,” Chalamet said. “And equally, whatever tide is coming, it’s coming.”