As the expansion of AI dramas continues across mainland China, the live-action short drama projects at the Hengdian Film and Television Shooting Base in Zhejiang province have significantly decreased. In a striking trend, the daily wages for directors have fallen from last year’s 5,000 to 6,000 yuan to just 2,000 to 3,000 yuan this year. Additionally, a producer revealed that their company has eliminated several positions and redirected nearly 70% of the workforce towards the production of AI-driven dramas.
According to a report from a financial news outlet, a short drama director named Jiang Yichen shared that during his busiest period last year, he managed to direct three short dramas in a single month. However, by November this year, he has only completed around ten projects, and at one point earlier this year, he went over a month without any filming opportunities.
His daily directing fee has seen a stark reduction, dropping to 2,000 to 3,000 yuan from the previous year’s range of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan.
Another director, Adi, noted that following the Chinese New Year, Hengdian became noticeably quieter, with some industry professionals choosing not to return after celebrating the holiday, particularly affecting smaller production teams.
Industry media “Entertainment Capital Theory” reported that last year in the third quarter, the number of filming crews engaged in vertical-screens short dramas dramatically dropped by 82.5% compared to the same period the previous year, based on weekly statistics published by Hengdian.
Hengdian is recognized as one of the primary film and television shooting bases in mainland China. In July of this year, the Hengdian World Studios announced that over 130 of their studios and certain modern drama sets would waive rental fees and reduce hotel prices for production crews.
According to the Liberation Daily, a producer named Xiao Wan, who works in Hengdian, stated that last year she managed over 120 short drama projects. However, by the time of the interview this year, she had worked on fewer than 40 projects, many of which had budgets below 200,000 yuan.
Her production company, based in Hangzhou, has laid off some employees and redirected nearly 70% of its resources into developing and producing AI dramas. Previously, the company had relied on income from live-action dramas to fund its AI initiatives, but now, the live-action team has become a financial burden.
In an effort to secure her position, Xiao Wan has begun to contemplate shifting roles, but she still prefers the hands-on experience of working on set over spending entire days in front of a computer.
Liu Zun, the head of DataEye Research Institute, shared insights with the financial outlet, indicating that the challenges faced in the live-action short drama sector cannot be solely attributed to AI. In some cases, the fees paid to top-tier actors once accounted for 40-50% of the budget. Despite rising production costs, there has not been a corresponding increase in effective hits or popularity.
In August of this year, Hengdian launched short drama filming services targeted at tourists. Visitors can spend 388 yuan to receive makeup styling, directorial guidance, and post-production editing services.
Adi remarked that during the peak holiday season in October, he fielded between 70 and 80 requests for reservations and shooting sessions each day, requiring five or six directors to manage separate groups, with tourists lining up to participate.
However, as November ushered in cooler weather and tourism slowed down, the number of orders began to dwindle, prompting him to take on other microfilm projects.
Data from the DataEye Research Institute indicated that in October alone, 56,800 new AI dramas and animated series were added to the Douyin platform. Of these, 539 managed to surpass 100 million views, which accounts for approximately 0.95%.
A report from the financial outlet in September highlighted a shocking decline in platform revenue from AI short dramas. The earnings per 10,000 views dropped from 30 to 100 yuan in the latter half of 2025 to a mere 5 to 10 yuan this year. One industry professional uploaded 11 AI animated dramas, each with 16 episodes, yet the total earnings from the platform amounted to only a few hundred yuan.
Wang Ke, co-founder and COO of AI company ZhiXiang Future, noted that with AI lowering the production thresholds, the volume of output has surged, intensifying competition for audience attention, which in turn has driven up promotional costs. The reduction in production costs does not necessarily equate to lower marketing expenditures.