State of Short Drama Apps 2025 (Sensor Tower)

Summary

• In Q1 2025, global in-app revenue from short drama apps reached approximately USD $700 million, nearly 4x higher than in Q1 2024.§1
• Global cumulative in-app revenue from short drama apps approaches USD $2.3 billion as of March 2025.§2
• Global downloads exceeded 370 million in Q1 2025, a 6.2x increase year-on-year.§2
• The U.S. accounted for 49% of total global revenue in Q1 2025, with nearly USD $350 million.§2
• ReelShort and DramaBox grew in-app revenue 31% and 29% in Q1 2025, reaching USD $130 million and USD $120 million.§3
• DramaWave reached 53 million cumulative downloads and USD $47 million in in-app revenue by the end of April 2025.§4

Key insights

1. In-app revenue rose from USD $178 million in Q1 2024 to nearly USD $700 million in Q1 2025.§2
2. Short drama app downloads in Latin America grew 69% quarter-on-quarter to nearly 100 million.§2
3. NetShort's in-app revenue grew 171% quarter-on-quarter and FlickReels posted a 375% increase in Q1 2025.§3
4. Southeast Asia and Latin America together accounted for 72% of DramaWave's total downloads, and Android for 86%.§4
5. Paid advertising accounted for over 80% of DramaWave's downloads between September and December 2024.§5