IMAX Partners With Runway AI

Zeitchik, Steven. “Runway AI, Imax Sign A Film Festival Deal”. The Hollywood Reporter, July 28th, 2025. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/imax-runway-ai-film-festival-1236330969/

IMAX partnered with Runway AI to show the shorts from Runway AI’s 2025 AI Film Festival in August of 2025. This took place at 10 IMAX screen locations across the country, in major cities like New York City and Washington D.C. 2025 is the third year of Runway AI’s AI Film Festival. Runway AI has a specific focus on the filmmaking applications of AI, and has also signed deals with AMC Networks and Lionsgate.

I found this out through my AI and Filmmaking class, and I am particularly interested as a film minor and a manager at a movie theater. IMAX is typically seen as the most prestigious screen a film can be played on. A very small percentage of the screens in movie theaters are IMAX screens. These few IMAX screens are spread out across the world, and are in high demand from distributors looking to have a leg up at the box office. This gives these AI films a credibility that may or may not be deserved. We talk a lot about AI and writing, but film is another industry where AI is becoming more and more prevalent.