Micro-dramas make big impact

Short series surge in domestic market, expecting to match scale of film industry, Xu Fan reports.

In the hustle and bustle of daily subway commutes, many may frequently witness such a scene — passengers wearing headphones engrossed in short videos on their smartphones.

Amid this unprecedented expansion of the internet era, China's entertainment landscape is rapidly evolving. Younger generations have become more accustomed to consuming short tales in bite-sized moments, whether during their daily commutes or leisurely dinners.

The latest statistics indicate the domestic market size of micro-dramas reached 37.39 billion yuan ($5.31 billion) last year, marking a sizable surge of 267.65 percent year-on-year, according to a forum during the recently concluded 2nd Beijing Internet Audiovisual Arts Conference.

"This figure accounts for around 70 percent of the domestic film industry's annual box-office receipts last year. We anticipate that by the end of 2024, the overall scale of the micro-drama industry could match that of the film market," says Wang Chen, head of Douyin's micro-drama division, one of the country's leading short-video platforms.

"The micro-drama industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, already shifting from a niche new market to a mainstream, established one," adds Wang.

Li Jiang, chief executive officer of Dianzhong Tech, a Beijing-based company that focuses on digital content for mobile devices, says that in a survey, they found over 10,000 micro-dramas on the market last year, 70 percent of which were adapted from internet literature.

As a product of China's mobile internet ecosystem, micro-dramas typically feature episodes that range from tens of seconds to 15 minutes, showcasing fast-paced storytelling that easily resonates with audiences, providing entertainment and alleviating negative emotions such as stress and anxiety.