Higgsfield AI has debuted "Hell Grind," the first fully AI-generated feature film [1, 3].
The project serves as a proof of concept for producing cinema at scale while introducing a creator-payment model based on likeness licensing [1, 3].
The sci-fi action movie has a runtime of 110 minutes [1]. A team of 28 creatives [1] produced the film in approximately four weeks during the spring of 2026 [1, 2, 3].
This production method relies on the licensing of digital likenesses to compensate creators. The startup used this approach to demonstrate that AI-generated cinema can be scaled without the traditional timelines of physical production, a shift that could alter how talent is paid in the industry [1, 3].
While some reports highlight the company's work on shorter projects, such as the film "Kök Börü" showcased at SIGGRAPH, "Hell Grind" represents a significant jump in length and complexity [1, 2].
The use of AI avatars, including those of UFC fighters, underscores the company's focus on likeness licensing as a sustainable economic bridge between AI technology and human performers [2].
“The first fully AI-generated feature film”
The production of 'Hell Grind' signals a transition from AI as a tool for short-form clips to a medium capable of sustaining feature-length narratives. By integrating a likeness licensing model, Higgsfield AI is attempting to solve the primary legal and ethical conflict of generative AI: the compensation of the humans whose images and identities train the models.
