Notably, the deep learning approach already appears to work in real world conditions. While Fox did use existing movies as a benchmark, it also had success anticipating the performance of future movies. Sure enough, the visual cues in a brand new movie trailer gave an idea as to what attendance would be like several months later.

There are flaws in this method. It doesn't capture temporal info (Fox uses an explosion after a car chase as an example), and it would ideally combine both the video and text descriptions to get a fuller sense of the story.

However, Fox isn't shy about the practical applications. The AI could help studios craft trailers they know will appeal to a movie's intended audience, whether they're casual moviegoers who stick to the blockbusters or aficionados who want something off the beaten path. You might well see trailers that play up specific imagery to increase the chances that you'll buy tickets. And that's important in the streaming era, where movie theaters have to compete for viewers who could easily stay home and watch something on Amazon or Netflix.