Paramount has faced backlash from fans after forcing viewers to ‘smile’ at their computer camera to access the entire first seven minutes of the new horror movie Smile 2.
The latest hair-raising installment – starring Charlie’s Angels actor Naomi Scott as popstar Skye Riley – hit cinemas in October and has wowed at the global box office, earning $109 million (£91million) in the first three weeks.
For those who can’t make a trip to the cinema, however, Paramount Pictures is offering a first look at the movie online – namely the first seven minutes.
The caveat? You have to be grinning at your camera the whole time, in homage to the franchise’s premise of a malevolent spirit that takes the form of a grinning person.
The web camera sees all, and if you drop your smile the screen goes black with the haunting message ‘keep smiling’ if you want to continue watching.
The only hurdle you need to overcome (aside from the intensive smiling) is entering your date of birth since the film is R-rated for ‘strong bloody violent content, grisly images, language throughout and drug use’.
Although the PR stunt is all in good fun on the surface, many fans have also expressed concern over the casual access of their facial data for the production company in exchange for the first seven minutes of the horror flick.
‘Insane new level of data collecting/stealing your likeness,’ @puneetsingh wrote on X.
‘The data collectors not even trying to hide it and yall just falling for it…… Don’t be shocked in the drastic improvement in AI after this,’ @imouttafilm added.
‘This is unbelievably gross when you step back for a good look at the exchange and the obvious fact that they’re stealing your biometric data,’ @alhendiify echoed.
‘Before the end of our lives we’re going to take reading privacy disclosures very seriously lmao,’ @damndidhereally echoed.
‘This is real dystopian and scary idk,’ @ororosfire shared.
Meanwhile, several fans voiced concern over whether their image would be used for ‘AI training’ and the potential use of people’s images in the background of future films.
There is no further information available on the website about what will happen to any potential data collected from fans using their camera.
But the Paramount website does lay out the company’s privacy policy which covers its ‘global portfolio of networks, platforms, streaming services and websites, and through our advertisements and customer service tools,
‘All which you may access online, via mobile and connected devices, applications, streaming platforms, or in-person at live events.’
The policy then states: ‘The controller of your personal information will be the Paramount company that provides the Paramount Services to you.’
When users ‘grant access to camera or microphone’ [Parmount Services] can ‘collect information about that content’, it further outlines.
This is not the first controversy Smile 2 has faced. Last month, fans were left baffled after the product Voss Water made a prominent feature throughout the film with some fans even calling it ‘the longest advert for Voss Water’.
But the latest concern feeds into wider discourse gripping the film industry over its integration of generative AI into movies such as re-animating late stars for post-humous appearances.
Earlier this year, Nicolas Cage (lead of horror hit Longlegs) voiced his worries about the future of artificial intelligence.
He admitted he was heading for a ‘scan’ for his newest Prime movie, Spider-Man Noir in an interview.
After joking that they were going to ‘steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI’, he added he was ‘terrified of that’.
The 60-year-old continued: ‘I’ve been very vocal about it.
‘It makes me wonder, you know, where will the truth of the artists end up? Is it going to be replaced? Is it going to be transmogrified? Where’s the heartbeat going to be?
‘I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face when I’m dead? I don’t want you to do anything with it!’
Metro has reached out to Paramount Pictures for comment.
Smile 2 is now in cinemas.
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