Hongguo hits 168M daily users as AI dramas fill its chart
ByteDance's free short-drama app Hongguo averaged 168 million daily active users in July 2026, more than Tencent Video, iQiyi, Youku and Mango TV combined, according to QuestMobile data cited by eWeek. Eight of its ten most popular titles that month were AI-generated dramas or animated series. As of 2026-09-19.
1Attention moved to the vertical app
Monthly time spent on Hongguo rose 157% year on year in July, while the four long-form services it is compared with all lost time: iQiyi by 27%, Tencent Video by 31%, Mango TV by 24% and Youku by 47%. The app is free to watch and shares advertising revenue with the people who make the shows.
Supply is growing faster than hits. The same report counts 221,900 new AI short dramas added to Douyin in the first half of 2026, of which 1.3% passed 50 million views, and puts the July release rate at one AI short drama every 36 seconds.
2The production claim attached to the numbers
The report credits Seedance 2.0, released in February 2026, with making it possible for five people with a few computers to produce a 60-episode AI drama in a week at less than a tenth of the usual cost. That is a reported claim about output, not a published description of how a script becomes sixty episodes.
Turning a script into episodes is the step on which the register finds the least published detail. The table below sets out what each tool in the register says about it, so the figure above can be read against what a team could actually plan around.
3What the record shows
- Hongguo168 million daily active users in July 2026 (QuestMobile data cited in a Nomura note)daily active users
- HongguoEight of the ten most popular titles were AI-generated dramas or animated seriesmost-watched titles
- HongguoMonthly time spent up 157% year on year in July 2026time spent
- Long-form servicesTime spent down 27% at iQiyi, 31% at Tencent Video, 24% at Mango TV and 47% at Youkutime spent
- Douyin221,900 new AI short dramas added in the first half of 2026, 1.3% of them passing 50 million viewsAI short dramas
- Release rateOne AI short drama released every 36 seconds in July 2026July 2026
- Seedance 2.0Five people with a few computers producing a 60-episode AI drama in a week at under a tenth of the cost, as reportedreported output
- HongguoFree to watch, with advertising revenue shared with creatorsbusiness model
4Set against the register
| Tool | Script to episodes |
|---|---|
| invideo AI | Agent plans a season, vendor claim |
| Kling AI | Nothing published |
| LTX Studio | No episode structure |
| Pika | Nothing published |
| SceneMixer | One pass produces episodes |
| Vidu | Nothing published |
Inclusion rule. The six tools the register held when this entry was filed; the app and model named in it are not tools in the register. Order. Alphabetical by tool name.
5Read from
Filed 2026-09-19 from eWeek (17 September 2026).
Register pages this touches: The register, How the register is read.
Previous entry: not yet filed. Next entry: Jinxin micro-drama stake. Every entry: Wire.