In China, 30,000 Vertical Series for Smartphones Are Filmed Annually 0 10

Vertical series, micro-dramas, mobile dramas, duandju, short dramas – all these are names for one phenomenon that has become the dominant video format for mobile devices by 2025.

When we talk about vertical content, many mistakenly believe that it is a purely Chinese invention. However, the roots of the phenomenon go back to the history of world cinema, including Russian cinema. Sergei Eisenstein already considered the division of the horizontal screen into vertical slots as an independent artistic technique. In the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to music videos, "split-screen" became ubiquitous, and Quentin Tarantino and his admirers turned this comic format into a fashionable trend.

Interestingly, the Australians were the first to announce the micro-cinema format. In 2014, the Very Short Film Festival took place in Melbourne, showcasing a lineup of ultra-short videos – even before the emergence of TikTok, shorts, and reels. The pandemic temporarily slowed the growth of vertical video popularity, but after it ended, all major online platforms recorded a real boom in short content, threatening the ability of Homo sapiens to concentrate on anything lasting longer than two to five minutes.

It is now possible to talk about established standards for micro-dramas. These are episodes designed for viewing on mobile devices, usually lasting up to four minutes, with a full season consisting of 20 to 100 episodes. The first 5-6 episodes are usually watched for free, but then a subscription fee is required. "Soap operas for Generation Z" are built on hypertrophied emotional conflicts, simple, almost clichéd plots, and an obligatory cliffhanger at the end of each episode.

The geography of micro-drama popularity is vast, and viewer tastes vary greatly. Titles like "Married the Gardener – Turned Out to Be a Prince" succinctly convey both the plots and their audiences. In the USA and Europe, romance, fantasy, and mysticism are popular, reminiscent of posters for "Twilight" and other "Vampire Diaries." The Indian audience prefers mythological and religious plots about battles of gods and forbidden passions. In Turkey, popular titles include "Blackmail Under the Mask of Sex" and "I Remember Your Betrayal." However, by 2026, China became the undisputed leader in micro-film production. The hit of 2023, "Escape from the British Museum" (about a Chinese jade teapot that took the form of a girl and escaped from the museum back to her homeland), garnered over 350 million views and even impressed government structures – the China Film Administration decided to make a feature film based on it.

According to forecasts from the Chinese TV channel CGTN, by 2027, the global market for micro-series will reach $13 billion. For comparison, last year in China alone, it amounted to $6.9 billion, closely approaching the box office of traditional cinema. To stimulate production and avoid monotony, the International Short Video Center has opened in Shanghai. There, for example, an entire ancient quarter was built for filming historical dramas. The filming process takes no more than a week and a half, and with low costs, profits can amount to tens of millions of dollars within just a few days of release.

Regarding how the industry is structured from the inside, Zhang Jingcheng, the executive director of the Jingyao Kunde alliance, spoke at the CSTB forum. According to him, it would be a mistake to consider vertical micro-dramas simply a new video format for phones. It is a much more complex model, woven into an ecosystem that integrates business, culture, tourism, and the economy. All these areas are interconnected, and this model is developing at a geometric rate.

He provided a clear example of the integration of micro-dramas and the tourism sector. After the release of the vertical series "The Fist of Yang Xianxian," set on Mount Anshan in Anhui Province, the number of internet queries about this attraction increased by 470%.

Another successful model is the symbiosis of micro-dramas and video games. As Zhang Jingcheng explained, here the synergy effect works: games "warm up" the audience for the series, and in turn, the series stimulate interest in the games. Monthly monetization in such a connection can reach 50 million yuan (about $7.2 million). Additionally, there are collaborations between micro-dramas and businesses, brands, and e-commerce platforms. Giants like JD.com and KFC are already using this tool. Such integrations bring companies from 100 to 300 million new users ready to make purchases.

He also revealed production figures. If at the dawn of the micro-drama industry, a micro-drama could be filmed for 50,000 yuan (about $7,000), now a budget of up to 3 million yuan (about $433,000) is considered superficial and not competitive in the market. A quality product capable of engaging viewers requires investments exceeding 3 million yuan. The total financing volume in the industry in China last year exceeded 100 billion yuan (about $14.4 billion), allowing for the production of 30,000 series.