Reelshort: Duanju's American-style platform

ReelShort is a California-based company (Sunnyvale), launched in August 2022 by Crazy Maple Studio , a subsidiary backed by the Chinese group COL Group , which still holds 49% of the shares. Although legally incorporated in the United States, it still maintains a strong Chinese structure involved in writing, production and data analysis.

In just over two years, it has exploded: 370 million downloads in the first quarter of 2025 (+500% compared to 2024), $700 million in revenue, notably from in-app purchases and freemium subscriptions. The freemium subscription allows free access to the first episodes, while the rest requires either watching ads or purchasing virtual tokens to unlock episodes more quickly.

ReelShort had approximately 55 million monthly active users by the end of 2025, and consistently ranked in the top 5 entertainment apps on the US App Store in 2023 and 2024, even surpassing TikTok at times.

ReelShort is a leader in the Western Duanju market, with approximately 30% international market share, directly competing with DramaBox , owned by Dianzhong Technology .

Joey Jia , founder and CEO of Crazy Maple Studio , believes that the ultra-short vertical format represents the future of entertainment, thanks to its rapid production, precise analysis of audiences and viewer behaviors, and its ability to create local stars in each target market. So it's not just a matter of translating Chinese series: the platform produces localized versions according to the market.

Sources:

• Wired , July 29, 2025

• The Washington Post , February 3, 2024

• The Economist , November 23, 2023

• IndieWire , November 30, 2023

• TechCrunch , November 16, 2023

• Rest of World , December 11, 2023

• Yicai Global , November 24, 2023

• Business Insider , June 5, 2025

• Time , May 15, 2024

• TechTrendsKE , July 28, 2025