TW3 Entertainment finishes AI-assisted fantasy film Merry the Christmas Witch

TW3 Entertainment has completed Merry the Christmas Witch, a family fantasy feature made with a hybrid model that blends generative AI and traditional filmmaking. The project was designed to bring a once-$80 million concept to screen while keeping writers, actors and other human creatives in the process.

Why it matters: - TW3 Entertainment is testing a lower-cost production model for effects-heavy fantasy films that could change how ambitious projects get made. - The film shows how generative AI can be used alongside traditional crews rather than replacing them. - TW3 Entertainment is also positioning the movie as the first step in a larger slate of AI-assisted fantasy projects.

What happened: - TW3 Entertainment completed Merry the Christmas Witch, a new family fantasy feature. - Tom Walsh, TW3 Entertainment founder and CEO, co-wrote and directed the film. - The story follows Merry, the first witch born on Christmas Day, who is banished from the witch kingdom and later returns after Santa Claus is captured in a plot to destroy Christmas. - The movie moves through Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas within one fantasy setting. - TW3 Entertainment said the film was completed through a hybrid production model that combines generative AI technology with traditional filmmaking.

The details: - The project was originally planned as a traditional live-action film and was projected to require about an $80 million budget. - TW3 Entertainment’s AI Production Division worked with generative AI company Phatty Acid on the effects-heavy production. - Professional writers, directors, producers, storyboard artists, editors, actors, an orchestral composer, colorists, sound designers and Foley artists remained involved in production and post-production. - Walsh said AI allowed the team to create a world that would previously have required a studio-sized budget. - Walsh also said the production still treated the movie as a filmmaking project centered on story, performance, editing, music, sound and human decisions.

Between the lines: - The project is a proof point for a broader strategy, not just a single film. - TW3 Entertainment has developed more than 400 original characters and creatures across six fantasy worlds. - The company has already started production on its next generative AI-assisted feature, Losopolis.

What's next: - TW3 Entertainment plans to continue building AI-assisted fantasy features from its larger character and world-building library. - Losopolis is now in production as the company’s next generative AI-assisted film. - The company is likely to use Merry the Christmas Witch as a case study for future hybrid productions.

The bottom line: - TW3 Entertainment is betting that generative AI can make big fantasy worlds more affordable without removing human creative roles.