Fox has taken equity in a Ukrainian drama platform. Disney is launching a vertical feed inside Disney+. A format the industry dismissed three years ago is now attracting board-level decisions from the major studios.
The vertical micro-drama market has passed the point where it can be treated as a fringe experiment. China’s domestic duanju sector generated approximately ¥50 billion ($7 billion) in 2024, exceeding the country’s traditional theatrical box office. The U.S. market, at $819 million last year, produced nearly $350 million in a single quarter at the start of 2025. Global in-app spending across the category hit $700 million in Q1 2025 alone.
Hollywood’s response has arrived in several forms simultaneously. Fox Entertainment acquired an equity stake in Holywater, the Ukraine-based studio behind the MyDrama platform, in late 2024. Under the agreement, Fox Entertainment Studios committed to producing a minimum of 200 vertical series over two years. The volume target is not incidental. It signals how differently this format’s economics work from anything in conventional broadcast.
Disney’s move runs deeper into its core product. Announced at CES 2026, Disney+ will introduce a personalised vertical video feed in the U.S. later this year, led by EVP Erin Teague. The initiative follows the rollout of a “Verts” feature on the ESPN app and is positioned to build daily engagement among Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers. Disney is also putting AI infrastructure behind it: a $1 billion licensing arrangement with OpenAI’s Sora platform will allow fan-inspired generative content to sit alongside library clips and original vertical programming within the feed.
The platforms doing the actual commercial work remain Chinese-backed. ReelShort, operated by Crazy Maple Studio under CEO Joey Jia and backed by Beijing’s COL Group, reported $130 million in Q1 2025 revenue and $521 million in cumulative global receipts by March. DramaBox, backed through Disney’s accelerator programme and currently raising $100 million at a $500 million valuation, posted $120 million over the same period. DramaWave, from Skywork AI, grew downloads more than tenfold in Q1 2025 to 43 million.
On the independent side, GammaTime, co-founded by former Miramax CEO Bill Block and backed by $14 million in seed funding from investors including Alexis Ohanian and Kim Kardashian, has recruited CSI producer Anthony Zuiker. MicroCo, a 50/50 joint venture between Cineverse and Lloyd Braun’s Banyan Ventures, is led by former Showtime CEO Jana Winograde and former NBCUniversal executive Susan Rovner.
The format’s arrival as a professional employment category was confirmed in late 2025, when SAG-AFTRA introduced its Verticals Agreement — a contract covering productions under $300,000 that accommodates ten-day shooting cycles while extending standard performer protections.
The global market is projected to reach $15 billion by 2033. The U.S. is forecast at $3.8 billion by 2030. Whether that growth flows primarily to the Chinese-backed platforms that built the category or to the studios now entering it is a separate question — and one the market hasn’t answered yet.
