New Distribution Models & Short-Form Boom

Disney partners with TikTok/Epic; ReelShort hits $1B; China's short-drama boom drives hiring surge; ByteDance signs AI copyright truce with MPA; microdrama market $1.5B; AI video tools flee China for overseas expansion. Letterboxd's Unreleased Gems offers alternative distribution pipeline for indie films. New: A sobering report reveals 95% of China's microdramas are now AI-generated, with actors working only 7 days a month and 120,000 microdramas in Q1 2026, serving as a cautionary tale about job displacement.