AI-generated short dramas are surging in overseas markets: raking in a total of 1.27 billion US dollars in half a year, and the full-year market size is projected to reach 6 billion US dollars.
I. Market Overview
(1) Estimation of the overseas short drama industry scale
DataEye Research Institute estimates that the overseas short drama market size will exceed 6 billion US dollars in 2026, of which the in-app purchase payment + free mode on APP side will exceed 3 billion US dollars.
This forecast is raised from the original 5 billion US dollars to 6 billion US dollars, mainly due to two factors: first, AI short dramas and manhua dramas are exported in batches, and the overall overseas content supply has increased significantly; second, mainstream social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube continue to increase cooperation in short drama and manhua drama content, driving the overall revenue scale of the industry to rise.
(2) Estimation of the overseas short drama user scale
By the end of 2025, the monthly active users of overseas short dramas are about 100 million, the global short video users are about 1.8 billion, and the user penetration rate of overseas short dramas in the overall global short video market is only 5.56%.
DataEye Research Institute calculates that, benefiting from the accelerated industrialization of AI short dramas and manhua dramas in 2026, the content supply of overseas short dramas will be greatly expanded and the customer acquisition efficiency will continue to be optimized. By the middle of the year, the monthly active users of overseas short dramas are expected to reach 258 million, the user penetration rate will rise to 13.9%, officially crossing the industry growth singularity; by the end of the year, the monthly active users of overseas short dramas are expected to reach 389 million, and the corresponding penetration rate will rise to 20.9%.
The increase in monthly active users of overseas short dramas relies on the productivity explosion brought by AI technology on the one hand, and on the other hand, the intensified involution of domestic short dramas and tightened supervision, leading to a large amount of production capacity going overseas to form industrial spillover dividends.
II. APP-side Revenue and Download Volume
(1) Estimation of in-app purchase revenue of overseas short drama APPs
According to DataEye Research Institute, the estimated two-terminal in-app purchase revenue of overseas short drama APPs in the first half of 2026 is about 1.27 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of about 13% compared with the same period last year, and the industry as a whole maintains positive growth.
Specifically, the overall industry weakened from January to April, and the revenue in February fell to the lowest point in the first half of the year, which was mainly affected by three factors: the contraction of overseas delivery investment during the Spring Festival, the reduction of live-action shooting production capacity, and the exit of some small and medium-sized platforms.
The industry ushered in a recovery inflection point since May, and AI dramas/manhua dramas have become the core engine of growth. Low-cost and high-productivity AI dramas/manhua dramas solve the pain point of limited production capacity of live-action short dramas. A large number of low-cost short dramas and manhua dramas continue to be launched, and the industry revenue continues to pick up. The revenue in June hit a new high in the first half of the year, and AI content has officially become the core driving force driving the growth of the overall market.
(2) Estimation of download volume of overseas short drama APPs
According to DataEye Research Institute, the estimated total two-terminal download volume of overseas short drama APPs in the first half of 2026 reaches 1.441 billion times, a significant year-on-year increase of about 79%, but compared with the second half of 2025, the month-on-month growth rate is only 20%, and the industry expansion speed has slowed down.
From the monthly trend, the overall download volume shows a "V-shaped" curve that first bottoms out and then continues to rise. The industry entered a phased adjustment period in the first quarter, and the download volume in February fell to the lowest point in half a year (210 million times). In the second quarter, the large-scale release of AI short dramas and AI manhua dramas drove the download volume to continue to rise.
It is worth noting that the 79% year-on-year high growth rate in the first half of the year is based on the low base of the overseas short drama market in the first half of 2025; while the 20% growth rate compared with the second half of 2025 reflects that the industry has entered the stock competition stage from the early barbaric expansion stage, and the growth ceiling driven solely by live-action short dramas has appeared. The main force of industry growth has officially shifted from live-action shooting to AI short dramas.
(3) Distribution of in-app purchase revenue of overseas short drama APPs
By country, the United States, Japan, Canada three major markets take the top three positions of in-app purchase revenue of overseas short drama APPs in the first half of 2026, and the three of them contribute a total of over 44% of the share.
From the perspective of regional distribution, developed markets such as Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada form the main force of revenue, contributing more than 60% of the total revenue in total. High willingness to pay and mature payment ecosystem are the core reasons why the above regions lead in revenue.
