Inside China’s US$5 billion micro drama industry, which has the US in its sights
On a film set that resembles the medieval castle of a Chinese lord, Zhu Jian is busy disrupting the world’s second-largest movie industry.
The 69-year-old actor is playing the patriarch of a wealthy family celebrating his birthday with a lavish banquet. But unbeknown to either of them, the servant in the scene is his biological granddaughter.
A second twist: Zhu is not filming for cinema screens.
Grandma’s Moon is a micro drama, composed of vertically shot, minute-long episodes featuring frequent plot turns designed to keep millions of viewers hooked to their phone screens – and paying for more.
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“They don’t go to the cinema any more,” says Zhu of his audience, which he describes as largely composed of middle-aged workers and pensioners. “It’s so convenient to hold a mobile phone and watch something anytime you want.”
China’s US$5 billion-a-year micro drama industry is booming, according to interviews with 10 people in the sector and four scholars and media analysts.
