AI is pushing content production towards industrialization, with one of the first ignited tracks being AI comic dramas. Zhejiang Merchants Securities believes that comic dramas are transitioning from the margins of short dramas to a blue ocean with independent business models, likely to give rise to the next round of phenomenal trends.
According to Zhejiang Merchants Securities' in-depth report on AI comic dramas released on February 23, 2025, Douyin is expected to launch approximately 60,900 comic dramas, with an annual view count exceeding 70 billion, and the flow of investment is projected to rise to over 20 million yuan per day by December 2025. The market size is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan in 2025.
The key variable on the supply side comes from the iteration of large models. ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 and Kuaishou's Keli 3.0 were updated in February, focusing on multi-modal input and integrated generation and editing, with platforms accelerating the embedding of AI tools into distribution and monetization loops.
Pressure on the commercial side is also becoming apparent. The ROI of purely paid comic dramas has dropped to 1.1, with only the top 5 companies achieving an ROI above 1.2. With high streaming costs and content homogenization, the industry may quickly shift towards free models and multi-layer monetization of IP.
<h2>Market Growth: Playback and Investment Flow Push Comic Dramas to the Forefront</h2>
Douyin remains the strongest incremental pool. The report states that &#34;Under the Immortal Slaying Platform, I Shocked the Gods&#34; has accumulated over 1 billion views, with Douyin's overall investment flow exceeding 20 million yuan per day, marking the transition of comic dramas from &#34;trial content&#34; to scalable commodity forms.
The WeChat ecosystem is also expanding. The number of comic dramas launched in the WeChat ecosystem is expected to grow by 3380% year-on-year in 2025. According to Zhejiang Merchants Securities citing Qimai data, free comic dramas on Hongguo have an average daily download of about 890,000 times, Shuqing about 200,000 times, and Tencent Animation about 110,000 times in the past 30 days.
Business models are converging, focusing on &#34;free streaming&#34; to acquire users, and then monetizing through embedded ads within episodes, directing traffic to e-commerce and other fields, as well as taking a cut from paid episodes, further advancing the competition for platform entry.

