30 September 2026 News

Entertainment : Bona Yingye (博纳影业) has confirmed that the country’s first AI hyperrealistic theatrical film “Sanxingdui: Tales of Tomorrow” will be released nationwide on October 23, 2026, with a runtime of 100 minutes and an exhibition permit from the State Film Administration. All characters are original digital images without digital replicas of real actors, produced using the self-developed “Bocca Movie Cloud Studio” system. The team spent two years on technical breakthroughs, producing over 1.2 million base images and completing over a hundred full-film iterations. The same-IP short series “Sanxingdui: Future Revelation” launched in 2024 accumulated over 200 million views across the internet, providing technical and market experience for the feature film. The producers are Bona Yingye (博纳影业)’s subsidiaries Boyue Xingji Lantu ( Chengdu ) Yingshi Keji (博越星纪蓝图(成都)影视科技有限公司) and Boyue Xingji Lantu ( Shanghai ) Yingshi Keji (博越星际蓝图(上海)影视科技有限公司), with film producer Qu Jixiaojiang overseeing creative direction and historical accuracy. The domestic AI theatrical animated film “Tuanyuan Ling” was released on February 28, 2026, with a runtime of 94 minutes. Mangguo TV (芒果TV) and Hunanweishi (湖南卫视) aired “Post-Journey to the West,” the country’s first prime-time AI long-form drama on television, beginning August 31, comprising 30 episodes. Major film and television companies are collectively expanding into AI video content: iQIYI launched the “Liaoyuan Plan,” planning to release over 40 AIGC films throughout 2026; Huace Yingshi (华策影视) produced AI premium projects “The Lost 500 Years” and “Zizhi Tongjian,” the country’s first AI historical drama micro-short series, with the historical drama “Taiping Years” using AI to generate core visual elements and compress production schedules by over 70%; Zhongguo Dianying (中国电影) has positioned AI as a core innovation direction for the next five years; Xian Dianying Zhipianchang (西安电影制片厂) developed vertical large language models for film and television and launched XR cinemas; TVB aired the AI short drama “Office Worker Survival 101”; Guangxian Chuanmei (光线传媒) launched an AI tool application platform and completed deployment of over ten proprietary AI tools; Huanrui Century is conducting AI exploration in script creation and storyboard design, and collaborated with Jieyue Xingchen (阶跃星辰) to produce the first AI short drama concept trailer based on IP “Ten States and Three Realms,” and previously partnered with N Shijie (N世界) to create an interactive AI digital character for “Lotus Tower” drama characters; Xingfu Lanhai (幸福蓝海)’s AI micro-short drama “Su Xiaoyou’s Starry Voyage” launched in March; Hujing Wenyu Jituan (虎鲸文娱集团) launched the “Orca AI Talent Plan” and “Whale Sharp AI Creation Competition.” The AI short drama and AI manhua drama industries are expanding rapidly, with domestic AI short drama users surpassing 600 million in the first half of 2026 and market scale exceeding 22 billion yuan, expected to break 40 billion yuan for the full year. Zhangyue Keji (掌阅科技) CEO Sun Kai disclosed that AI short drama production costs fell from 2,000 yuan per minute to 500 yuan per minute in recent months, with over 30,000 production contractors. Peking University Market and Internet Economy Research Center senior advisor Li Jia, Zhongnan Yinghua (终南映画) CEO Yang Guang, Kunlun Tech Tiangong AI commercialization general manager Guo Rui and other industry professionals shared insights on screenwriter status, content judgment, and film-game integration. Ningmeng Guoji (柠萌国际) General Manager Lu Yu pointed out that AI still has obvious deficiencies in aesthetic judgment. Nanhu New District enterprise Zhejiang Juke Yingshi Keji (浙江剧刻影视科技有限公司) partnered with Ali Yun (阿里云) to build “Juke Shiguang (剧刻时光),” a one-stop AI video creation platform integrating script generation, digital humans, and video rendering. Nanjing (南京) launched the “Lai Si Nanjing (南京) Young AI” AIGC short video creation competition, encouraging AI digital human interpretations of talent policies, with supporting platforms including “Zhihui Wuxian (智汇无限)” and “Kino Shijie (Kino视界).” Hongguo (红果) short drama platform’s AI manhua content is flourishing, with the female lead Jiang Yuechu in “Ten Thousand Demons Picture Records” Hongguo (红果) reaching 185,000 fans, and virtual characters such as Gu Lin, Su Han, and Lu Chuan launching Hongguo (红果) exclusive live streams. Hongguo (红果) removed 1,718 manhua works violating platform governance standards in Q1 2026 and released “AI Character Creation Guidelines” to launch specialized treatment of high-frequency AI faces. Dishijie Zhongguoxiqu Wenhuazhou (第十届中国戏曲文化周) launched at Beijing Botanical Garden, with AI digital host “Xi Bao” co-hosting alongside a live host for the entire event, and jointly built “Ximai (戏脉)” with Zhongguoxiquxueyuan (中国戏曲学院), an AI intelligent agent for traditional opera that digitally cataloged ten years of opera resources. The Sichuan Provincial Culture and Tourism Development Conference exhibition showcased “AI Du Fu” digital character; Tianfu Xinqu (天府新区) cultural tourism “digital human” AU Little Elf series debuted, developed by Manglingchao Wan (盲灵潮玩) (Minolab) founder Bai Meng’s team, combining NFC chips, exclusive fragrances and mini-program story interactions with the IP. At Sichuan Nongyedaxue (四川农业大学)’s 120th anniversary gala, robot “Nian Nian” and school digital character “Ye Zi” performed an original rap. Shenzhenshi Wenhuaguan (深圳市文化馆)’s new venue opened with virtual digital guide “Wen Zhouzhou” providing navigation, popular science, and activity consultation services. Actress Qi Wei authorized her likeness to create digital avatar “Han Qingxia,” actively exploring AI film and television creation, stating “what’s eliminated is not people, but repetitive labor without thought,” and emphasizing all avatars must maintain personal brand quality standards. Lao Yu (Yu Jisheng) authorized her mother’s real image to generate AI digital character “Stand-up Comedy Grandma,” accumulating over 500 million views, with content production using fixed characters, scenes, styles, and shot templates with batch dialogue replacements to generate content.

