This year, everyone making AI animated dramas is making a fortune.

Now, producing an AI animated drama can break even in just one month, and the rest is profit.
My neighbor's company shot short dramas last year and is now heavily transitioning into AI animated dramas.
He told me that previously, a live-action drama cost around 250k yuan;
now, an AI animated drama with a team of three people, working for seven days, can produce a film, with costs including labor and computing power, of 50,000 to 70k yuan per project.
Currently, platforms support animated dramas, with traffic on the shelves, and monetization mainly through user paid recharges to earn a wave of revenue.
After users stop recharging, revenue relies on ad revenue sharing inserted by the platform.
From listing to breaking even, an animated drama takes about a month, and platform settlements take another month, so funds can cycle every two months.
My neighbor said that this year, his company plans to invest in 25 animated dramas each month, which amounts to 1.25 million yuan monthly.
If we calculate with an ROI of 2, they could earn 15 million yuan this year.
Because the funds can keep rolling over, the actual investment needed is only 2.5 million yuan.
This is the power of AI—production efficiency greatly improved, production costs significantly compressed, capital turnover cycle very short, and a dimensionality reduction attack on the traditional animated drama industry.
Now, there are too many people and funds rushing into AI animated dramas; everyone is competing for the dividends and the trend, causing salaries for AI animated drama talents to rise sharply.
The most outstanding AI animated drama producer at my neighbor’s company graduated just two or three years ago from Guangdong University of Technology’s Computer Science Department, entered the industry right after graduation, earning 8,000 yuan as an apprentice, and after completing training, his salary rose to 20k.
Now, he was recruited as a technical director with a monthly salary of 40k yuan.
Although AI animated dramas are highly profitable, not everyone can make money.
My neighbor’s company, with dozens of people, started out in online novels, holding a large number of scripts and IPs.
Whether last year’s short dramas or this year’s animated dramas, they monetize these existing scripts.
They have deep industry experience and a stable foundation, and now that the trend is here, it’s their turn to profit.
Laypeople have no scripts, no IP, no technology, and not even funds—trying to get a piece of the pie is simply a pipe dream.
I just saw in a community that there’s a scam involving AI animated drama production training courses in Hangzhou.
Someone paid over 3,000 yuan in tuition, only attended one day, and finished the course the next day—nothing was learned, and they didn’t get a refund.
In this world, there are daily opportunities to make big money, but for ordinary people, you must be cautious.
Rushing into a new industry without preparation not only risks earning nothing but could also lead to losses, because there are traps everywhere, and sickles are waiting to harvest the chives.