An activist investor just told a movie studio: stop making new content, license the old stuff to AI instead. Anson Funds, a top-5 Lionsgate shareholder, told the board to license its 20,000-title film library into the AI video boom (like Disney's $1B Sora deal) or sell the company. Their own evidence: Lionsgate's stock drops every time a new AI video model launches. When the letter went public this week, the stock popped 3.5%, Wall Street rewarded the studio just for taking the idea seriously. A licensing deal isn't automatically the villain. But if the market keeps pricing "license the vault" higher than "greenlight the next film," that's the actual incentive structure working professionals are up against right now. If your studio got this same letter tomorrow, what do you think they'd do?
License the old stuff to AI instead.
If you're the person who would've been hired to make that new content (the crew, the crafts, the whole apparatus) I need you to sit with what Wall Street just rewarded instead of you this week.
What Actually Happened
Anson Funds, a top-5 Lionsgate shareholder, told the board: license your 20,000-title library into the AI video boom (like Disney's $1B Sora deal) or sell the company.
The Investor's Own Evidence
Lionsgate's stock drops every time a new AI video model launches. Sora comes out, the stock dips. Seedance comes out, the stock dips.
The Stock Actually Moved
When the letter went public this week, the stock popped 3.5%, Wall Street didn't wait to see if the idea would work. It rewarded the studio just for taking it seriously.
My Honest Take
25 years around productions that get greenlit because someone believes people need to be hired to make something real. This is the first time I've watched the market reward the opposite bet.
What This Actually Means
A licensing deal isn't automatically the villain. But if the market keeps pricing 'license the vault' higher than 'greenlight the next film,' that's the incentive structure working professionals are up against right now.
Does Wall Street Actually Prefer AI Over Hiring a Crew?
This week's stock price is about as direct an answer as you're going to get.