Chinese cities lure AI filmmakers with subsidies and computing vouchers

Chinese cities are competing to attract AI filmmakers with subsidies, cheap computing power and rent waivers, Reuters reports, the same playbook that built the country's electric vehicle and solar industries.

What cities offer

AI filmmaker Zhu Zhili set up his studio in Shenzhen two years ago. Now officials from cities and industrial parks across China call him with the same pitch: bring your AI film business here. "I am approached every day by a range of cities, from major metropolitan areas to smaller localities," he said.

Zhu heads the AI-generated content department at a Shenzhen media company, and his studio operates in a shared workspace backed by the city government and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He calls China the "best environment" for AI filmmakers, citing cheap rent, a living allowance and computing support.

Shanghai introduced measures in May to accelerate AI micro-drama production, offering computing power and cloud models. Beijing has a 260 million yuan fund for audiovisual technology, and its Huairou district gives producers of short AI dramas vouchers that cut computing costs. Streaming platform iQIYI is "all-in" on AI, chief executive Gong Yu said in August.

Falling costs, rising supply

Costs are the main draw. In the first half of 2026, producing an AI short drama fell from 5,000 yuan ($747) per minute to a few hundred yuan, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In Hainan, film student Pan Xiaojun said a conventional wedding scene costs 60,000 yuan; with AI he creates it for 1,400 yuan, helped by local subsidies and rent waivers that cut his computing costs.

Supply grows faster than audiences. In the first half of the year, 221,900 new AI shows launched on Douyin, TikTok's Chinese version, but only 1,055 passed 100 million views, a common success benchmark, according to research firm DataEye.

A first feature and a backlash

The National Film Administration licensed "Sanxingdui: Future Memories", a 90-minute science-fiction epic and the first AI film from a major Chinese studio cleared for theatrical release. Producer Bona Film Group says it opens this year.

Not everyone welcomes the shift. Actors worry about their likenesses being used, alongside concerns over copyright and voice actors' jobs, while viewers complain of plagiarism and a lack of originality. "Some people directly blend other people's original characters or dance clips into AI-generated content without any credit," said Wen, 22. China requires explicit labelling of AI content but has no clear copyright rules yet.