Meme Stock Meets AI: How AMC Could Help Moviegoers Never See Subtitles Again
AMC Entertainment is testing a groundbreaking AI feature by releasing the Swedish sci-fi film "Watch the Skies" without subtitles, dubbing it with the original cast's voices. This marks an industry first, aiming to enhance the viewing experience by making it appear as if the film was originally in English. The film will debut on May 9 in 100 theaters across the top 20 U.S. markets. This innovation could influence ongoing discussions about AI's role in the film industry, particularly concerning acting unions like SAG-AFTRA.
A leading movie theater company will show a foreign film without subtitles. While this sounds like a recipe for disaster, it's an industry first using artificial intelligence.
What Happened: Cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC is testing a new feature for a foreign film it will bring to theaters.
AMC is set to release the Swedish sci-fi film "Watch the Skies" in top theatrical markets via XYZ Films, which partnered with Flawless AI to dub the film.
The hope is that moviegoers won't be able to tell that the movie was never filmed using English. There will be no subtitles for the film, which was originally recorded in Swedish, as reported by Variety.
The company's technology promises to be as close as possible to have the English and characters mouths match up.
This marks a first for the movie theater industry, according to the report.
The film, originally titled "UFO Sweden," debuts in theaters on May 9.
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Why It's Important: This could add to the pressure SAG-AFTRA currently faces over the use of artificial intelligence.
Acting unions and other organizations have fought against some AI use cases for the sector. But, according to the report, Flawless uses the voices of the original cast members to dub the film and is compliant with the SAG-AFTRA.
So far, AMC has a commitment to show the Swedish film on 100 screens in its top 20 U.S. markets.
"For the movie industry, this is a game changer," producer Albin Pettersson said.
Variety reported that Flawless AI was experimenting with the technology for foreign films in a push to get more international movies to theaters and in front of movie fans.
"Showing our materials to filmmakers, especially over the past year, they realize the potential from going to a local stage to a global stage. It's a huge opportunity to get your work out," Flawless AI co-founder Scott Mann previously told Variety.
The industry will likely pay close attention to the movie’s box office performance and audience reviews.
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