Micro-soaps, the latest lucrative export from China, are growing in prominence in the US and UK – with millions of monthly active users and subscription fees rivalling traditional streaming services
One woman in need of money. One successful man fighting family pressure. Cringe-worthy dialogue and a paper-thin plot line. All the makings of a promising soap opera – except you won’t find it on any streaming service or TV channel.
The Chinese series Adored by the CEO was made for FlexTV, a Chinese app for short dramas that have found their way onto TikTok. Shot vertically and cut into about 100 bite-sized and binge-able episodes (one to two minutes each), these micro-soaps are designed for doomscrollers.
Micro-soaps (“duanju” as they are referred to in China where they originated) are impressively lucrative. As reported by The Drum in September 2025, “the sector is set to generate more than USD$9 billion (£6.7bn) this year, surpassing the country’s box office”.
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The revenue-driving model has, naturally, been exported outside China, as micro-soaps are being dubbed and created for English-speaking audiences. While these shorts can be found on TikTok, dedicated apps like ReelShort and DramaBox are the biggest players in the space.
DramaBox specifically, which is a dedicated platform for streaming short dramas, is ranked number two for Entertainment in the Apple app store and has over 100 million downloads on Google Play. According to an Omdia report, Asia’s top five micro-soap apps reached a cumulative total of 150 monthly active users in February 2025.
Not only are the user numbers of these apps growing exponentially, so are their subscription fees. While there are ad-heavy free versions available, premium subscriptions rival traditional streamers like Netflix for around $25 (£18) per month. But that hasn’t dissuaded usership.
According to Omdia’s analysis of Sensor Tower data, DramaBox’s app store revenue (across 84 markets) was USD$217 million (£162m) in 2024, while ReelShort app store revenue was US$214 million (£160m) in 2024.
As reported by Business Insider, the media consulting firm Owl & Co. estimates short-drama apps like ReelShort and DramaBox will make USD$3 billion (ÂŁ2.2bn) this year globally outside China. Part of what makes these models so lucrative is their low production costs.
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MIT Technology Review says these micro-soaps “don’t aim for slick, expensive productions” but instead “choose simple scripts, shoot an entire series in two weeks, market it heavily online, and move on to the next project if it doesn’t stick”. AI has also been increasingly utilised to hasten production and lower costs.
The micro-soaps are reverse-engineered to appeal to the psychological needs of their audience and their digital consumption habits. The romance-heavy content is also no coincidence.
Many shorts including Adored by the CEO were adapted from Chinese web novels: long stories with easily digestible chapters posted every day. Similar to Wattpad and other fanfiction sites, these novels earn massive followings and lean heavily on romance tropes.
If the booming audio erotica industry is any indication, there is big profit in romance entertainment. And the interplay of technology and romance – or technology and sex – will increasingly tailor to those on-the-go and chronically on their phones.
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