55 Million Won for a 1-Minute Ad... From Sharing Home Life to Work Routine, the Rise of a True AI Star

Production Costs for Short-Form Dramas Less Than One-Tenth of the Usual

Shrinking Opportunities for Human Actors

It has been reported that Chinese actors are increasingly being replaced by AI-generated virtual actors. Especially in short-form dramas, the emergence of AI actors as "stars" is leading to a surge in popularity, further narrowing the opportunities available to real actors as AI actors not only cut labor costs but also gain fandom.

Chinese AI-generated actor Fang Taozu. Douyin capture

According to reports on August 9 (local time) from Chinese business media outlets such as Cailianshe, the commercial rate for advertisements featuring AI actor and model Fang Taozu, registered on advertising platform Xingtu, reaches as much as 258,000 yuan (about 55 million KRW) for more than 60 seconds.

It is now known that the commercial value commanded by AI actors has begun to exceed that of real actors and influencers. It has also been reported that, in order for an influencer to secure an advertising contract at a similar rate in China, they typically need to have over one million followers.

Fang Taozu first gained public recognition through appearances in short-form dramas and has recently expanded their business scope as an independent commercial intellectual property (IP) by being selected as an advertising model. Fang Taozu became a popular actor, having accumulated more than 400,000 followers on social networking services such as Douyin, following the success of the short-form drama 'Dismissed Girl.' 'Dismissed Girl' has been played more than 200 million times and mentioned over 800 million times in total.

The production company behind Fang Taozu manages the actor's social media presence to resemble that of a real person, sharing aspects of daily life online. Fang Taozu not only reveals their home and posts about their work life, but also interacts with fans in real time just like real celebrities.

The key strength of AI actors lies in their low production costs. According to media reports, the cost of producing a short-form drama in China is typically 1.5 million yuan (about 310 million KRW). However, 'Dismissed Girl' was produced for only 110,000 yuan (about 23 million KRW). Moreover, dramas starring AI actors are now being used not only as content, but also as testbeds to assess market reaction to new business ventures.

Chinese AI-generated actor Fang Taozu. Douyin capture

As a result, the market for AI-actor short-form dramas is growing rapidly. According to the Chinese market research institute DataEye, the size of China’s domestic AI short-form drama market in the first half of this year reached 22 billion yuan (about 4.642 trillion KRW), and is expected to surpass 40 billion yuan (about 8.44 trillion KRW) annually from this year onward. Approximately 40% of the entire short-form drama market is now allocated to AI actors.

This change has dealt a direct blow to human actors. On August 9, Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that the number of productions per week by video companies operating in Hengdian—the famed Chinese historical drama filming site known as the 'Hollywood of the East'—averaged 22.75 in the first half of this year, representing a 25% decrease compared to the same period last year. The vacancy rate for filming studios has also neared 80%. Last year, more than 3,000 short-form dramas were filmed in Hengdian annually, but now it is reported that not only studios, but also nearby restaurants and shops, are closing down.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.