MOVIE NEWS – While social media creators are already embracing generative AI to produce content, major Hollywood studios remain cautious. According to analysts at Deloitte, this hesitation is largely driven by concerns over copyright, financial risk, and the immaturity of the technology. Studios may be exploring AI tools, but for now, they’re focusing on backend operations rather than letting AI lead the creative charge. Blockbusters made primarily by artificial intelligence are still a long way off.

Hollywood giants are under increasing financial pressure, with ballooning costs for production, operations, and marketing. At the same time, they face fierce competition from user-generated content, video games, and social platforms. Even though generative AI has seen massive advances in image, sound, and video creation, it’s still not ready to deliver full-fledged cinematic experiences on a blockbuster scale. Deloitte estimates that U.S. and European studios will allocate no more than 3% of their production budgets to AI-driven content this year, while spending more than twice that amount on AI systems to improve business and financial efficiency.

Copyright and Legal Ambiguity Slow Creative Adoption

“Independent creators and social media producers are free to experiment, which gives them an edge. In contrast, major studios must navigate legal uncertainty. Most AI models rely on publicly available content created by others, raising questions about whether AI-generated films can be considered original works. This directly impacts how these films can be marketed or sold,” explained Márton Bakos, senior manager at Deloitte’s tech advisory division.

Due to the sheer scale of data ingested by AI models, proving copyright infringement is difficult — especially in a regulatory environment that is still being defined. The U.S. Copyright Office recently acknowledged the legitimacy of works created predominantly by humans with limited AI assistance, but it has yet to clarify what percentage of human input qualifies a work for protection.

Studios Struggle with Data Access and Trust

AI developers want access to Hollywood’s content libraries to improve model training, but studios — whose revenues depend on IP — are hesitant to share, or only willing to do so at steep prices. This would further raise development costs for AI firms. Meanwhile, film companies are hoping that cautious collaboration will slow down disruptive advances. In the U.S., many industry guilds oppose AI integration outright. Regulatory frameworks in the UK and EU add more layers of complexity around data privacy and compliance.

“One solution would be for studios to develop proprietary AI models trained only on their own content. But this would be prohibitively expensive — potentially costing up to $100 billion. Open-source alternatives might reduce upfront costs, but long-term operation and skilled staffing still represent a huge investment. A more feasible path is to adapt pre-trained models to meet specific studio needs,” added Miklós Zaránd, a partner at Deloitte Tech Advisory.

AI Finds Its Place Behind the Scenes

Rather than using AI to write scripts or direct movies, studios are applying it to business operations: contract analysis, workforce planning, accounting, sales, and marketing. AI also helps with tasks like script breakdowns, scouting shooting locations, and improving the use of archival footage.

Could the First AI-Generated Hit Arrive by 2030?

“Just a year ago, a mostly AI-made hit film by 2030 seemed like wishful thinking. But given the pace of progress, it’s becoming increasingly realistic — especially since some studios are already using AI to enhance translations and emotional voice acting,” said Csilla Gercsák, manager at Deloitte Tech Advisory.

As AI tools become more accessible, smaller and independent creators can produce high-quality content at a fraction of traditional costs. The playing field is leveling, and the pressure is mounting on major studios to keep up.