SINGAPORE, March 1, 2025 -- The "2024 Yuewen Global IP Awards" grandly kicked off at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore on February 28. The event featured diverse programs, including the release of Yuewen's annual IP honor list (hereinafter referred to as "the list"), the unveiling of 24 honors, such as Influential Novels of the Year, Most Anticipated Adaptations, Outstanding Author of the Year, and Actor of the Year—paying tribute to outstanding authors, IPs, and actors. Notably, approximately 92% of the awarded IPs have already expanded into international markets, marking a year-over-year growth of over 20%.
Over 3,000 industry luminaries, cultural icons, and IP fans from around the world attended the event, including representatives from China and Singapore's IP sectors, industry associations, academia, and key business partners. Together, they witnessed this significant milestone of international cultural exchange. Tencent Video and its overseas platform WeTV live-streamed simultaneously, with the number of viewers exceeding 40 million.
The ceremony brought together a distinguished lineup of hundreds of globally renowned web novel authors, including Er Gen, Paperboy, The Speaking Pork Trotter, Qian Shan Cha Ke, Tian Xia Gui Yuan, Aoki_Aku, Guiltythree, and JKSManga.
The "Influential Novels of the Year" honor was awarded to ten titles: Circle of Inevitability, Dedicated Heart, Who Told Him to Be a Cultivator!, Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!, High-Level Martial Era, Mirror of the Immortal Clan, Eighteen Again: The Quest for Fortune, Reincarnation Paradise, Shennong Dao Master, and Twilight Divide. These works span genres including fantasy, science fiction, urban, Xianxia, and light novels, collectively amassing over 56 million fans on Qidian, a leading Chinese online reading platform. Each title garnered an average of 4.32 million comments per chapter, reflecting exceptional audience engagement.
The "Best New Novel" was awarded to Peace Order, an Eastern fantasy novel described as "a magnificent epic of family and country in historical wars". The work has already secured film and television adaptation deals.
The "Best Original Overseas Novel" went to Shadow Slave, a fantasy-action title that has reached nearly 50 million views on WebNovel, Yuewen's global online reading platform.
The Speaking Pork Trotter was recognized as "Outstanding Author of the Year" for his impressive portfolio, including The First Order, The Naming Technique of the Night, and Green Mountain. His works span sci-fi, fantasy, and urban genres, and have successfully expanded into publishing, audiobooks, animation, and film/TV. Adaptations such as Spare Me, Great Lord! 2, Since the Red Moon Appeared, and Tales of Herding Gods won "Most Popular Novel-to-TV Adaptations".
"New Author of the Year" was awarded to City Cicada. His novel Genius Club—which won the 35th China Science Fiction "Galaxy Award"—is now set for adaptation into film, animation, and more, marking a breakthrough for emerging writers.
Canadian author Aoki_Aku received "Author with Global Influence" award for his role in bridging Eastern and Western cultures through storytelling.
Yuewen's robust creative ecosystem has been reflected in key industry trends. In 2024, the number of new authors earning over 500,000 yuan annually on the platform increased by more than 70%.
Hit IPs Keep Emerging
As the "bellwether of Chinese IP development", the Yuewen Annual IP Honor List has been recognized for its value-driven evaluations since its inception in 2015. It serves not only as an annual retrospective of IPs but also as a predictor of market trends. This year's list spotlights numerous hit IPs, covering the entire industry chain including animation, short-form dramas, TV, film, gaming, and merchandise.
In the film and television sector, hit adaptations such as Guardians of the Dafeng, The Flourished Peony, Blossom, The Double, The Tale of Rose, Joy of Life 2, and The Legend of ShenLi took both Chinese and international audiences by storm, earning them the "Most Popular Novel-to-TV Adaptations" award. The box office sensation Yolo was named "Most Popular Film," having been both China's highest-grossing film and the top-grossing Chinese-language film internationally in 2024. Meanwhile, the online film Guardians of the Dafeng • No One Like Me leveraged the success of the TV series, earning the title of "Most Breakthrough IP Adapted Online Film." The short-form drama My Richest Husband surpassed 100 million cumulative views, securing the "Most Popular IP Adapted Short-form Drama" award.
Actor RuoYun Zhang was awarded "Actor of the Year" for his standout performance in Joy of Life. Co-stars Qin Li and Gang Wu received "High-Quality Actress of Adaptations" and "Method Actor of Adaptations" respectively. Thanks to its ensemble cast, Joy of Life 2 became the only drama in 2024 with an average playback volume of over 100 million per episode, solidifying its title as "the best drama of the year". Tao Yin, a multiple-award-winning actress, was honored as "Outstanding Actress of the Year". Dylan Wang, lead of Guardians of the Dafeng, was named "Outstanding Impact Actor of Adaptations". Rising stars Zhu Zhu, Ava Wang, and Kiki Xu received "Sparkling Actress of Adaptations", "Most Anticipated Actress of Adaptations", and "Potential Actress of Adaptations", respectively.
