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cro drama in 2024 has reached RMB most of those short videos, they are
¥50.40 billion (US $6.93 billion), ex- more professional and refined with
ceeding the box office of Chinese more completed and coherent stories
movies for the first time, according to like fiction or movie,” he says.
White Paper on Micro-Short Drama
Industry 2024 published by DataEye, Professor Lin adds micro dramas
a Chinese mobile advertising big data are full of dramatic twists and turns in
intelligence analytics company. a short time in order to boost viewing.

Lin Jian, an assistant professor “These fast-paced dramas filled
from the Journalism and Communi- with thrilling plots which might lead
cation School of Chinese University viewers to favour quick, highly enter-
of Hong Kong explains micro dramas taining content more and more,” he
are popular now because they are very adds.
similar to short videos that many peo-
ple watch in TikTok. Lin is concerned by such a trend.
“When users prefer to consume a
“On the other hand, compared to cultural product which continuously

Various micro dramas are dis-
played with their popularity met-
rics in a Chinese micro drama
app, Hongguo Micro Drama.

stimulates people’s senses and emo-
tions, might the more reflective as-
pects of culture that provoke deeper
thought gradually diminish?” he says.

However, he believes the industry
will develop in two extreme directions
in the future.

“Some top companies may start to
focus on producing high-quality and
premium micro dramas, while others
may continue making controversial or
borderline practices, or so-called ‘gray
area’ dramas,” he adds.

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Zhuang Yan is watching a micro drama while eating.
(Photo courtesy of Zhuang Yan)