The AI Video Cost Collapse — What Actually Changed in 2025

The unit economics of ad creative have inverted. Here's a breakdown of what moved.

Then (2023) - Talent day-rate: $2,500 - Studio: $1,800/day - Editor + colorist: $1,200/day - Turnaround: 3-4 weeks per batch

Now (2025-26) - Generative pipeline: $80/video for compute - Editor supervision: $600/day - Turnaround: 72 hours

What this unlocks: creative testing at 20-50 variants per week per channel.