Made for your phone, now playing before the movie: Microdramas hit the big screen
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- Before trailers roll, moviegoers will see brand-backed vertical microdramas on the big screen, as National CineMedia partners with L.A.-based aTwist to bring phone-style series into theaters.
- The ads, woven into NCM’s “Noovie” preshow across 18,500 screens, will tease aTwist originals, feature sponsored storylines and direct viewers to its platform via QR codes.
- Backed by former Hollywood executives, aTwist bets booming microdramas — part of a $150-billion vertical video market — can stand out from rivals such as ReelShort and DramaBox by courting in-theater audiences.
Before the lights dim and the trailers roll, moviegoers will start to see microdrama ads in movie theaters.
National CineMedia, the company responsible for the pre-show programming on the big screen, announced a new partnership with AI-native microseries studio aTwist on Wednesday. The company will begin advertising aTwist’s upcoming slate of vertical series in theaters later this summer.
“Movie theaters have always been where people go to lose themselves in storytelling,” Mike Rosen, NCM’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement. “This partnership brings new, exciting content to the pre-show experience, and gives brands the opportunity to speak more authentically to an audience that is naturally drawn to compelling, innovative content.”
The partnership was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
The deal will feature brand-sponsored series, previews of aTwist originals and a QR code that will take viewers directly to the aTwist platform.
Issa Rae’s new viral TikTok micro-drama, “Screen Time,” has become a hit, drawing more than 150 million viewers.
These advertisements will be integrated into National CineMedia’s regular programming, which spans more than 18,500 screens in over 1,650 theaters nationwide. The advertiser works with major movie chains such as AMC, Cinemark and Regal, across 185 markets. NCM was founded in 2002 and is best known for its “Noovie” preshow hosted by Maria Menounos.
ATwist is set to launch in summer. The Los Angeles-based company, founded by former Hollywood executives Jana Winograde, Susan Rovner and Lloyd Braun, is entering an increasingly competitive format.
Microdramas, which originated in China, have continued to gain traction in the U.S. Some of the industry’s major players include ReelShort and DramaBox. The short-form content, engineered for a vertical phone screen, has drawn comparisons to a new addictive form of soap opera. The vertical video market is expected to generate around $150 billion in revenue this year, according to media consulting firm Owl & Co.
Micro dramas, short chapters of romantic dramas, have helped supply more jobs to the struggling entertainment industry. But the lower-cost productions are raising concerns among Hollywood labor unions.
Brands such as Marc Jacobs and Crocs have already positioned the storytelling format as a way to advertise new products and reach new audiences.
By advertising to moviegoers, aTwist is hoping to distinguish itself among its competitors.
“We built aTwist around the belief that great storytelling should meet audiences wherever they are,” Winograde, aTwist’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
“There is no better partner than [National CineMedia] to introduce microseries to moviegoers and bring our storytelling into one of the most immersive entertainment environments.”
