Currently, when using social networking platforms, users can easily encounter short films with rushing details and characters created by artificial intelligence (AI). The special thing is that the stories in the film often end at the climax, giving viewers a feeling of curiosity and wanting to continue watching.
A person who is looked down upon but is actually a tycoon, a character who seems to have unexpectedly failed with special abilities, or love stories that continuously reveal knots are common motifs.
Each video only lasts a few minutes but is often divided into dozens of episodes. Free clips on social networks also often play the role of leading viewers to short film-specialized applications, where part of the content is required to pay a fee to continue watching.
From watching entertainment to staying up late, toping up
Ms. Le Tra (Bac Ninh) said that her father started watching AI short films from videos proposed on Facebook. Initially, he only watched them in his spare time, but gradually spent more time on these films.
According to Ms. Tra, there are days when her father watches until late at night, even though he still has to go to work the next morning. Each episode only lasts a few minutes, so he often has the mentality of watching another episode before going to bed. However, when the episode ends in the climax, he continues to open the next episode.
My father repeatedly said to watch another episode and then sleep, but in the end, he watched it again. There were days when I still had to go to work the next morning, but the night before, I still watched the movie until late at night. When I couldn't find the next episode of the movie I was watching, my father also pressed "subscribe to channel" of the currently airing accounts. However, these channels often require payment, while my father is not familiar with the form of payment via account, so he cannot subscribe to continue watching," Ms. Tra shared.
Not only adults, young people are also easily drawn into short films with a duration of only a few minutes. Tuyet Thanh (Hanoi) said that initially, she mainly watched for free or accepted to watch ads to unlock content. However, when the next episodes were locked, she started to top up money to continue watching. Thanh said that spending on short film viewing platforms can be up to several hundred thousand VND per month.
A few minutes each episode, the whole movie lasts for hours
According to records, short films on applications such as ReelShort, NetShort, DramaWave, PineDrama or FreeReels are often divided into dozens of episodes, each episode lasting only a few minutes. Some platforms allow users to watch part of the content for free, then request to buy points, unlock each episode or register for a paid package.
The way of dividing content makes the amount of money users spend on each payment not too large. However, when continuously watching the following episodes, the total cost can increase significantly.
The development of AI technology also helps producers create large amounts of content in a short time. Many films have characters, settings or part of images created by AI, which are then distributed through short video platforms and specialized applications.
According to statistics from consulting firm Deloitte, global revenue from short film applications reached about 3.8 billion USD in 2025 and is forecast to increase to 7.8 billion USD in 2026. This is one of the rapidly growing areas of the digital content market.
In Vietnam, data from Sensor Tower's Application Market Report shows that in the fourth quarter of 2025, short film applications surpassed OTT platforms in downloads. Vietnamese users were recorded spending about 11.5 million USD, equivalent to about 302 billion VND, for this application group in 2025.
From a few minutes of film on social networks, viewers can go to dozens of episodes and pay many times without realizing that time and costs have increased significantly. The development of short films is therefore not only in the amount of content produced, but also in the ability to turn the curiosity and habit of continuing to watch of users into revenue.
