Variety exclusive: AI-made holiday film cost $1.5M vs an estimated $80M
lmoroney · x · 2026-10-13
Variety's exclusive: Tom Walsh's "Merry the Christmas Witch," adapted from Bobbi Hess's 2012 children's book, would have cost an estimated $80M traditionally; with AI it was finished for $1.5M.
Author Hess called it "a perfect marriage" of subject and technology — the character was human-created, with AI enhancing the execution. The piece also notes broader AI-film momentum: Antonio Banderas starring in Utopai Studios' AI-powered "Cortes," and an AI-generated trailer winning the inaugural $2.5M Future Vision XPRIZE.
Related event: AI Christmas Film Made for $1.5 Million Instead of $80 Million(2 posts)→
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