中国微短剧市场正高速扩张，今年收入预计几乎翻一番至900亿元人民币（约127亿美元），有望首次超过全国影院票房。仅今年前八个月，国内就拍摄了约4万部微短剧，而一部典型剧集大约有90集、每集两分钟左右，几乎全部在手机上观看。

这一浪潮与更广泛的创意爆发同步，如由本土团队制作的《哪吒2》已跃升为全球票房史上表现最佳的动画片，《黑神话：悟空》则在腾讯等科技巨头提供资金支持和长达四年的营销铺垫下吸引了全球玩家。腾讯、字节跳动、阿里巴巴、美团等平台投资了数以百计的游戏、影视和内容公司，同时政府在全国建设至少七个“动漫产业园”，并通过税收减免等政策将更多资本导入内容行业。

与主要依靠广告和订阅的西方模式不同，中国娱乐行业的变现更侧重电商指标，如商品销售额、直播带货转化率以及抖音、哔哩哔哩等应用上的付费会员社群。与此同时，从曾经对剧集设置40集硬性上限到广泛禁止性、迷信、过度暴力甚至离婚题材，仍然严厉但正选择性放松的审查制度，使合同条款和创作取向都偏向规避风险，推动创作者更多布局安全、面向大众、偏“轻资产”的移动内容，而非投入周期漫长的系列式知识产权。

Large platforms like Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba, and Meituan have invested in numerous game, film, and TV studios, supported by state-backed animation parks and tax incentives. In contrast to Western monetization approaches largely dependent on ads and subscriptions, China emphasizes e-commerce metrics like merchandise sales and live-stream shopping. Meanwhile, selective censorship and regulations impact content creation, pushing creators towards safer, widely appealing franchises, minimizing risks associated with complex intellectual properties.

This boom aligns with blockbuster hits like "Ne Zha 2," which has become the top-grossing animated film at the global box office, and "Black Myth: Wukong," which had a marketing effort supported by Tencent and other tech giants over four years. Major platforms such as Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba, and Meituan have invested in hundreds of game, film, and TV studios. Additionally, there are state-backed animation parks and tax incentives directing more capital into content creation.

Unlike Western models that primarily rely on ads and subscriptions, China's entertainment monetization leans heavily towards e-commerce metrics like merchandise sales, live-stream shopping conversion rates, and paid membership communities on apps such as Douyin and Bilibili. At the same time, selective censorship affects content creation, with regulations ranging from episode caps on TV series to bans on sensitive subjects, leading creators toward safer, more broadly appealing franchises rather than taking risks with complex intellectual properties.

Source: From micro-dramas to video games, Chinese entertainment is booming

Subtitle: But how much slack will the Communist Party give creators?

Dateline: 12月 04, 2025 05:40 上午 | Shanghai and Zhengzhou