Entertainment

AI Could Drive a Third of Long-Form Film and Animation by 2026, China’s Tencent Says

December 6, 2025

Dec 6, 2025 12:02am PT AI Could Drive a Third of Long-Form Film and Animation by 2026, China’s Tencent Says By Marcus Lim Plus Icon Marcus Lim Latest Hainan Jury Touts Festival as a Launchpad for Next Year’s Breakthrough Films 1 day ago Hong Kong Fire Remembrance Sets Poignant Tone at Hainan Film Festival Launch 2 days ago Tokyo Takeaways: Seven Themes From the Film Festival and Market 1 month ago See All HIIFF Generative AI is poised to reshape the supply of premium screen content, with VP of Chinese online media giant Tencent and CEO of Tencent Video Sun Zhonghuai forecasting that as much as a third of long-form film and animation could be “dominated by or deeply involving AI” within two years, despite lingering concerns around performance fidelity and visual consistency. Speaking at a forum at the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) Sun predicted a dramatic shift in premium television and film content creation in the next few years. Related Stories Tom Stoppard, Playwright and Oscar-Winning 'Shakespeare in Love' Screenwriter, Dies at 88 Dharmendra, Iconic Bollywood Star of ‘Sholay’ and ‘Phool Aur Patthar,’ Dies at 89 “From a time dimension, looking at the next one or two years, we have every reason to expect visible changes in the platform’s content supply structure,” Sun stated.

Sun Zhonghuai

Credit: Variety

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“In core categories such as film, television, and animation, works dominated by or deeply involving AI could potentially reach a proportion of between 10 and 30%.” Popular on Variety Pointing to short form content, Sun concluded that the race has already been won by gen-AI products.
“Short content is like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), ruthlessly pursuing efficiency,” said Sun.
“In this regard, the short dramas and short animations we know have already taken the lead, drastically lowering costs.
We estimate that AI-native companies for short animations now account for nearly 30% of the market.” Despite the bullish forecast, several factors still remain obstacles for generative AI in long-form content, including the ability to maintain consistency and the inability to replicate human performances.
“AI video technology still cannot resolve issues of visual consistency and controllability,” Sun explained.

Asia Global News Festivals Hainan Island International Film Festival Sun Zhonghuai Tencent Video

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AI Could Drive a Third of Long-Form Film and Animation by 2026, China’s Tencent Says

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AI Could Drive a Third of Long-Form Film and Animation by 2026, China’s Tencent Says

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