Entertainment News
Latest entertainment news and updates
Total: 9
Empty Sets, Full Servers: How AI Is Hollowing Out China's Short‑Drama Boom
China's once‑booming short‑drama production hubs are seeing a swift decline in demand for physical sets and on‑site crews as producers pivot to AI‑generated series. The shift cuts production costs dramatically but threatens thousands of jobs and the business models of regional studios built on cheap labour and large prop inventories.
A Soldier’s Truth on Screen: Zhang Yongshou and the Making of China’s Wartime Icons
Zhang Yongshou, who enlisted at 14 and later served in the Korean War, became a prominent actor and director in China’s military cinema. He turned frontline entertainment into a lifelong mission to render the ‘soul of the soldier’ on screen, shaping popular memory and serving official narratives about sacrifice and service.
China’s Spring-Blockbuster Model Falters: Record Screenings, Plummeting Box Office and the Rise of Short Drama
China’s 2026 Spring Festival box office posted an eight‑year low in revenue and admissions despite record screenings and lower ticket prices, highlighting a structural shift in audience habits. Younger viewers are drifting to short‑form drama platforms, concentrating profits in tech firms and forcing a painful repricing of the traditional film industry.
China’s 2026 Spring Festival: Films, Long Series and AI-Driven Short Dramas Square Off for Holiday Audiences
China’s nine-day 2026 Spring Festival has prompted a crowded content race among films, long TV dramas and short-form series, with early figures showing presale box office roughly half last year’s pace and ticket prices falling. While traditional tentpole films still lead presales, platforms are aggressively promoting AI-assisted short dramas and conservative co-financing models are reshaping risk allocation across the industry.
Twelve Years of Boonie Bears: China's New‑Year Animation That Keeps Winning — and Why It Still Feels Hollow
Boonie Bears’ latest Spring Festival film consolidated the franchise’s twelve‑year dominance of China’s New Year family market, earning about ¥290 million in early grosses and drawing an older, female‑skewing audience. The series has closed the technical gap with global animation but remains hamstrung by formulaic hero narratives, even as its culturally rich depiction of New Year customs gives it seasonal staying power.
Game Science Stews a New PR Recipe: A High‑Fidelity ‘Cooking’ Teaser Reframes Black Myth’s IP Play
Game Science released a six‑minute real‑time Lunar New Year video for Black Myth: Zhong Kui that eschews gameplay in favour of a high‑fidelity kitchen vignette. The short serves as both a technical showcase and a deliberate IP‑building exercise, leveraging the commercial success and reusable technology of Black Myth: Wukong to sustain attention while development continues.
Brands Rapidly Drop Zhang Yuqi as Surrogacy and Infidelity Allegations Ignite PR Crisis
Allegations from the ex-wife of Zhang Yuqi’s former husband have led multiple brands to swiftly remove her endorsements and state that partnerships have ended. Zhang has not publicly responded; the episode underscores how quickly reputational risk can translate into commercial fallout in China’s celebrity-driven marketplace.
A Candid Confession Restores a Fallen Star: How Li Yapeng's 31‑Minute Video Turned Crisis into Crowdfunding and Sales
A candid 31‑minute video by former actor Li Yapeng about Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital’s unpaid rent reversed public opinion and triggered millions of yuan in donations and surge in livestream sales. The episode illuminated the power of transparency but underscored structural weaknesses in charity hospital financing and the risks of celebrity‑dependent philanthropy.
Not Viral, Not Forgiven: Zhang Zetian’s Podcast and the Cost of Being Moderately Good
Zhang Zetian’s new podcast faced online accusations of “flopping” after decontextualised clips circulated, but a full viewing shows a deliberately mild, facilitative hosting style ill‑suited to short‑form algorithmic incentives. The episode highlights how clip culture and a demanding “big‑female‑lead” stereotype penalise moderation and reward spectacle.