Google Offers Studios Hundreds of Millions for AI Training Rights as Disney Character Fees Hit $40 Million
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Sep 1
Google Offers Studios Hundreds of Millions for AI Training Rights as Disney Character Fees Hit $40 Million
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Sep 1
Summary
Google has approached major Hollywood studios with licensing offers worth hundreds of millions of dollars to train AI models on copyrighted film and TV libraries, though Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal have not agreed to deals.
A single character license could cost about $40 million for a studio like Disney/Pixar, with broader agreements potentially reaching billions and including a share of ad revenue from AI-generated content on platforms such as YouTube.
For Google, studio-backed content could strengthen Gemini with recognizable IP and help recast generative AI as mainstream entertainment rather than a technology tied to scraping disputes and job-loss fears.
Studios face the opposite risk: embracing Google's AI cash could alienate workers and audiences, especially after backlash to AI-generated images tied to Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
A deal with a top legacy studio would mark a wider industry turning point, following Lionsgate's 2024 Runway pact, because it could pressure other production houses to adopt AI to cut costs and speed output.
If Google pays billions to license iconic characters, will human actors become completely obsolete in the next generation of blockbusters?
Could Hollywood's lucrative AI negotiations with tech giants trigger the most devastating labor and creator backlash the entertainment industry has ever seen?
Will exclusive multi-million dollar AI licensing deals give a single tech giant absolute monopoly over the future of cinematic creativity?