2026: The Year AI Filmmaking Goes Mainstream

Written By Curt Doty

Courtesy of studio.aifilms.ai. Global film and television production (2015) | Photo by Mike Meeks on Unsplash

Everyone in Hollywood is standing around the pool in their bathing suits. Early in 2026, someone's going to jump in.

That's how Jason Zada, CEO of AI studio Secret Level, describes the current moment in entertainment. His company is launching an AI powered production platform in 2026, betting on "a resurgence in indie films and stories that previously couldn't be told." Disney just invested $1 billion in OpenAI, licensing 200 characters for Sora. The Visual Effects Society published AI chapters in their official handbook. And Gartner analyst Chris Ross told TheWrap that "2025 is really an onramp to what we're going to see in 2026."

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Curt Doty

Curt Doty is a former NBC Universal creative executive and award-winning marketer. As a creative entrepreneur, his sweet spot of innovation has been uniting the worlds of design, content and technology. Working with Microsoft, Toshiba and Apple, Curt created award-winning advanced content experiences for mobile, eBooks and advertising. He has bridged the gap between TV, Film and Technology while working with all the movie studios and dozens of TV networks. Curt’s Fortune 500 work includes content marketing and digital storytelling for brands like GM, US Army, Abbott, Dell, and Viacom.

https://www.curtdoty.co
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