Hollywood to use AI to pick next box office hit
'The system can calculate in seconds what used to take days to assess by a human'
Cinelytic CEO Tobias Queisser discusses how his company is using to artificial intelligence to shake up the film industry.
Warner Bros. has signed a deal with entertainment analytics company Cinelytic in an effort to predict what types of movies will be box office hits using artificial intelligence.
Cinelytic will help Warner Bros. use an artificial intelligence program with the capacity to analyze potential films and predict which ideas should be put into development that Cinelytic launched last year.
"We are very excited to work with Warner Bros. Pictures International, a leader in worldwide content, to bring the power of real-time predictive analytics to content and talent valuation decisions," Cinelytic co-founder and CEO Tobias Queisser said in a statement.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from "Joker." (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Queisser told the Hollywood Reporter that its AI system "can calculate in seconds what used to take days to assess by a human when it comes to general film package evaluation or a star’s worth" to help industry professionals make faster and better-informed decisions.
While the analytics company cannot guarantee a movie hit, its AI program can assess the value of an actor in a specific plot and how much a film can be expected to make. It can also measure more profitable parameters for packaging, as well as marketing and distribution, including release dates, which will help save executives time.
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"Artificial intelligence sounds scary. But right now, an AI cannot make any creative decisions," Queisser said. "What it is good at is crunching numbers and breaking down huge data sets and showing patterns that would not be visible to humans. But for creative decision-making, you still need experience and gut instinct."
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Lady Gaga, left, and Bradley Cooper in a scene from "A Star is Born." (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Cinelytic Senior Vice President of Distribution Tonis Kiis said the analytics company's AI tools can help "engage" audiences.
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"We make tough decisions every day that affect what — and how — we produce and deliver films to theaters around the world, and the more precise our data is, the better we will be able to engage our audiences," he said in a statement.
Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
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This article has been updated to include a comment from Queisser from a Warner Bros. press release.