LayarHijau – iQIYI International officially released its Global Content Popularity Chart 2025 on January 20, highlighting the growing dominance of Chinese content in the global streaming market. Throughout 2025, total viewership on iQIYI International recorded a year-on-year increase of 114.5 percent, with Chinese-language dramas, films, and anime emerging as the primary drivers of this growth.
In the drama category, the modern romance series The Best Thing ranked first as the most popular Chinese drama worldwide. The series attracted strong international attention by blending an urban love story with elements of traditional Chinese medicine, resonating with audiences across different regions. Alongside The Best Thing, multiple iQIYI original dramas secured spots in the annual top ten, underscoring the platform’s growing influence through its in-house productions.
Drama remained the most consumed content category among iQIYI International users in 2025. Of the top ten most popular Chinese dramas globally, nine titles were iQIYI originals, reflecting the platform’s strengthening competitiveness and the rising global appeal of Chinese storytelling rooted in Eastern culture and aesthetics.
The success of Chinese dramas overseas was driven by diverse themes and genre innovation. The military romance The White Olive Tree gained international recognition for framing a love story within a broader humanitarian and anti-war narrative. Meanwhile, Speed and Love, a drama centered on emotional growth and healing, managed to enter the annual rankings despite its relatively recent release.
In the fantasy and costume drama segment, Moonlight Mystique stood out as one of the most favored xianxia series among overseas viewers, thanks to its unconventional narrative approach and refined Eastern visual style. Other titles, including Fated Hearts, Coroner’s Diary, Love of the Divine Tree, Feud, and Legend of the Female General, further expanded the global reach of Chinese dramas through stories of romance, destiny-driven conflict, investigation, and heroic journeys.
Chinese animation also demonstrated strong performance in the international market. Lingwu Continent claimed the top position among the most popular Chinese anime of 2025. The top ten list was dominated by fantasy and cultivation-themed titles such as The Lone Sword Overlord, Super Heroic Spirit, Supreme Alchemy, Myth of Eternity, and Endless God Realm. Anime with modern or hybrid settings, including Urban Miracle Doctor, The Great Ruler, Super Cube, and Keyboard-Immortal, also gained significant global followings.
In the film category, adaptations of classic Chinese IPs proved to have exceptional global appeal. The top three most-watched Chinese films were Ne Zha, Ne Zha 2, and Ne Zha: Demon Child Is Back, reaffirming the enduring popularity of Chinese mythological stories when presented through contemporary animation.
Other mythology- and legend-based films such as The Legend of Condor Hero: What Is Love, Snake, and Monkey King Fights Lion Camel also ranked among the top ten. Titles including Exorcist, The Hidden Fox, Blade of Fury, and The Warrior from Sky completed the list of most popular Chinese films on iQIYI International in 2025. According to the platform, Ne Zha recorded nearly three times the viewership of the top-ranked non-Chinese film, highlighting the franchise’s exceptional global influence.
For non-Chinese content, the popularity charts were largely led by Thai dramas, Japanese anime, and South Korean films, reflecting international viewers’ growing appetite for diverse Asian entertainment.
iQIYI International’s rapid growth has been further supported by its strong localization strategy across key overseas markets. In Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Chinese dramas and anime dubbed in Thai dominated local popularity rankings, including in the micro-drama category. In North America, viewing preferences were more diverse, with popular lists featuring a mix of Chinese and Thai dramas, while action-fantasy anime Super Cube emerged as one of the most-watched non-drama titles.
In East Asia, audiences showed strong interest in costume dramas featuring investigative and supernatural elements, such as Coroner’s Diary and The Demon Hunter’s Romance. Meanwhile, viewers in the Middle East and North Africa favored Chinese dramas with military themes, including The White Olive Tree, which received widespread local acclaim.
With an increasingly diverse content portfolio and a refined localization approach, iQIYI International continues to strengthen its position as a key global platform for Chinese content and broader Asian entertainment.
