ReelShort’s Revenue Growth and Projected Profits
According to a recent report from Media Partners Asia (MPA), microdrama platform ReelShort is poised to reach a significant milestone in 2026. The report, titled ‘ReelShort/Crazy Maple Studio: Inside the $1BN Micro Drama Machine,’ forecasts that ReelShort’s revenue will grow by 34% to $1.05BN in 2026.
This projected revenue growth is a testament to ReelShort’s success in the microdrama market. The platform’s revenue has been steadily increasing over the past few years, from $97M in 2023 to $400M in 2024 and $785M in 2025. The report also estimates that ReelShort’s revenue will continue to grow in the coming years, reaching $1.4BN in 2027 and $1.7BN in 2028.
Net Profit and EBITDA Projections
After an estimated $12M net loss in 2025, MPA projects that ReelShort will achieve net profit of around $40M in 2026, with EBITDA of $63M. By 2028, the report estimates that ReelShort’s EBITDA will reach $306M at an 18% margin, with net profit of $225M.
The report highlights several factors contributing to ReelShort’s projected profitability, including the decline in marketing costs. User acquisition and marketing costs are expected to decrease from 55% of revenue in 2025 to 44% by 2028, a shift worth around $10.5M of EBITDA for every percentage point.
This decline in marketing costs is attributed to several factors, including the growth of hit franchises and their sequels, which draw a larger share of demand without paid support. Additionally, telco and strategic local market partnerships are adding subscribers at little acquisition cost, while more billing is moving to ReelShort’s own web store and direct channels.
Another key factor contributing to ReelShort’s projected profitability is the maturation of the paid-social auction. After several years of new entrants bidding up prices, the auction is expected to become more stable, resulting in a higher return on each dollar spent.
Revenue Streams and Regional Growth
The report also highlights the importance of consumer payments and subscriptions in ReelShort’s business model. These revenue streams account for around 85-90% of ReelShort’s revenue, with subscriptions already making up 60-70% of what viewers pay.
Advertising, a smaller stream before 2024, is predicted to grow to around 15% of revenue by 2028. Due to the absence of app-store commission, around 65-70 cents of each advertising dollar flows through to earnings.
The report also notes that more consumer billing is moving to ReelShort’s own web store, reducing platform and payment fees. Together, these shifts account for close to half of the projected margin expansion.
Regional Growth and Market Share
The report forecasts that microdrama revenue outside China will grow by 21% CAGR from $3.6BN in 2026 to $9.5BN by 2031. Within this, microdrama revenue in the US is expected to grow from $1.5BN to $3.7BN, while in the Asia Pacific region outside of China it will triple to $2.4BN.
ReelShort is currently leading the microdrama market, with an estimated 29% share, ahead of DramaBox on 21%, DramaWave on 13%, NetShort on 10%, and GoodShort on 6%. The remainder is spread across some 300 smaller apps.
MPA CEO & Executive Director Vivek Couto concludes that microdrama has begun to be an earnings story rather than a growth story. He notes that marketing costs are coming down as hit franchises bring audiences in without paid support, platform fees are falling as operators move billing onto their own web stores, and advertising is entering the mix at high margin.
