The most downloaded Entertainment apps in 2025

Netflix was the most downloaded Entertainment app in 2025, accumulating 415.6M app downloads globally, according to AppTweak’s Market Intelligence data. This performance highlights the continued dominance of established streaming giants, even as their growth begins to slow. While legacy platforms like Netflix (-11.5% YoY decline) still command massive volume, the market is clearly shifting, with emerging players in the short-form drama space showing explosive growth.

Among the top 500 Entertainment apps, the top 10 alone captured over 2.4B app downloads in 2025, accounting for 23.9% of the category’s total downloads. This concentration at the top is contrasted by the rapid ascent of apps like DramaBox (+123.0%) and ReelShort (+192.8%), signaling a dynamic and evolving landscape for app marketers.

Key takeaways

• Legacy streaming apps lead in volume but show declining growth. While Netflix remains #1 with 415.6M app downloads, it saw an 11.5% year-over-year decline. Other major players like Disney+ (-21.8%) and HBO Max (-15.6%) also recorded significant drops, indicating market saturation for established services.
• Short-form drama apps are the new growth engine. Apps like DramaBox (+123.0%), ReelShort (+192.8%), and Kuku TV (+1330.9%) recorded triple- and quadruple-digit growth rates. This highlights a powerful shift in consumer demand toward mobile-first, serialized micro-series.
• Discovery is shifting to a swipe-first feed experience. Across the category, apps are adopting full-screen, swipeable video feeds to help users sample content. This turns discovery into a continuous viewing loop rather than a traditional search-and-decide process.
• AI is being integrated for practical friction removal. Instead of being a headline feature, AI is appearing in the background to assist with content creation, such as editing and captions, and to power more natural, vibe-based search and discovery for viewers.
• Publisher headquarters reflect a globalized market. While US-based publishers account for six of the top 10 apps, the highest-growth players are headquartered in Singapore, India, and China. This shows that new user acquisition at scale is increasingly driven by international publishers.

About the data set

This data was derived from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence. The dataset covers January 2025 to December 2025 and reflects worldwide performance across both the App Store & Google Play. The ranking is created by combining each app’s estimated downloads from both stores and ordering them from highest to lowest.

• Data source: AppTweak Market Intelligence
• Coverage: App Store and Google Play
• Metrics: App downloads
• Time period: January 2025 – December 2025
• Category: Entertainment, defined by AppTweak’s AppDNA taxonomy
• Geography: Global
• Last updated: January 2026

Category definition of Entertainment apps (AppTweak AppDNA taxonomy):
AppTweak defines the Entertainment category as apps that are interactive and designed to entertain and inform the user, and which contain audio, visual, or other content. This includes television, movies, second screens, fan clubs, theatre, ringtones, voice manipulation, ticketing services, and art creation.

Segment definitions:

• movie & tv streaming: Apps where you can stream TV shows, movies, series, comedy specials, and live television online or offline.
• parenting: Apps that allow parents to control screen time & apps’ content, connect parents with kids, or provide parenting tips.

Feel free to dig into your app category’s download and revenue estimates now in AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

What are the top 10 most downloaded Entertainment apps of 2025?

The following ranking showcases the leading Entertainment apps by global downloads, reflecting a market in transition where legacy streaming services compete with fast-growing short-form drama platforms.

This table lists the top 10 Entertainment apps ordered by total downloads, including app name, publisher, HQ, app downloads, and year-over-year growth.

Source: AppTweak Market Intelligence | App Store & Google Play | January 2025 – December 2025 | Global.

Notable apps at a glance

• Netflix – Rank #1, 415.6M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• DramaBox – Stream Drama Shorts – Rank #2, 374.1M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• ReelShort – Stream Drama & TV – Rank #3, 337.5M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• Prime Video – Rank #4, 271.2M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• Kuku TV: Reel Shows & Movies – Rank #5, 187.9M downloads, movie & tv streaming
• YouTube Kids – Rank #8, 166.0M downloads, parenting

3 key learnings from the top 10 Entertainment apps

A closer look at the app download data for the top 10 Entertainment apps reveals several important patterns for marketers and product teams. These learnings highlight the split between mature, high-volume apps and the emerging players driving new growth.

