China’s Duanju Drama Boom: One-Minute Storytelling Takes the World by Storm
Evanne Evans, 29 Jul 2025
In early 2025, vertical micro-dramas known as Duanju swept through the entertainment world, particularly in the U.S., demonstrating that less can indeed be more. These bite‑sized episodes, typically one minute long and shot vertically, deliver gripping cliffhangers and big drama in tiny runtimes. The phenomenon is powered by platforms like ReelShort, DramaWave, DramaBox, and GoodShort, which have together surpassed 370 million downloads worldwide and generated nearly $700 million in in‑app purchases in the first quarter alone.
Fueled by the explosive growth of China’s Duanju industry, which topped 50 billion yuan in revenue in 2024, surpassing national box office earnings, the format is now reshaping global digital entertainment.
The Duanju system thrives on hyper-efficient production cycles, often creating an entire season in just days, with minimal budgets and mostly unknown actors.
Western viewers, drawn by rapid pacing and emotionally charged tropes, from billionaire romances to supernatural twists, have shown an enormous appetite for the format. ReelShort CEO Joey Jia credits mobile viewer habits and precise user data analysis as keys to the genre’s international appeal. With U.S. users accounting for nearly half of Duanju revenue, platforms now localize plots, not just dub them, to resonate culturally with foreign audiences.
Hollywood has taken notice. Studios like Lionsgate and TelevisaUnivision are exploring how to adapt micro‑drama formats for broader streaming audiences, while actors and creative talent sign multi-show contracts on these fast-turnaround platforms.
Critics warn of potential content fatigue and creative limitations in ultra-short storytelling, but industry insiders view Duanju as a potent incubator of engagement. With the global micro‑drama market projected to expand to $14 billion by 2027, these minute-long dramas may represent the future of mobile-first entertainment.
As Duanju continues to climb the charts and win fans around the globe, one thing is clear: when entertainment is mobile-native and storytelling is compact, one minute can feel like five stars.
