SNAPlab

“In 2024, the market size of micro short dramas in China surpassed that of movie box office for the first time.”

This is one of the most interesting conclusion from the “2024 Micro-Short Drama Industry White Paper.” It came as a shock when Peter Krämer, a huge fan of Asian series, sent me the report’s findings a few months ago.

I was familiar with TikTok and vertical videos, but I had no idea that an entire industry of micro-dramas existed. This is a phenomenon that has clearly not yet reached my bubble. Either none of my friends watch them, or they just don’t talk about it. It’s safe to assume, though, that sooner or later, micro-dramas will become a hot topic in Europe and the US as well.

When you look at popular micro-dramas made for Western audiences, you probably wouldn’t consider them competition for the film industry. They give me a similar feeling to the Latin American soap operas my grandmother used to watch. But given the numbers, it would be a mistake to be condescending:

“DataEye Research Institute predicts that the market size of micro short dramas in China will reach 50.4 billion yuan in 2024, exceed 68 billion yuan in 2025, and break through 100 billion yuan in 2027.”

For those who have never heard of them, micro-dramas are series designed for mobile phones. They are often, but not always, in a vertical format. The individual episodes are only a few minutes long, and a series can have dozens of them. You can watch them on TikTok or on specialized platforms like Shortmax, ReelShort, or Dramabox. According to the report, popular themes of micro-dramas are: revenge, romance, urban life, family, ancient costume, sweet romance, fantasy, and time travel.

Tomorrow I’m heading to the Screenwriting Research Network conference. I’m curious if my colleagues will be familiar with micro-dramas, and if I’ll find someone there who has had a chance to write a screenplay for one.

My thanks to my dear colleague Xu Hang for her consultation on this topic.