AMC did not remove a feature film from its regular theatrical schedule. In February 2026, the theater chain withdrew from a Screenvision Media preshow placement involving Thanksgiving Day, an AI-generated animated short that had won the inaugural Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival. The decision followed online backlash from moviegoers and filmmakers.
The short was reported in the preshow at some locations, before the main feature. AMC said the initiative came from Screenvision, that it had not been involved in creating the content or the initiative, and that AMC locations would not participate going forward. Fast Company reported that Screenvision preshow packages operated in fewer than 30% of AMC’s U.S. locations—a figure that does not mean this particular short played in 30% of theaters.
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What film was involved?
Thanksgiving Day is an animated short by Igor Alferov, described in reporting as a Kazakhstani filmmaker. Its comic premise follows a bear and a platypus assistant traveling through space in a spacecraft resembling a dumpster while encountering bureaucratic and other absurd obstacles.
Reports identified Google Gemini 3.1 and Nano Banana Pro as tools used in the project. That description should be treated as reported production information, not proof that every part of the film—including writing, editing, compositing, sound, or voice work—was generated by AI. The available coverage does not provide a complete production breakdown.
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The film won the first Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival. Its prize reportedly included a two-week theatrical run in the United States, promoted as a significant opportunity for an AI-made short.
How did it reach cinemas?
The arrangement was not a conventional feature-film booking. Thanksgiving Day was intended to play during the cinema preshow: the advertising and entertainment material shown before the scheduled feature presentation.
Screenvision Media was associated with the placement. Screenvision supplies preshow packages to participating cinemas, which helps explain why the public-facing controversy centered on AMC even though AMC said it did not create or initiate the program.
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Some users reported seeing the short at select AMC locations. The reporting does not establish that it played in every AMC theater, most AMC theaters, or even every location carrying Screenvision’s preshow package. “Nationwide theatrical run” referred to the reported festival prize, not proof of universal exhibition.
Why did viewers object?
The backlash combined several criticisms that should not be treated as identical.
- Labor and authorship: Critics objected to AI-generated work receiving cinema exposure while human filmmakers, animators, artists, and other creative workers face pressure from generative AI.
- Perceived quality: Some social-media reactions described the short as low-quality or “slop”-like. Those are audience judgments, not an objective finding about the film’s artistic merits.
- Audience consent: Some moviegoers disliked encountering AI-generated material unexpectedly as part of a paid theater experience, particularly when they believed a human-made short could have occupied the same space.
The available reporting documents social-media reactions rather than a representative audience survey. The incident therefore shows a visible online backlash to this placement—not that audiences universally reject AI-assisted or AI-generated cinema.
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What did AMC say?
AMC’s reported position was narrower than many headlines suggested. According to coverage from Fast Company and PetaPixel, AMC said the content was part of a Screenvision Media initiative, that AMC was not involved in creating the content or initiative, and that it had told Screenvision AMC locations would not participate.
That wording does not amount to a general AMC ban on AI-generated films. It describes AMC withdrawing from this particular preshow arrangement after the controversy.
Was it also removed elsewhere?
Coverage also reported that Thanksgiving Day appeared at, or was scheduled for, Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre and was subsequently removed there. The available reports do not establish that every cinema chain connected to Screenvision screened the short or took the same action. A chain’s participation must be confirmed separately.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the incident reveals about AI cinema
The episode illustrates how theater exhibition can blur responsibility. A cinema brand may be the audience’s point of contact even when a third-party preshow provider supplies the material. To viewers, however, the distinction between “AMC programming” and “Screenvision preshow content” may be invisible.
It also exposes a difference between a clearly labeled festival experiment and unsolicited content encountered during a commercial movie outing. The same work can be welcomed as an innovation in one context and criticized as unwanted substitution for human-made work in another.
Finally, the controversy demonstrates the reputational risk of using a limited cinema placement to promote AI filmmaking. The exposure generated attention, but much of that attention focused on the dispute rather than simply on the film or its creator. Nothing in the reporting proves that all AI-generated productions use the same methods, raise identical labor concerns, or should be judged by the same standard.
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- DVD
- Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned
- English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
- 1
- 88
What happens next?
Festival organizers and Modern Uprising Studios reportedly said the theatrical placement was only the beginning and discussed adapting Thanksgiving Day for an immersive venue planned for New York City. That was a stated future plan, not evidence that the venue had opened or that the adaptation had already occurred.
The short may still have exhibition opportunities elsewhere, but the available reporting does not establish its current distribution or viewing availability. It is also best identified as Thanksgiving Day; one conflicting report used the title “R.A.T.S.,” while the more consistent coverage names the film Thanksgiving Day.
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