Trends in IP Development
China's IP licensing market has seen rapid expansion. According to the 2024 White Paper on the Development of China's Brand Licensing Industry, as of 2023, localized IPs have been the largest source in China's IP licensing market for three consecutive years. In response to the new trend of cultural consumption, this year's ceremony has introduced a new "Best IP Crossover of the Year" category. Winning collaboration included "YH.TANG × The King's Avatar", which sold over one million beverages on its first day, and the collaboration between "PIZZA HUT × Battle Through the Heavens" sparked a cultural consumption frenzy among Generation Z.
Another new category, "Best IP Goods of the Year," recognized 12 products, including The King's Avatar • "Glory Rendezvous" Mythic COG Collectible Cards and Lord of Mysteries • Adventure Series Hitcard Collection Cards. The cumulative Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) of the listed "goods" exceeded 100 million yuan, reflecting the booming "Goods Economy" trend. According to data from iiMedia Research, the scale of China's "Goods Economy" reached 168.9 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of over 40% compared with 2023, and is expected to reach 308.9 billion yuan by 2029.
IP is a core element of the "Goods Economy", and Yuewen, which has an "IP Farmland", is now tapping into the global "Goods Economy". Yuewen recently culminated its one-month-long YUEWEN WONDERLAND in Singapore, attracting global fans to "eating goods" (buying IP peripherals). The daily footfall has surpassed 20K people. Among them, the GMV of the Chinese New Year and Singapore-themed series products prepared by YUEWEN GOODS has exceeded 5 million yuan.
The overseas export of goods is a microcosm of the overseas export of Chinese IPs. More than 90% of the IPs listed in this year's award have been exported overseas. For example, for The King's Avatar, which was rated as the "The IP with the Greatest International Influence", its protagonist, Ye Xiu, will serve as the "Swiss Tourism Explorer" of the Swiss National Tourist Office in 2025. The Joy of Life 2 was globally set to premiere simultaneously through Disney and has become the Mainland Chinese TV drama with the highest viewing popularity on the Disney+ platform.
The list also reflects emerging trends in IP integration, with web novels, comics, and animations increasingly collaborating with gaming. Animation, Comic, Game, and Novel (ACGN) synergy prevailed this year's winners. Three co-branded titles—"Fox Spirit Matchmaker × Honor of Kings" , "The Unruly Immortals × A Chinese Ghost Story" , and "Guardians of the Dafeng × Game for Peace" —won "Most Popular Novel-to-Game Adaptations" . Notably, the collaboration between Fox Spirit Matchmaker × Honor of Kings has driven an increase in the game's revenue in the third quarter of 2024.
Yuewen's Holistic IP Ecosystem
With a robust IP pipeline and established IP development ecosystem, Yuewen consistently delivers hits. Starting with web novels and catalyzed by successful TV and film adaptations, the company has built a full-industry chain spanning audiobooks, animations, games, merchandise, and emerging formats like collectible cards and immersive IP theaters. This integrated approach maximizes IP value and underscores China's maturing IP industry.
In this context, the ten novels that have been rated as the "Most Anticipated Adaptations" – Dream of White Hedge, The Unruly Immortals, Above the Great Dao, The First Fierce Sword of the Imperial City Department, Who Told Him to Be a Cultivator!, Genius Club, Artifact Report, Mirror of the Immortal Clan, The Divine Officials Have Orders, and Immortal Father – are expected to grow into a new batch of hit IPs. It is worth noting that 100% of the web novels awarded in the previous Yuewen Global IP Awards have entered the IP development stage.
IP Commercialization Accelerates, and Overseas Influence Grows
The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Yuewen's establishment. During this gala, Yuewen unveiled the "Yuewen 10th Anniversary IP of Glory", honoring classic IPs such as Candle in the Tomb, Nirvana in Fire, and Jade Dynasty. These IPs, cultivated over decades, have become cultural touchstones spanning generations.
To commemorate the occasion, music artists Azora Chin, Loger, Mario, Angela Zhang, and Laure Shang performed iconic tracks tied to Yuewen IPs.
As a pioneer, Yuewen not only promotes the internationalization of the Chinese IP industry but also drives the overseas adaptation of a holistic IP development model. As of November 2024, WebNovel, Yuewen's overseas online reading platform, has launched approximately 6,000 translated works of Chinese web novel, cultivated about 449,000 overseas online authors, and accumulated nearly 300 million visitors, covering more than 200 countries and regions around the world. At the same time, Yuewen has also collaborated with teams from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, and Singapore to jointly develop IPs based on overseas original works. With the deepening of international collaboration, the IP industry is entering a new stage of global co-creation of IPs.
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