2025 State of Mobile is Live!
Sensor Tower · Marco Scacchi · January 2025
Short-Drama Redefines Mobile Entertainment and Challenges Games
After gaining traction in China, short-drama apps—featuring bite-sized, serialized content—have rapidly expanded to global markets, with the US emerging as the leading market by IAP revenue in 2024. Advertising has played a key role in this growth, enabling apps like DramaBox, ShortMax, and ReelShort to build international audiences. While still emerging globally, short-drama apps may pose a threat to mobile games given a strong overlap in app usage. This dynamic is particularly pronounced in regions like Latin America, where competition for user attention between short-drama and newly launched gaming apps is intensifying.
Key Takeaways:
Short-drama app downloads surged by 320mn YoY in 2024. Apps such as DramaBox, ShortMax, and ReelShort were pivotal in this growth, collectively accounting for 76% of total downloads in 2024
The US emerged as the largest revenue-generating market for short-drama apps, contributing 60% of global mobile revenue in 2024, followed by Japan (5%) and Indonesia (3%), highlighting the robust monetization potential of short-drama content in the US
ReelShort achieved the highest Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) among leading short-drama apps in 2024, with the US ranking among its top five markets for per-user revenue generation
DramaBox demonstrated exceptional long-term retention, with 17% of users retained by month six and 15% by month 12 in 2024, outperforming its competitors and cementing its leadership in user engagement metrics
Advertising has been pivotal in driving the global growth of short-drama apps, with paid downloads accounting for over 60% of total downloads for DramaBox and ShortMax, and 70% for ReelShort in 2024. These platforms collectively generated over 5bn ad impressions globally in 2024, with Facebook, and TikTok being instrumental ad networks
Short-drama apps show significant overlap with mobile gaming audiences, with games making up over 30 of the top 100 apps most used by short-drama audiences in the US and more than 50% in Brazil during 3Q24
In LATAM, short-drama apps have already outperformed several newly launched mobile games by revenue, suggesting a growing inclination toward snackable video content over new games
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Written by: Marco Scacchi, Senior Qualitative Insights Analyst, EMEA
Date: January 2025