LayarHijau – Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQIYI, has raised concerns about the current state of the film and drama industry. He shared his views during an industry forum at the Beijing International Film Festival on April 17.
In his remarks, Gong Yu pointed directly to soaring production costs as the industry’s biggest challenge. “The first problem the industry faces is production costs. Whether online or offline, whether film or drama, the costs are simply too high,” he said.
Next articles
He emphasized that from an investment perspective, the situation is far from ideal. “From an investment manager’s point of view, losses are highly probable, while profitability is relatively rare,” he explained.
Gong Yu also revealed that only a small portion of online dramas are actually profitable. “For online dramas, only about 30 percent make money. At best, that figure might reach 40 percent,” he noted.
According to him, costs across the industry have been rising steadily over the past decade, significantly increasing financial risks. “All kinds of costs have been rising over the past ten years, which has made investment risks higher. As a result, people are investing less, and fewer projects are being produced,” he said.
He also highlighted the shift in audience behavior, noting that film and drama are no longer the only entertainment options. “The world is not just about film and drama. There are short dramas, animation, and many other forms of entertainment. If these don’t perform well, audiences will simply turn to something else,” he added.
Gong Yu further referenced the so-called “lipstick effect” in entertainment consumption. “The lipstick effect will always exist, but the ‘lipstick’ today is no longer film or drama—it’s short dramas,” he said.
To address these challenges, Gong Yu stressed the need to reduce production costs, with artificial intelligence (AI) seen as a key opportunity. “From an economic perspective, we need to lower costs. One opportunity is AI. With large-scale adoption of AI in the future, costs could drop dramatically—to one-third, one-fifth, or even one-tenth of current levels,” he concluded.
