duanju
{{Short description|Chinese micro web dramas}}
Duanju ({{lang-zh|s=短剧|t=短劇|hp=duǎn jù|}}), sometimes translated in English as short drama,{{Cite web|url=https://equalocean.com/analysis/2024121721237|title=How Chinese "Alpha Male" Short Dramas Conquered the World}} vertical drama,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/04/tv-serials-vertical-drama-phones-grip-viewers#:~:text=The%20interest%20was%20so%20huge,the%20standards%20are%20any%20less.|title=Clickbait titles and cliffhangers: the mini TV serials capturing phone audiences}} microdrama,{{Cite web|url=https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/inside-the-rise-of-micro-dramas--and-the-opportunities-for-marketers/en-gb/6981#:~:text=Micro%20dramas%20are%20short%2Dform,and%20enjoy%20in%20quick%20bursts.|title=Inside the rise of micro dramas – and the opportunities for marketers}} vertical minidrama or mobile drama, is a type of short form web or television series that has gained popularity in China. These series are mostly adapted from Chinese web fictions and are released on new media platforms such as TikTok/Douyin (抖音 in China). Each episode is very short, usually around 1 to 2 minutes in length. While the duration of a single episode may range from 1 to 6 minutes, episodes longer than 3 minutes are relatively rare. A full series may include anywhere from 20 to 100 episodes, making the total runtime comparable to that of one or two full-length movies. Usually created for mobile platforms, many duanju are produced directly in vertical format to facilitate mobile viewing. They are optimized for vertical viewing on smartphones, catering to audiences who prefer bite-sized entertainment that fits into fragmented viewing habits. Because of their short length and mobile-first design, duanju are sometimes referred to as short dramas, vertical dramas, micro-dramas, or mobile dramas in English. Short dramas are sometimes adapted into interactive movie games.{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/27/1088980/chinese-short-drama-tiktok-flextv/|title=China's next cultural export could be TikTok-style short soap operas|website=MIT Technology Review}} In terms of storyline, these Chinese short dramas can be compared to soap operas in English speaking countries, although in a faster-paced style.
History
Duanju originates from Chinese Web fictions that started around 2002. These fictions were written by users on websites such as Qidian and were released in installments, where readers had the option to pay per chapter or a subscription.{{Cite news |last=Armstrong |first=Stephen |date=2024-11-11 |title=‘This will be the next film industry’: The rise of the one-minute movie |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2024/11/11/tiktok-duanju-snack-dramas-one-minute-movies-monetise/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}
Video-form duanju started in 2013 on Youku Tudou before moving to apps like TikTok, ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort, and Kuiashou. By 2023 the audience for duanju reached about 1.6 billion people.
Production
Unlike the majority of content submitted to apps like TikTok, duanju are professionally-generated rather than user-generated. Chinese production companies hire professional actors and crew to shoot and edit the content.{{Cite web |last=Frater |first=Patrick |date=2024-09-27 |title=After TikTok, Micro Dramas Could Be China’s Latest Disruptor to Global Entertainment |url=https://variety.com/2024/global/news/micro-drama-series-china-global-entertainment-disruption-1236157866/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
In China, duanju often are filmed in less than two weeks and on a very small budget. The shows are typically freemium, offering a few episodes for free before monetizing the shows through a variety of means, including video-on-demand, subscription based models.
Chinese production companies have started collaborating with their American and British counterparts to bring the content to English-speaking audiences. This is done either by dubbing the existing Chinese shorts or by re-creating the entire series with English-speaking actors. Productions in these countries are also on a very small budget and can be filmed in as little as 10 days for an entire season.
Impact
Duanju (short drama or vertical drama) are one of the biggest growth sectors in China's entertainment industry. In 2024, the market exceeded 50 billion yuan ($6.8 billion USD), which made it one of the most profitable and lucrative sectors of the Chinese entertainment industry.{{Cite web |last=李虹睿 |title=Micro-dramas making big waves |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202501/20/WS678e12cba310a2ab06ea81b7.html |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}
Examples
- Kaibo! Duanju Ji (On Air! Micro-Drama Season) - Reached nearly 100 million views
- Unparalled - earned gross revenue of $14 million after eight days of release
- Take Me Home (金猪玉叶) - produced by Stephen Chow{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Dao |date=2024-06-05 |title=Famous Chinese film producer Stephen Chow steps into microdrama production |url=https://daoinsights.com/news/famous-chinese-film-producer-stephen-chow-steps-into-microdrama-production/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Dao Insights |language=en-US}}
- "Billionaire hides his identity, works as a delivery boy but Sexy female CEO loves him at all costs".{{cn|date=July 2025}}
- "Worldwide Prices Plummet by 10,000 Times, I Become the World's Wealthiest".{{cn|date=July 2025}}
- "Global IQ Drops by 10,000 Times, I Become the World's Smartest Person".{{cn|date=July 2025}}
- "Global Freeze, I Built a Doomsday Safe House".{{cn|date=July 2025}}
- "After the divorce, I resumed my status as a rich lady. My ex-husband regretted it".{{cn|date=July 2025}}
Copyright controversies
Due to the short production cycle and low cost, if a script becomes popular, many companies will rush to imitate it, resulting in the same plot flooding the internet, leading to sense of exhaustion, infringing on the original creator's copyright and other intellectual property rights.{{Cite web|url=https://app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=75927d85a54ed70878d6efba87244740|title=短剧虽短，版权不容侵犯 - 新华网客户端|website=app.xinhuanet.com}}