221,900 AI Dramas, a 1.3% Break-Even Rate

DataEye’s first-half 2026 report, widely covered on 15 November, counted 221,900 new AI drama and comic-drama titles on Douyin alone — about 1,200 a day — of which only 1,055 (0.48%) crossed 100 million views and 2,886 (1.3%) reached the 50 million-view break-even line. Production cost has collapsed to roughly RMB 300–500 per finished minute with cycles down to about ten days, yet paid distribution still absorbs 80–90% of a self-funded project’s cost and per-thousand-view payouts fell from RMB 30–100 to RMB 5–10. Active producers shrank from 1,216 to 698 in a single quarter.