Chinese platforms served as the primary investors behind 82 of the titles in the October 2026 Overseas Short Drama Top 100, published by research firm DataEye, underscoring the rapid global expansion of China's fast-paced vertical video format, known as "duanju."
Maiya's NetShort dominated the rankings with 63 titles, while DramaBox captured nine, according to mainland media reports. Chinese applications also swept the top three positions globally for both downloads and in-app purchase revenues during the period.
From January to September, Chinese publishers monopolized the top three spots for global duanju downloads. Kunlun Tech's FreeReels led the market with over 230 million installs, followed by COL Group-backed ReelShort with 190 million, and NetShort with 180 million.
The sector is facing fresh disruption as ByteDance expands its overseas footprint. PineDrama, the international counterpart to ByteDance's domestic app Hongguo, surpassed 100 million cumulative downloads and reached approximately 7 million daily active users just nine months after its January launch, making it one of the market's fastest-growing players.
In the first half of the year, the United States, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and Brazil accounted for 53.4 percent of sampled net in-app purchase revenue. The US alone contributed US$378 million, or 36.4 percent of the total.
Viewer preferences varied significantly across regions. North American audiences favored storylines centered on female empowerment, independence, and revenge, while viewers in Latin America and Southeast Asia gravitated toward "overnight wealth" tropes.
Beyond narrative themes, a production's success relies heavily on dialogue delivery, character chemistry, relatable settings, and pacing, a person familiar with Kuaishou Technology (1024) said.
While the overseas duanju sector has validated its product-market fit, it has yet to reach maturity, said Zhang Yi, chief executive of iiMedia Research. He projected the global market will expand by 30 billion yuan (HK$35.24 billion) or more over the next three years as artificial intelligence reshapes content production.
Although the pay-per-episode IAP model is expected to sustain growth for another three years, intensifying competition will likely push platforms toward the advertising-based model prevalent in the mainland, where users stream content for free, Zhang added.