Marketing : Tianmao (天猫) and Hailan Zhimi (海蓝之谜), among other leading advertisers, have integrated AI manga dramas into their brand marketing systems, collaborating with virtual characters such as “Qi You,” the male lead in Hongguo (红果)’s AI manga drama “Shocking! Me and My Arch-Rival Have a Child Season 2,” on plot co-creation and character co-creation. Qi You made a surprise appearance in Hailan Zhimi (海蓝之谜)’s livestream, using character relationships as the narrative thread to drive product promotion and conversion. The male lead Gu Lin from Hongguo (红果)’s manga drama “Picked Up on My Wedding Day by Helicopter” launched the first AI virtual character skin-swap e-commerce livestream, with peak concurrent viewers exceeding 6,300. The “ensemble livestreams” featuring AI male leads Su Han from “Survival of All, My Skills Are Slightly Abundant” and Lu Chuan from “We’ve All Been Reborn, Who’s Still Pretending to Be Rich Second Generation,” attracted over 100,000 viewers. Hongguo Dianshang (红果电商) was established in April 2026, enabling one-click jumps from in-drama anchor points to e-commerce purchases. Multiple AI accounts have embedded beauty device advertisements in vlogs. Southern Metropolis Daily’s investigation found that AI performer accounts such as “Su Wanwan Is Not a Bad Woman,” “Monroe Super AI,” and “Obviously I’m AI” promoted Jimeng (极萌)’s gold microdermabrasion device, hydration devices, and Yameng (雅萌)’s flash repair device respectively, with promotional language implying transdermal absorption and collagen regeneration effects, potentially violating advertising laws regarding medical terminology. The AI romance reality show “Fatal Attraction”’s official account launched branded integration with Jimeng (极萌). The account “Su Wanwan Is Not a Bad Woman” also appears to have covertly promoted Ulike’s hair removal device (Class II medical device) and “Jice (迹测)” menstrual blood detection sanitary pads (Class I medical device). In contrast, AI native singer Yuri collaborated with Oulaiya (欧莱雅) to create an “AI Toward Beauty” themed song, employing a more restrained conceptual advertising approach rather than direct product endorsement.

Ethical Contexts : CCTV’s “Weekly Quality Report” has exposed AI false advertising infiltrating the medical sector, with numerous AI digital humans appearing in the image of “healthcare workers” and “industry experts” endorsing and promoting products related to eye diseases and white hair care on online platforms, claiming in the first person that they have “personally tested effectiveness” and displaying so-called “scientific experiments,” drawing strong regulatory and public attention; an AI short drama production company’s contact lens advertisement featuring an AI digital human stating “my contact lenses were very comfortable after wearing them for a day” was taken down on August 6 for allegedly violating advertising law provisions on medical device endorsements, the advertisement had previously trended with a quoted price of 258,000 yuan; reporters’ investigation found that multiple apps claim “AI video one-click generation, viral cloning,” available for as low as 48 yuan per week to batch generate digital human livestreaming videos, and some generation software has not set restrictions on prohibited content such as healthcare worker imagery, while also providing “watermark removal” functionality; experts including Li Huaisheng, director of the Cyber Law Research Institute at China University of Political Science and Law, Zhi Zhenfeng, researcher at the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Li Xu, associate professor at the School of Life Sciences of the University of Science and Technology of China, have noted that AI digital humans cannot genuinely test products and cannot assume legal responsibility as subjects, with accountability requiring piercing through to advertisers, publishers, endorsement agencies, and AI production institutions; Cyberspace Administration of China has publicly solicited comments on the “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures,” delineating service development boundaries and behavioral standards for digital virtual humans. Guangdong Dianwang (广东电网有限责任公司) has applied for a patent on “a method for recognizing digital human speech punctuation,” aimed at solving the problem of reduced task success rates caused by the simplification of compound intonation symbols in voice interaction.