AI comic dramas (AI manju): how they make money, the workflow and the real risks
Updated · Trend topic: nobody has published their own revenue from this method yet. The related cases below are other projects; their figures are self-reported by their authors.
An AI comic drama splits a web novel or original script into storyboards, uses AI for images, image-to-video and voices, and edits the result into one- to two-minute vertical episodes for short-drama and short-video platforms. AI has cut production time and team size sharply, so the number of new series exploded in the first half of 2026.
The viral claims of accounts earning huge sums in a few months are mostly third-party reposts of dashboard screenshots; the original creator and the screenshots cannot be checked, and many such posts end by selling a course. We have not found a creator's own public post with a specific income figure, so this page covers only the method and the risks, with no income numbers. We will add a case once we find a creator's own post.
How it works
- Story and script: adapt a licensed web novel or write your own, broken into one- to two-minute episodes that end on a hook.
- Images and motion: generate characters and scenes with AI, keep each character consistent, then animate key shots with an image-to-video model.
- Voice and edit: AI or human voice-over, subtitles and sound effects, cut to vertical video, with an AI-generated label on every episode as the new rules require.
- Publish and monetize: the four common routes are platform revenue share (by views or paid views), in-app ads or in-app purchases, commissioned production (making series for platforms or rights holders for a production fee) and licensing the finished series or IP. Industry write-ups generally see commissioned production as the first route to pay, and pure revenue share as the least certain.
Risks & counterpoints
- Oversupply with very few hits: about 221,900 new AI dramas and comic dramas launched on Douyin in the first half of 2026, more than 1,200 a day; in December 2025 only 0.18% of AI comic dramas on air passed 100 million views. (tvoao.com: 220,000 AI comic dramas in six months, why under 1% make money ↗)
- Platform revenue share is tightening: the article says Hongguo dropped minimum guarantees for AI live-action-style scripts in favor of pure revenue share, and Douyin cut the share coefficient for such dramas by about a third. (Jiemian: the collective dream of AI comic dramas breaks ↗)
- High break-even bar: DataEye counted about 0.47% of new AI short dramas in the first half of 2026 passing 100 million views; using 50 million views as break-even, only about 1.3% of new series cleared it. The same article warns that many posts showing payout screenshots are course-selling funnels. (SMZDM: before entering AI comic dramas, do the math ↗)
- Regulation: China's micro-drama management rules took effect on September 1, 2026 and require AI-generated micro-dramas to carry a visible label in every episode; platforms are also tightening compliance and copyright review. (SMZDM (citing 36Kr) ↗)
- Making it is not selling it: one person says he spent ten to twenty thousand US dollars making five episodes of an AI short drama and concluded that production was solved but none of the business problems were. (X @John78507944 ↗)
- Copyright: adapting unlicensed novels or using real celebrities or popular characters can get a series taken down or lead to claims.
- Most income screenshots are reposts that hide the original creator and the full dashboard; treat any post that shows income and then sells a course or a paid group as marketing.
Sources
This page only summarizes public information; it is not an income guarantee or advice. Disclaimer