From the perspective of ranking changes, the United States and Japan steadily take the top two positions, Canada rises to the third place, and South Korea ranks fourth, while the United Kingdom drops to the fifth place. Among emerging markets, Brazil and Thailand stand out, steadily ranking in the TOP10 of the revenue list, and becoming non-negligible incremental growth points in the overseas short drama track.
(4) Distribution of download volume of overseas short drama APPs
By country, the India, Indonesia, Brazil three major markets continue to take the top three positions of overseas short drama download volume in the first half of 2026, contributing a total of over 50% of the total download volume; compared with the same period last year, the share of the three major markets has all increased.
From the regional perspective, emerging markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and India contribute more than 70% of the market download volume in total. The penetration rate of smartphones in the above regions continues to rise, the cost of user traffic is low, which adapts to the business model of low-cost large-scale delivery of AI short dramas, and manufacturers continue to tilt their delivery resources.
From the perspective of ranking changes, the Philippines accounts for 7% of the download share, and its ranking rises sharply from the sixth place last year to the fourth in the world; in contrast, the mature payment market the United States only accounts for 4% of the download volume, and its ranking drops from the fourth to the seventh.
(5) 26H1 Overseas Short Drama APP In-App Purchase Revenue List
The total estimated in-app purchase revenue of the top 20 platforms on the overseas short drama revenue list in the first half of 2026 exceeds 1 billion US dollars, contributing over 80% of the total market revenue; while the top 3 platforms have a revenue of over 500 million US dollars, accounting for more than 40%.
In terms of new products, the dark horse AI short drama VibeShort performs brilliantly. The APP was launched on App Store on February 25, and in just a few months it has ranked 18th on the list.
In terms of manufacturers, Chinese manufacturers occupy an absolute dominant position. 16 domestic short drama applications are on the top 20 list, and 4 overseas local short drama APPs break into the top 20 — My Drama (Ukraine), Vigloo (South Korea), Shortical (Israel), CandyJarTV (Germany).
(6) 26H1 Overseas Short Drama APP Download List
FreeReels tops the list, with an estimated download volume of over 218 million times in the first half of the year, making it the only product in the overseas short drama track in the first half of 2026 with an estimated download volume exceeding 200 million times; Maoya NetShort ranks the second, with an estimated download volume of over 130 million times; Maple Interactive ReelShort ranks the third, with an estimated download volume of over 121 million times.
The head effect of the market is prominent. The total estimated APP download volume of the top 20 platforms on the download list exceeds 1.2 billion times, accounting for 84% of the total market download volume.
ByteDance's Melolo and PineDrama two short drama APPs have grown rapidly in the first half of the year, and both have entered the top 10.
Overall, most of the products on the list are launched by domestic companies, but 6 overseas local short drama APPs are also on the list. HotMiniDrama under Egypt's Tasawwaq ranks the 9th; 5 Indian local APPs are on the list, Story TV, Kuku TV, QuickTV, FreeDrama, DashReels rank 6th, 10th, 11th, 16th and 17th respectively.
(7) Proportion of in-app purchase revenue of exported short drama APPs
According to DataEye Research Institute, the estimated two-terminal in-app purchase revenue of Chinese exported short drama APPs in the first half of 2026 is about 1.182 billion US dollars, accounting for about 93% of the whole market, a slight decline compared with the 95% proportion of the whole year of 2025. In contrast, the revenue of overseas local short drama APPs is only 70 million US dollars, accounting for 7% of the market.
Although the current revenue scale of overseas local manufacturers is far behind, their growth momentum cannot be underestimated. In the first half of the year, a total of 10 local short drama APPs broke into the top 50 of the overseas revenue list, and 4 broke into the top 20. Local players are rapidly seizing market positions.
(8) Proportion of download volume of exported short drama APPs
According to DataEye Research Institute, the estimated two-terminal download volume of Chinese exported short drama APPs in the first half of 2026 reaches 1.221 billion times, accounting for about 85% of the global market, which is higher than the 80% proportion of the whole year of 2025. In contrast, the estimated two-terminal download volume of overseas local short drama APPs reaches 217 million times, accounting for 15% of the market.
Among overseas local manufacturers, India relies on the huge population traffic dividend and has a strong development momentum. In the first half of 2026, a total of 8 overseas local short drama APPs are shortlisted for the global <