1. Legacy streamers maintain volume but face declining growth

The top of the download charts is dominated by established streaming giants, but their user acquisition momentum is slowing. Netflix leads with 415.6M app downloads, followed by Prime Video (271.2M), Disney+ (177.8M), and HBO Max (167.0M). However, all four posted negative year-over-year download growth at -11.5%, -2.0%, -21.8%, and -15.6%, respectively. This pattern suggests that while these platforms maintain a massive user base, the market for new installs is becoming saturated, forcing a greater focus on engagement of existing users.

2. Short-form drama apps deliver explosive download growth

The most significant growth in the Entertainment category comes from apps specializing in short-form, serialized dramas. DramaBox (+123.0%), ReelShort (+192.8%), and Kuku TV (+1330.9%) all secured top-10 positions with massive year-over-year growth. In terms of absolute downloads, ReelShort added 222.3M new downloads and DramaBox added 206.3M. The most extreme example is RapidTV – Short Dramas, a new app launched in February 2025, which entered the top 10 in only 10 months. This trend underscores a powerful shift in content consumption toward formats designed specifically for mobile, bingeable viewing sessions.

3. Publisher headquarters signal a globalized growth market

While US-based publishers account for six of the top 10 apps, the data reveals a globalized competitive landscape. The three apps with the highest absolute download growth are published from the United States (ReelShort), Singapore (DramaBox), and India (Kuku TV). Furthermore, India-based publishers have two apps in the top 10, Kuku TV and JioHotstar, while China-based RapidTV – Short Dramas also broke into the ranking. This geographic diversity among high-growth apps indicates that new user acquisition opportunities are increasingly driven by publishers outside of traditional Western markets.

Key facts about the top 10 Entertainment apps

• A clear market split is visible, with established, high-volume streaming apps showing negative growth while newer, short-form drama apps deliver triple- and quadruple-digit growth rates.
• The top 10 apps collectively account for 23.9% of all downloads among the top 500 apps in the Entertainment category, demonstrating significant market concentration at the top.
• Download growth is not guaranteed by volume; four of the top seven apps, including the market leader Netflix, experienced double-digit declines in year-over-year downloads.
• Publishers headquartered in the United States, Singapore, India, and China are all represented in the top 10, highlighting a global distribution of market power.

2025 Market trends for Entertainment apps

The data reflects an Entertainment app category undergoing significant transformation, driven by shifts in user behavior, content formats, and technology. Here are the key trends shaping the market in 2025.

1. Entertainment apps are converging on swipe-first feeds for discovery

Across the category, the primary user experience for discovering content is shifting away from traditional navigation like tabs and carousels. Instead, apps are adopting full-screen, swipeable video feeds that allow users to sample clips and moments. This design pattern, popularized by social media, turns discovery into a continuous viewing loop. Users can get hooked by a short clip and jump directly into the full-length movie or episode, reducing the friction between browsing and watching. This trend is reflected in the rise of short-form drama apps, which are built entirely around this UX.

2. Mobile-first micro-series are becoming a mainstream format

The explosive growth of apps like DramaBox and ReelShort confirms that short, vertical, and heavily serialized fiction is now a distinct product category. These “micro-series” are designed for consumption in spare moments on a phone, with ultra-short episodes and aggressive cliffhangers optimized for binge-watching. This represents a key behavioral shift where users are not just passively consuming short videos but are actively following structured narratives packaged for mobile-first engagement.

3. Monetization is shifting toward flexible value and tighter account control

Entertainment apps are standardizing their monetization models around a “choose your tradeoff” approach. Ad-supported tiers are offered alongside various premium plans, with an emphasis on making it easy for users to upgrade or downgrade within the app. Simultaneously, platforms are formalizing account mechanics with clearer household boundaries, profile portability, and paid add-ons for sharing. This reflects a strategic push to convert informal account sharing into explicit, in-app entitlements and revenue streams.

