163 page commented that China's entertainment industry is entering a quiet period when many activities are cut, film projects are stalled, even canceled.
Not only new actors, even A-list stars with a large fan base also fall into the situation of not having films to act in.
Liu Yifei and Wang Yibo are two notable cases with this situation. After the success of "The Story of Roses", Liu Yifei has not officially returned with a new project.
The actress was rumored to participate in "Fantastic Meat", but in the end the film was made with a different cast.
Vuong Nhat Bac also had a long period of absence. After attracting attention with "Truy Phong Gia", "Bang Vu Hoa" and "Vo Danh", and receiving many nominations at major awards such as Golden Rooster, Hundred Flowers, the actor suddenly stopped acting for a long time.
To date, he is said to have had about 800 days without participating in new projects. The silence of the two stars partly shows that the film market is stagnating, causing even top names such as Trieu Le Dinh, La Van Hi, Bach Loc, Bach Vu, Canh Diem, Vuong Tuan Khai... to have difficulty in finding suitable works.
Summer 2026, the scorching heat seems still unable to dispel the "winter" that is enveloping China's film and television industry. The shortage of roles is no longer the story of lesser-known actors, but even famous stars have to face it.
The actor who won the Kim Chung award, Trieu Huu Dinh, admitted that he has not received film invitations for half a year. Some other actors have had to switch to singing, street performances or take on non-professional jobs to cover their lives.
Behind that reality is a major change in the market. Movies are increasingly competing with games, entertainment programs and short videos to win audience time. Meanwhile, AI is changing the way content is produced and lowering barriers to entry into the industry.
The era of only needing appearance, fame or capital to succeed seems to be over. The current market requires actors and creators to be truly capable, know how to adapt and create works that are strong enough to retain audiences.
According to QQ, management agencies are said to be continuing to tighten the remuneration of actors. If previously A-list stars could receive 50-60 million CNY for a film, even some people were rumored to receive 80-100 million CNY, now the highest level is only about 15-20 million CNY.
Although cat-xe is reduced by 50-80%, many artists still lack invitations. To increase income, some people also concurrently hold many positions such as screenwriters, production supervisors, artistic directors or stylists.
