According to the founder of a film and television company, a short drama with 80-100 episodes can be produced with a cost of two to three hundred thousand, which is a significantly higher return on investment compared to the millions or even billions of investment in films and television dramas.
Mi Meng is on the hot search again!
Recently, the Weibo topics "During winter vacation, Mi Meng earned over 100 million from two short dramas" and "Mi Meng's production: I Was a Stepmother in the 1980s" both have over 70 million readings.
According to Finance Net Weibo, according to Entertainment Capital Theory and insider sources, both the drama "I Was a Stepmother in the 1980s" and the drama "Mr. Pei thinks of his father Ping Zi Gui every day" that was released on January 16th were produced by the short drama label Ting Hua Dao. The real controller behind Ting Hua Dao is Mi Meng (Ma Ling). In other words, during the entire winter vacation, Mi Meng's two dramas, "I Was a Stepmother in the 1980s" and "Mr. Pei thinks of his father Ping Zi Gui" have earned over 100 million.
In December of last year, Mi Meng's popular drama "The Handbook for Rising to Power" had over 20 million recharge within 24 hours of its release, but it was eventually taken down from the platform due to reasons like "promoting extreme revenge, using violence to counter violence, and confusing the concept of right and wrong."
After "The Handbook for Rising to Power" was taken down, the official Douyin account of the drama released another short drama from Ting Hua Dao called "Assistant Li is So Beautiful", but it was quickly taken down as well.
In recent years, micro-short dramas with an average duration of three minutes and highly condensed plot points have become the "electronic pickles" for many young workers. Some are addicted to them, some criticize them, and some even pay to access the platform and experience a virtual life within them.
In a certain micro-short drama mini-program's payment page, there are various recharge options like 19 yuan, 66 yuan, and 88 yuan. The more money you recharge, the more "coins" you receive to unlock the plot. By choosing the annual package priced at 198 yuan, users can watch all the videos for free. However, the platform currently only has 5 short dramas available.
The "2023 Micro-Short Drama Industry Report" shows that from 2022 to 2023, the domestic micro-short drama market has made significant progress with an average of 300 registered works per month. The latest publicly available data from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television shows that as of January 2024, a total of 297 short dramas have been registered.
The large number of new entrants also indirectly confirms the huge market potential of the micro-short drama industry. Starting from July and August last year, celebratory cakes released by various short drama companies have been circulating on social media, such as "Oh no! The Queen Consort Comes to Work" with user recharge amount exceeding 12 million within 24 hours, "After Flash Marriage, Mr. Fu Can't Hide His Identity" with revenue exceeding 20 million within 24 hours, and "Peerless" with over 55 million consumption within 48 hours of its release.
But she also emphasized that behind the seemingly crazy "get rich quick" myth, looking at the industry as a whole, the majority are still losing money. "Many companies invest in dozens of projects in the hope that one will be a big hit, which may bring back all the previous costs."