On October 16, 2026 streaming services and TikTok hold the US Entertainment top 20 grossing, and short drama apps take six spots. The biggest of them by our estimate is NetShort at rank 17, $7.7–31M a month. Ranks 51 to 100 make $185–741K, our estimate, not Apple data.
Streaming and short dramas
The top 20 split into two shelves. Thirteen spots belong to streaming services, Paramount+, Peacock, Crunchyroll, HBO Max, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix and others. TikTok is at rank 1. Six spots belong to short dramas, vertical episodes of a minute or two that unlock for coins or a subscription. These are DramaBox, ShortMax, ReelShort, DramaWave, NetShort and GoodShort.
We show no range for streaming and TikTok. These are major brands, people often pay for them on the web or through a phone carrier, and our rating growth method runs low for them. Short dramas do get an estimate. NetShort at rank 17 makes $7.7–31M, DramaBox at rank 9 $3.8–15M. The leaders carry a lot of ratings, a median of 897,796 US ratings. The fewest belong to FOX One, 106,796, the FOX streaming app from 2025.
| Rank | App | How it charges | US ratings | Released | Our monthly estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TikTok - Videos, Shop & LIVE | subscription | 18,393,398 | 2014 | long-running, method runs low |
| 2 | Paramount+ | subscription | 930,445 | 2013 | long-running, method runs low |
| 3 | Peacock TV: Stream TV & Movies | subscription | 3,720,429 | 2020 | major brand, method runs low |
| 4 | Crunchyroll | subscription | 1,513,383 | 2009 | long-running, method runs low |
| 5 | HBO Max: Stream Movies & TV | subscription | 5,788,077 | 2023 | major brand, method runs low |
| 6 | Disney+ | subscription | 1,977,128 | 2019 | major brand, method runs low |
| 7 | Amazon Prime Video | subscription | 3,072,114 | 2012 | long-running, method runs low |
| 8 | Hulu: Stream TV shows & movies | subscription | 1,429,842 | 2010 | long-running, method runs low |
| 9 | DramaBox - Stream Drama Shorts | subscription | 877,375 | 2023 | $3.8–15M |
| 10 | FOX One: Live News, Sports, TV | subscription | 106,796 | 2025 | major brand, method runs low |
Apple, US top grossing chart, Oct 16, 2026. Ratings and release years from iTunes Lookup. Monthly range by our estimate for Sep 16, 2026–Oct 16, 2026, not Apple data.
A $19.99 week and coin packs
All 20 top grossing apps sell a subscription. 4 of them have a week in their purchase names, and all of those are short dramas. Streaming sells a month and a year, short dramas sell a week and coin packs for single episodes.
6 of the top 20 free apps sell nothing on the App Store. These are free movies on Tubi, the Roku remote, Ticketmaster tickets, PineDrama short dramas, the Netflix controller app for TV games and Freecash, which pays for tasks.
Short dramas price the week the same way, $19.99 for all 4 that list one. $19.99 is the most common price in the top 20 purchase lists overall, 12 apps have it. A month costs $10.99 at the median and a year $84.99.
A year here costs 7.7 months, the smallest yearly discount among the 26 categories we checked. Paramount+ Premium costs $13.99 a month and $139.99 a year. The paid chart is a world of its own, Plezy leads at $5.99, a client for a home media server. The paid top 20 median is $3.99.
| What is sold | Median | Range | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly subscription | $19.99 | $19.99 | 4 |
| Monthly subscription | $10.99 | $6.99–$36.99 | 9 |
| Yearly subscription | $84.99 | $69.99–$139.99 | 7 |
| Paid upfront, top 20 | $3.99 | $0.99–$19.99 | 20 |
In-app purchase lists on the app pages, US App Store, Oct 16, 2026.
What a chart rank is worth
49 apps of the top 100 have an estimate once streaming, TikTok and other brands are left out. For 38 of them the low end is $100K a month or more. The top 10 is almost all brands, so it gets no median. Ranks 11–25 make $2.4–9.7M, ranks 26–50 $420K–1.7M.
The lower half of the top 100 here makes the most among the 26 categories we checked, ranks 51–100 bring in $185–741K. Short dramas and AI character chats hold it. The top 100 has about thirty short drama apps, and zeta, chat stories with characters, makes $7.4–30M at rank 37.
A closed top 20, an open top 100
The top 20 is closed. All 20 of today's leaders were there on September 24, 2026, while 10 new apps entered the top 100 since then. 22 apps of the top 100 came out in 2025–2026, and only FOX One of them is in the top 20.
Newcomers get in through short dramas and character chats. StoryReel came out April 8, 2026 and already sits at rank 23 with $2.4–9.7M. Whispy AI, a cozy character chat, came out June 4, 2026, has 969 ratings and sits at rank 24. The youngest app in the top 100 is Peekie, with stories and mystery games, released August 6, 2026.
Niches inside the category
A small team can't build a streaming service, it needs film rights. The niches for a newcomer sit next to it. Short stories and interactive series, character chats, a detective story in a found phone, party games. One niche of the category is in the book.
Related articles and breakdowns
- Party games on one phone. How much the niche makes and what players complain about
- Can a new app still break through on the App Store in 2026? Five examples with numbers
Niches of this category in the book
- Detective story in a found phone, ColdTrace, $300K–1M
Niche leader and its monthly range by our estimate. Book 50 iPhone app niches, Oct 16, 2026.
Before you build a story app or a character chat, Appto checks the niche on fresh App Store data and shows the leaders, their range and complaints from reviews. Then Appto draws the screens, writes the code and prepares the App Store page in every language, and after launch it shows every purchase as it happens.
Where the numbers come from
The US App Store snapshot was taken on October 16, 2026. Appto estimates revenue from 30 days of rating growth in six countries. In half of the cases the estimate is within 2x of the real figure, in four out of five within 3x, and for large apps it tends to run low. Ads, web sales and Google Play are not included. More on the method and on niches by category.
Questions
How much do short drama apps make?
By our estimate on October 16, 2026, NetShort makes $7.7–31M a month, DramaWave $3.5–14M and ReelShort $2.6–11M. It is our estimate, not Apple data.
Why is there no range for Netflix and Disney+?
These are major brands, people often pay for them outside the App Store, and our rating growth estimate runs low for them. So they show only the rank and the rating count (October 16, 2026).
What does a week cost in a short drama app?
All 4 leaders with a weekly price charge $19.99 (US App Store, October 16, 2026). The category leaders charge a median $10.99 a month and $84.99 a year.
Can a new app get into the Entertainment top grossing chart?
Yes, below the top 20. 22 apps of the top 100 came out in 2025–2026, and StoryReel, released April 8, 2026, sits at rank 23 on October 16, 2026.
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