<h2>AI Reduces Costs and Improves Efficiency: Production Moves Towards &#34;One-Click Generation,&#34; ROI is Amplified</h2>
The Giant Engine has disclosed that AI has shortened the production phase by one-third, increased production efficiency by over 80%, and reduced production costs by over 70%. About 60% of comic drama producers are already using AI, covering scriptwriting, storyboarding, coloring effects, voiceover editing, and other stages.
&#34;Under the Immortal Slaying Platform&#34; is regarded as an industrialization sample. The report states that the drama has a total length of 164 minutes, completed by a 12-person team in 30 days, and topped the Hongguo dynamic list No.1 upon launch, with over 100 million views by the end of January, recording an ROI above 110 and a user retention rate of 75%.
Zhejiang Merchants Securities believes that as model effects become more controllable and supply-side capacity follows, the costs of AI comic dramas still have room to decline. Content production will shift from being labor-intensive to technology-intensive, and the technical foundation for replicating hits is forming.
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<h2>Platform Support Intensifies: From Tools to Revenue Sharing, Giants Accelerate &#34;Closed Loop&#34;</h2>
Since October 2025, ByteDance, Kuaishou, Tencent Video, Mango TV, iQIYI, and others have launched a series of support policies, with the main focus on revenue sharing, AI tools, open IP material libraries, and traffic distribution.
ByteDance's &#34;Chengxing Plan&#34; offers a maximum guarantee of 5 million yuan for a single work and provides the &#34;Jimeng&#34; AI tool and Tomato Novel IP. Kuaishou's &#34;Inspiration · New Era AIGC Venture Capital Plan 2.0&#34; attracts institutions and individuals with cash and traffic rewards.
On the official level, there is also participation. CCTV Video released its 2026 premium program list on January 7, announcing the launch of &#34;China AI Comic Drama Conference&#34; and &#34;CMG's First China AI Comic Drama Night,&#34; and plans to launch &#34;The Chaos Breaking Record of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.&#34;
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<h2>Concentration at the Top Intensifies: Prompts and Directing Experience Become &#34;New Moats&#34;</h2>
Traffic is rapidly concentrating at the top. According to Zhejiang Merchants Securities citing DataEye, the total playback volume of comic dramas in 2025 is 64.332 billion times, with the Top 20 companies contributing 20.604 billion times, accounting for 32.03%, with top companies capturing the vast majority of traffic and revenue.
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The moat comes from &#34;prompt engineering&#34; and film directing capabilities. The report points out that complex productions have high requirements for prompt design, making it easier for top companies to attract prompt engineering talent and be more familiar with storyboarding and narrative methods, resulting in more stable product quality.
The differentiation on the profit side is also expanding. Currently, the ROI of pure paid comic dramas has dropped to 1.1, with only the Top 5 companies achieving an ROI above 1.2. Under high streaming costs and pressure for homogenization, companies may more quickly embrace free models and shift towards monetization through advertising and distribution.
<h2>IP-Driven Monetization Upgrade: Merchandising and Collaborations Begin to Realize &#34;Post-Chain&#34;</h2>
Zhejiang Merchants Securities believes that the commercialization path of comic dramas is upgrading from a single revenue-sharing model to a multi-level monetization structure centered around IP, with IP evolving from a content source to a hub connecting content consumption, commercial transformation, and long-term value.
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Mature IPs reduce the difficulty of cold starts. The report states that over 60% of the hit comic dramas in the past six months are adaptations from popular IPs, and comic dramas guide users into the consumption field at the climax of the plot, enhancing their willingness to pay for derivatives and IP products.
Case studies show that the back-end links are beginning to be systematically released. The IF fruit wine ✖ &#34;You Shan Ling&#34; co-branded product achieved over 2 million yuan in GMV and over 30,000 orders within two weeks of launch, while &#34;Wang Lanmei's Happy Life&#34; realized the gamification of the comic drama IP, with peripherals and co-branding becoming new variables.
<h2>Overseas window opens: Short dramas have validated payment, while comic drama supply remains scarce</h2>
The reference for overseas markets comes from short dramas. According to Zhejiang Merchants Securities, overseas short drama app downloads are expected to reach 1.855 billion by 2025, a year-on-year growth of over 300%, with a market size reaching 4 billion USD, and it is expected to exceed 5 billion USD in 2026.
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Chinese companies dominate the monetization end. In 2025, in-app purchase revenue in the overseas short drama market is projected to be 2.279 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 129%, with Chinese companies' overseas short drama app in-app purchase revenue estimated at about 2.163 billion USD, accounting for 94.93%.
The AI blockbuster methodology has been validated overseas. &#34;After Divorce: My Five Brothers Paved My Way to the Billionaire Throne&#34; and &#34;The Billionaire's Return&#34; became hits in 2025, with the latter topping the DataEye overseas short drama weekly chart for two consecutive weeks.
However, comic dramas are still in their early stages. The report states that currently only 3 out of the Top 10 overseas short drama apps have launched comic drama sections or comic dramas, indicating that leading domestic manufacturers' production, placement, and IP operation experience have room for replication overseas.

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According to a research report by Zhejiang Securities, by 2025, the playback volume of Douyin comic dramas will exceed 70 billion, with the market size surpassing 20 billion yuan. With AI empowerment, the production process will be shortened by one-third, efficiency will increase by 80%, and costs will be reduced by more than 70%. At the same time, the window for AI comic dramas to go overseas has opened, short dramas have validated payment, and the supply of comic dramas remains scarce. As major players rush to enter the market, AI comic dramas are transitioning from short drama edge experiments to a new round of phenomenal opportunities, moving from paid to free and from single revenue sharing to full IP monetization

- AI is industrializing content production, with AI comic dramas emerging as a significant segment expected to yield substantial commercial opportunities.  
- Reports indicate that platforms like Douyin will launch over 60,000 comic dramas by 2025, generating views exceeding 70 billion and a market size surpassing 20 billion yuan.  
- The commercialization of comic dramas is evolving towards multi-layer monetization driven by IP, while global market statistics show a significant surge in overseas short drama downloads, highlighting a growing demand for new content avenues.

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AI reconstructing the content industry + overseas monetization verification, will comic dramas be the strongest trend in 2026?