Hollywood's AI Bet Isn't Paying Off
1 46Hollywood's recent attempts to build entertainment around AI have consistently underperformed or outright flopped, whether the AI in question is a plot device or a production tool. The horror sequel M3GAN 2.0, Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning, and Disney's Tron: Ares all disappointed at the box office in 2025 despite centering their narratives on AI.
The latest casualty is Mercy, a January 2026 crime thriller in which Chris Pratt faces an AI judge bot played by Rebecca Ferguson; one reviewer has already called it "the worst movie of 2026," and its ticket sales have been mediocre. AI-generated content hasn't fared any better. Darren Aronofsky executive-produced On This Day...1776, a YouTube web series that uses Google DeepMind video generation alongside real voice actors to dramatize the American Revolution. Viewer response has been brutal -- commenters mocked the uncanny faces and the fact that DeepMind rendered "America" as "Aamereedd."
A Taika Waititi-directed Xfinity commercial set to air during this weekend's Super Bowl, which de-ages Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, has already been mocked for producing what one viewer called "melting wax figures."
1 comments
Re: I'd rather watch claymation (Score: 5, Insightful)
by LindleyF ( 9395567 ) on Friday February 06, 2026 @09:55PM (#65973950)
Remember the evolution of computer graphics. Wrath of Kahn's genesis proposal video was state of the art at the time. You could literally see Lightwave improving through the 5 seasons of Babylon 5. DS9's Way of the Warrior was the last hurrah for physical models, Star Trek went all CGI after that. These things take time to figure out. They don't emerge fully formed.