4. AI is being used for invisible friction removal in creation and discovery

In consumer-facing Entertainment apps, the most observable use of AI is practical rather than a headline feature. AI is being used to remove friction in both content creation and discovery. For creators, this means faster editing, automatic captions, and easier localization through AI-powered dubbing. For viewers, it enables more natural discovery, allowing them to search by “vibe” or conversational query rather than by specific title. This raises user expectations for immediacy and low-effort experiences within all Entertainment apps.

Key facts about Entertainment app market trends in 2025

• Browsing is increasingly structured as full-screen, swipeable video sampling that funnels into longer viewing sessions.
• Short, vertical, serialized storytelling is being packaged as a dedicated “TV-like” experience optimized for phone sessions.
• Pricing and entitlement design is becoming more explicit in-product (tier choice, add-ons, profile portability) to manage value and sharing behavior.
• AI is most visible where it reduces effort: editing, captions, and localization for creators, and vibe-based discovery for viewers.

Conclusion

The Entertainment app market in 2025 is a tale of two trends. On one hand, legacy streaming services like Netflix continue to dominate in sheer download volume, with the top 10 apps accumulating over 2.4B downloads. On the other hand, these established players are experiencing negative growth, indicating a maturing market.

The real story of growth is found in the explosive rise of short-form drama apps. Players like DramaBox, ReelShort, and Kuku TV are posting triple- and quadruple-digit growth rates, demonstrating a powerful shift in consumer appetite toward mobile-first, serialized content. This bifurcation—high volume with declining growth for legacy apps, and hyper-growth for newcomers—defines the competitive landscape. For marketers and developers, success now depends on understanding this split, capitalizing on new content formats, and recognizing that sheer volume is no longer a guarantee of momentum.

For deeper insights into these trends and to benchmark your own app’s performance, explore AppTweak’s Market Intelligence platform. You can start analyzing the data today with a Free Starter plan.

FAQs

Below we answer the top questions about the most downloaded Entertainment apps.

Which Entertainment app had the most downloads in 2025?

The Entertainment app with the most downloads in 2025 was Netflix, which accumulated 415.6M downloads globally, according to data from AppTweak’s Market Intelligence.

Are legacy Entertainment apps still growing?

No, most legacy Entertainment apps in the top 10 are not growing. According to AppTweak data, Netflix (-11.5%), Prime Video (-2.0%), Disney+ (-21.8%), and HBO Max (-15.6%) all recorded negative year-over-year download growth in 2025.

Which Entertainment apps had the highest download growth in 2025?

The Entertainment apps with the highest download growth in the top 10 were short-form drama apps. According to AppTweak’s Market Intelligence, those top growing Entertainment apps were RapidTV – Short Dramas, Kuku TV: Reel Shows & Movies, and ReelShort – Stream Drama & TV.

What is the market share of the top Entertainment apps?

The top 10 most downloaded Entertainment apps accounted for 23.9% of all downloads among the top 500 apps in the category in 2025. AppTweak data shows that Netflix had the largest individual share with 4.1%, followed by DramaBox with 3.7%.

Which country dominates the top Entertainment apps?

Of the top 10 Entertainment apps by downloads, six are from publishers headquartered in the United States. However, high-growth apps are from publishers in Singapore, India, and China, indicating a globalized market for new user acquisition.

What was the biggest trend for Entertainment apps in 2025?

The biggest trend for Entertainment apps in 2025 was the rise of mobile-first “micro-series.” Apps specializing in short, vertical, and serialized dramas, like DramaBox and ReelShort, experienced explosive download growth, signaling a major shift in consumer content preferences.

Is high app download volume still a reliable indicator of app success?

High app download volume is an incomplete indicator of app success. It signals strong acquisition reach, but it does not measure retention, engagement, or revenue performance.

How quickly can a new Entertainment app reach the top download rankings?

A new Entertainment app can reach top download rankings within 6 to 12 months if several conditions align. Rapid ascent typically requires a mobile-native content format, heavy paid user acquisition, and strong retention mechanics. The example of RapidTV shows that fast growth is possible: they entered the top 10 most downloaded Entertainment apps in 10 months.