Microdramas quickly passed from experimental content to a format of consumer entertainment generating billions of income worldwide, according to a new report by Media Partners Asia.
“The micro-dramatic economy” reveals that the serialized short-circuit drama has become a cultural mastodon in China, where revenues skyrocketed from $ 500 million in 2021 to $ 7 billion in 2024. The format should generate $ 16.2 billion in China by 2030, representing a compound growth rate of 11.5%.
The marked moment arrived in 2025, when microdrama income in China should exceed the country’s local theatrical box-office, reaching $ 9.4 billion.
“Microdramas have gone from niche experience to a world category of several billion dollars,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA. “The production is inexpensive, but the distribution is expensive, and the success depends on the speed, the scale and the intellectual property reproducible.”
The Chinese market has proven to be particularly robust, with more than 830 million viewers consuming microdramas, almost 60% of which pay content or carry out transactions. Three major players dominate the landscape: the red fruits of Bytedance, the WeChat Video accounts of Tencent and the Kuaishou fan. These platforms have built dedicated applications integrated into social media and payment systems, taking advantage of intellectual property of large sources, in particular col, China Literature and Tomato Novel.
The industry also notes the emergence of higher quality “class S” productions with budgets ranging from $ 400,000 to $ 600,000, with film production values and professional casts.
Apart from China, the global microdrama market generated $ 1.4 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $ 9.5 billion by 2030, representing a TCAC of 28.4%. The United States is leading international markets with $ 819 million in 2024, planned to climb $ 3.8 billion at the end of the decade.
The American public biaise towards wealthy and urban women aged 30 to 60 who revolve towards romance, CEO scenarios and revenge stories. Dramabox has become a profitable player, declaring $ 323 million in income and $ 10 million in net profit in 2024. Reheshort reached a higher scale at around $ 400 million in 2024, but remains unprofitable due to heavy marketing investments.
Japan is positioned as the largest Asian-Pacific market outside of China, income forecast more than $ 1.2 billion by 2030, supported by the integration of line wages and increasing local production. Southeast Asia and Latin America represent promising growth regions, while India remains in the exploratory phase.
Artificial intelligence is more and more anchored in the microdrama value chain, especially in China where it is used for the discovery of personalized content, faster iteration, gender tests and the creation of connection stories. Globally, AI applications are mainly focused on location and dubbing, although its role in cost reduction and creative experimentation should develop significantly.
The revenue mixture varies according to the region. In China, advertising should contribute 56% of income by 2030, with 39% subscriptions and a trade at 5%. The global market outside of China will remain subscription and purchased in 74%, advertising going to 25% and trade reaching 1% by 2030.
“The Chinese ecosystem shows what is possible when the content is integrated into social and payment rails, while the United States proves the viability of global expansion,” said Cuto. “The winners will be operators who will control their distribution and monetization infrastructure, manage customer acquisition costs and create sustainable IP pipelines.”
