09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How mini dramas could be the next big thing in entertainment
Published: 4:15am, 10 Feb 2025
Venture capitalists and start-ups convened at the Conrad Beijing hotel in mid-December, looking to exploit the latest phenomenon in Chinese media: the mini soap opera.
Clips run just 60 to 90 seconds and a series can span more than 50 episodes.
The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband , one of the industry's biggest hits of 2023, takes all of 100 seconds to tell the story of a woman who was forced into a marriage with a 'loser and an ex-con' to pay her mother's medical bill. I see mini dramas becoming a dominant form of entertainment, potentially even outpacing the traditional film market in a few years Joey Jia, chief executive officer of mini drama maker ReelShort
Spurred by advertising sales and spending by viewers, revenue in the mini-drama industry surged 35 per cent to 50.44 billion yuan (US$6.91 billion) last year, surpassing China's cinema box office, according to a government-backed industry association.
