Summary of Key Points
The live-action short drama industry was once a booming sector that reached a scale of 50.5 billion yuan in just three years, surpassing movie box office revenues. However, due to its fatal flaws such as high investment costs, formulaic content, meager profits, and dependence on platforms, it has been almost completely replaced by AI-generated comics within a year. A large number of industry professionals (actors, directors, companies) have lost their jobs or had to transition to the AI field. Yet, AI short dramas have now encountered new problems, such as overcapacity and a sharp decline in hit rates, repeating the same cycle of boom, bubble, and replacement.
I. Live-Action Short Dramas: The Illusory “Worst Industry”
On the surface, the scale of live-action short dramas grew from 368 million yuan to 50.5 billion yuan in three years, outpacing the century-old film industry. However, upon closer inspection, the situation is dire:
- Platforms Take All the Profit: For every 1 yuan earned, 65% goes to platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou for advertising (2024 data). Leading companies like Dianzhong generate monthly revenues of 400 million yuan but have net profits of less than 1%. Even the largest platform, Hongguo APP, is losing 700 million yuan—no one in the entire chain is making a healthy profit.
- Formulaic and Shoddy Content: Plots rely on clichéd emotional triggers (for example, if the heroine gets slapped, her husband must slap back twice). A drama can be produced in 5-7 days with 100 episodes, leading to such homogenization that even producing 8 or 12 versions doesn’t make it fresh. Intellectual property (IP) is treated as a one-time asset with no emphasis on long-term value.
- **Professionals as “Cogs”: Actors earn low salaries and work non-stop until 1-2 a.m., often getting fired if their performance data doesn’t meet standards during the trial period. North American production teams don’t even provide insurance, and hourly wages barely meet minimum requirements. The entire industry relies on platforms like Hongguo for guaranteed payments; without them, it would collapse.
II. AI-generated Comics: From “PPT Animations” to a Dominant Force
AI-generated comics didn’t emerge out of nowhere; they are an advanced version of “dynamic cartoons” (often mocked as “poor PPTs”), leveraging AI technology to significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency:
- Cost Reduction: The cost per minute for AI short dramas dropped from an unknown amount in 2024 to 500 yuan in 2025, allowing a team of just over ten people to produce 50 episodes. It’s now common to release hundreds of new episodes daily.
- Technological Breakthroughs: With the release of ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0, the effectiveness of AI-generated videos increased from 20% to 90%, eliminating the need for trial and error (no longer wasting multiple attempts). This has effectively shut down many traditional production teams.
- Major Companies and Policy Support: Platforms like Hongguo have launched dedicated apps for AI comics, and broadcasting companies have incorporated them into their review processes. Big players like Baidu and iQiyi are entering the market, turning AI comics from a niche category into a mainstream trend.
III. Why AI Can Overwhelm Live-Action Dramas?
There are four key reasons why AI-generated comics can outperform live-action dramas:
1. Content Adaptation: AI doesn’t require acting skills; it can deliver exaggerated emotions in a more intense and effortless manner.
2. Cost Advantage: Live-action productions rely on high salaries for actors (30%-50% of total costs) and expensive locations, while AI eliminates these expenses, allowing all savings to be invested in advertising.
3. Speed: While live-action dramas take 5-7 days to produce, AI can complete them in 20 days. Moreover, AI can instantly adjust the plot based on performance data, leaving live-action teams behind.
4. Audience Indifference: AI-generated content increasingly resembles real-life performances (with advanced skin smoothing and lighting techniques), sometimes even surpassing the quality of live-action dramas (as seen in the trailer for “Shuangyu Yupai,” which some viewers mistook for a movie clip).
IV. The Exodus of Professionals and the New Bubble of AI-generated Comics
With the decline of live-action dramas, many professionals are either unemployed or have switched to AI. However, a new bubble has formed:
- Severe Unemployment: Actors like Sheng Ming’s family have no roles in Hengdian, and a graduate from the Central Academy of Drama, Xu Peng, had to return to his hometown to sell vegetables. Many actors are making vlogs in hopes of finding new opportunities.
- Difficult Transition to AI: Although some claim that a small team can earn 200,000 yuan per year, a company in Shenzhen spent 200,000 yuan on producing 11 AI dramas, resulting in only a few hundred yuan in monthly income. Production capacity has increased fourfold in three months, but hit rates have dropped to 0.1%, with 90% of works losing money.
- Repeating the Cycle: Similar to live-action dramas, AI-generated comics are now targeting international markets, and businesses providing related tools are booming. However, issues like overcapacity and low profits remain—the only difference is the “AI” label.
V. What Does This Replacement Mean?
1. Industry Vulnerability: Industries that rely on platforms and lack core technologies or content barriers are vulnerable to being replaced by new technologies.
2. Rapid Technological Change: AI’s impact is not gradual; it can be devastating (as seen with the immediate shutdown of production teams after Seedance 2.0).
3. The Nature of Bubbles: Both live-action and AI-generated dramas represent bubbles fueled by capital and traffic, without genuine value creation. They will eventually be replaced by more efficient models.
The story of AI replacing live-action dramas is not about AI’s fault but about the inherent weakness of these industries. They were born with the potential to be surpassed, and AI just happened to be the perfect catalyst. As for whether AI-generated comics will become the next victim... No one can say for sure. For now, they are repeating the same cycle of madness.