Core Insights - The micro-drama market has reached a cumulative consumption of 19.299 billion, with a monthly average of 2.144 billion, indicating a stable growth but a significant slowdown compared to the exponential growth from 2021 to 2023, transitioning from an "explosive growth phase" to a "stock competition phase" [1] - In September, the micro-drama market saw a total consumption of 2.09 billion, marking a 10.43% increase from August, driven by strong performances from new works like "Don't Mess with the Real Golden Girl" [1][2] Group 1: September Top Dramas - The top three dramas in September were "Don't Mess with the Real Golden Girl," "This Bodyguard is Too Invincible," and "The Disappearing Boxer," with the top drama exceeding a heat value of 43 million [2] - A total of 59 new dramas entered the top 100, with the top 100 dramas achieving a total heat value of 938 million, accounting for 44.88% of the market in September [2] Group 2: Performance of Key Players - Tomato led the rankings with 38 entries in the top 100, while Hema and Maiya followed with 24 and 11 entries, respectively [3] - The drama "Don't Mess with the Real Golden Girl" achieved a heat value of over 43 million, making it the only drama in the past three months to exceed 40 million in a single month [3] Group 3: Trending Themes - The "revenge" theme remained the most popular, with a total heat value of 1.401 billion across 521 dramas, while urban daily life themes dropped to fourth place [4][5] - Modern romance and family ethics themes showed resilience, with heat values of 521 million and 496 million, respectively, despite a decrease in the number of associated dramas [5] Group 4: Streaming Platforms and New Releases - On Douyin, 64 new dramas were released in September, contributing to a total playback increase of 12.839 billion across the top 40 dramas [7] - The top new drama "Yin Cha Yang Cuo, Became the Boss's Maid" achieved a playback increase of 623 million, while "Li Ren Mei Gui" and "Xing De Xiang Yu Li Hun Shi" followed closely [9] Group 5: Market Dynamics and Strategies - The market is entering a phase of stock competition, with a narrowing growth rate but still showing resilience, driven by strong content like "Don't Mess with the Real Golden Girl" [33] - The industry is shifting from a single promotional strategy to a more integrated approach, focusing on building a closed loop of "actors-content-users" to enhance visibility and reduce long-term costs [33]