--- title: "The First Fully AI-Generated Movie to Receive an MPA Rating Is Making a Push for an Academy Award, But We Wouldn’t Hold Our Breath" description: "A fully AI-generated movie called \"Gods Don't Give Gifts\" is set to hit theaters, though that's not necessarily a reflection of its quality." date: "2026-10-08" modified: "2026-10-08" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/first-fully-ai-movie-mpa-academy-award" categories: - "Art" - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" --- # The First Fully AI-Generated Movie to Receive an MPA Rating Is Making a Push for an Academy Award, But We Wouldn’t Hold Our Breath ![A screenshot of the AI movie "Gods Don't Give Gifts"]() *Gossip Goblin* A fully AI-generated feature film is set to get a theatrical release and has already been rated R, making it the first AI film to be blessed by an official MPA rating. And the studio behind the movie, titled "Gods Don't Give Gifts," is even gearing up for an awards push. But whether it looks any better than all the slop that AI art has become known for is up for debate. The film's creator, the popular YouTuber known as Gossip Goblin, dropped a two minute trailer on Wednesday, giving us a good look at its sci-fi visuals, but filling us in on virtually none of the story. According to an official logline, it's actually an anthology of four different stories — which feels like "feature" film stolen valor — on a planet "where bodies are disposable and consciousness has been commoditized." Credit where credit's due: the trailer is a compelling enough collection of photorealistic sci-fi concept art, but it trades in the same old cliches and familiar images that the tech loves to portray, and the [stunted creatives that use it]() love to indulge in. Some monstrous looking alien literally screams the name of the movie. Calling it outright slop might be harsh, but the preview is serving up empty calories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G5LArU7tmE Nonetheless, the AI studio Fable, which produced the film, has big things in mind for "Gods Don't Give Gifts." Per [*Variety*'s coverage](), it's giving the film a limited US theatrical run and has pushed back the original October 30 release date to December 4 so it can be closer to the Oscar campaign season. Indeed, Fable plans to submit the movie in the best animated feature category at the upcoming Academy Awards. Going for gold is just the start of its ambitions. According to Fable CEO Edward Saatchi, the movie will transform how animated films are made. "For five years, the question has been when will an AI film win an Oscar? Gods Don't Give Gifts is the first that has a shot at a nomination and then it's all to play for," Saatchi said in a statement, per *Variety*. "We feel it could be this generation's Toy Story — the fact that this generation's Toy Story is a dark, satirical, bold statement on all 2026's fears about AI and our species' future is an appropriate commentary on the questions we are all confronting as a society." **More on AI:** [*ChatGPT Caught Putting Signatures of Real Cartoonists on AI-Generated Comics*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()