Overview

• Filed Sept. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the 119‑page suit alleges MiniMax’s Hailuo AI generates downloadable images and videos of studio characters from simple text prompts.
• The studios say MiniMax marketed Hailuo as a “Hollywood studio in your pocket” and used characters such as Darth Vader, the Minions and Wonder Woman in promotions without permission.
• Plaintiffs contend they sent cease‑and‑desist demands and proposed reasonable anti‑infringement safeguards, but MiniMax did not substantively respond or stop the alleged conduct.
• The complaint includes dozens of screenshots as examples of allegedly infringing outputs and asks the court to order MiniMax to halt unauthorized uses of the studios’ works.
• News outlets report MiniMax filed for a Hong Kong IPO in July with an estimated valuation near $4 billion and backing from Alibaba and Tencent, and the company did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.