iQIYI says it has opened what it calls China's first AI film studio, inside its Creative Center in Shanghai, and began shooting its first feature there on 28 October. The "first" is the company's own claim, and every detail below comes from iQIYI's announcement, which has no independent reporting behind it yet.
“An actor's performance is the core of any film or series”
Liang Zhu, iQIYI Vice President and Head of Intelligent Production, in iQIYI's announcement · manilatimes.net ↗
The studio covers about 110 square metres. Crews film with several cameras, record high-resolution picture and sound in sync, keep a digital continuity log and review footage in real time. Whatever is shot syncs automatically to NadouPro, iQIYI's AI production platform for film and TV, which the company says gives access to nearly 30 AI models, including Seedance 2.5 and Kling 4.0, along with hundreds of production agents and skills.
First press image distributed with iQIYI's release on the studio
Image: PR Newswire
The first title is the internet feature Cop in Trouble, about Jian Zhang, a low-ranking constable whose fame, wealth and admiration crack as his lies about taking down a notorious outlaw unravel. No release date or budget has been given.
About iQIYI
iQIYI has been building toward AI-integrated production for more than a year. In September 2025 it announced the Peter Pau x iQIYI AI Theater, a storytelling lab with Oscar-winning cinematographer Peter Pau that invited AI-driven films of at least 15 minutes. On 30 March 2026 it launched Nadou Pro, billed as China's first AI agent built for professional film and TV production, in a pre-commercial release, and in early April it said all 16 upcoming works from the Peter Pau initiative had been made with it, across science fiction, fantasy, historical and contemporary genres.
The push has drawn pushback. In April 2026 an "artist database" set off a backlash from Chinese actors; iQIYI called it a misunderstanding, and executive Liu Wenfeng said it was not licensing actors' likeness.
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As iQIYI describes the method, live-action takes act as references for how characters look and perform and for composition, lighting and spacing, and filmmakers can then rework sets, lighting, costumes, makeup and props after the shoot. The company says this leaves the actors' performances intact, eases timeline pressure and helps emerging directors working with limited resources. It frames the studio as the step after on-location and green-screen work and virtual production, and as a successor to its Hengdian virtual studio, which it says brought production-efficiency gains of over 30%. It offers no comparable figure for the new one.
Second press image distributed with iQIYI's release on the studio
Image: PR Newswire