The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions, BBC reported.

Some 160,000 performers are expected to stop their work.

With their decision to stop work a large number of  US film and TV productions will grind to a halt.

Stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt left the premiere of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer in London on Thursday night as the strike was declared, reports BBC.

The SAG walkout starts at midnight Los Angeles time (08:00 BST). Picketing will begin on Friday morning outside the California headquarters of Netflix, before moving on to Paramount, Warner Bros and Disney, the British media reported.

Highlighting the threat of artificial intelligence, SAG-AFTRA union President Fran Drescher said in a statement, "From the time negotiations began on June 7, the members of our Negotiating Committee and our staff team have spent many long days, weekends and holidays working to achieve a deal that protects you, the working actors and performers on whom this industry relies."

"As you know, over the past decade, your compensation has been severely eroded by the rise of the streaming ecosystem. Furthermore, artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions, and all actors and performers deserve contract language that protects them from having their identity and talent exploited without consent and pay. Despite our team’s dedication to advocating on your behalf, the AMPTP has refused to acknowledge that enormous shifts in the industry and economy have had a detrimental impact on those who perform labor for the studios," read the statement.

Image: Screen Actors' Guild