Tom Cruise says audiences will always want real films over AI
Tom Cruise says filmgoers will always want to see real things on screen, even as artificial intelligence changes how films get made.
He spoke at an intimate BAFTA “Life in Pictures” conversation in London, in an appearance reported by Variety on 21 September.
Moderator Edith Bowman asked how AI would affect the film business. Cruise did not dismiss the technology. “It is coming and it’s going to happen,” he said, adding that audiences still seek something real.
His answer was blunt. “There is nothing like human,” he said when discussing AI and the shared power of watching films together. His message to writers, actors and directors was short. Keep creating.
Cruise said he supports keeping the theatrical experience alive because it brings people into the same room. He stressed he has nothing against streaming. Seeing a story in a theatre, with a crowd, is a different art form, he said.
What makes this stand out is the tone. Cruise did not describe AI as a battle to win or lose. He described it as a tool arriving anyway, with audiences left to choose what moves them.
He pointed to recent ticket sales to support his argument. The summer season from 1 May to Labor Day took $4.76 billion in US dollars at the domestic box office, the United States and Canada, a figure Cruise cited as reported by Variety as a sign of lasting demand for human stories.
The remarks fit his long public support for cinema-going. Cruise has often spoken about protecting the big-screen release, where a film plays first in theatres before home viewing. The theatrical window, the gap between cinema release and home release, has been a recurring theme in his interviews.
He will soon return to theatres himself. His next film, “Digger,” is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, with Cruise playing a wealthy oil tycoon, according to Variety. It is due in theatres on 2 October via Warner Bros.
For fans, this means his position is easy to grasp. Go to the theatre for the crowd. Stream at home for ease. In his telling, both can exist, but they are not the same night out.
