Ex Machina Studios Lands Theatrical Distribution Deal With Mayfair Media Group
Ex Machina Studios, an AI-oriented production company, has struck an exclusive North American theatrical distribution agreement with Mayfair Media Group, giving it a pipeline into cinemas for the first time. The deal, reported by Deadline on 18 August 2026, covers New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Toronto, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco and other major metropolitan markets.
Mayfair is led by Frank Rimkus and Rafe Cohen, the duo behind the Galaxy Theatres chain. Under the agreement, Mayfair will give Ex Machina's films wide releases of more than 1,500 screens — a substantial theatrical footprint by any measure — using Galaxy venues and other theatre chains. Rimkus also serves as Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada, giving the partnership deep roots in the exhibition side of the business.
The Mayfair team brings seasoned distribution muscle. Veteran marketing executive John Hegeman, whose résumé spans Orion Pictures, Blumhouse Tilt, Lionsgate, Artisan Entertainment and Fox Atomic, is on board. So is Scott Kennedy, founder of Falling Forward Films.
Ex Machina plans to release four projects in 2027, followed by roughly six films annually under the exclusive engagement. The company also intends to pursue select third-party acquisitions and service agreements as it builds out its distribution platform. On the international side, Ex Machina has established a sales operation through its partnership with Daniel Baur's K5 International.
Two flagship titles already have release windows. Roger Avary's Paradise Lost, based on John Milton's 1667 poem about a cosmic war in the heavens with Lucifer rebelling against God, is scheduled for Easter 2027. Alex Proyas' Heaven, an original screenplay about a desperate bureaucrat who enters a technologically perfected afterlife and discovers it is an illusion with terrifying consequences, is set for summer 2027. Both films are currently casting and expected to enter production soon. Avary, the co-writer of Pulp Fiction, will adapt and direct Paradise Lost, which was first announced at the Cannes Market in April 2026 Deadline.
Both projects had previously been in development at other studios but stalled due to financial constraints. Ex Machina co-founder and CEO Marco Weber is producing Paradise Lost, with Kirk Petruccelli executive-producing. The film is being produced through Ex Machina's proprietary AI-enabled production pipeline — the same workflow powering Heaven Ex Machina Studios.
Ex Machina's partnership extends beyond its own slate. Utopai Studios is co-producing with Ex Machina on the feature film Cortés and the science-fiction series Space Nation Business Wire.
What makes this deal notable is its novelty: it is the first time an AI-oriented producer-studio has secured a theatrical distribution pipeline of this kind. The agreement puts AI-assisted filmmaking on cinema screens at a scale that streaming-only releases cannot match — 1,500-plus screens across North America, with a steady annual supply of titles to fill them.
