Horror heist signals historic shift for Hollywood
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The unprecedented success of "Obsession" and "Backrooms" — both produced by YouTubers in their 20s — represents Gen Z's power in driving what could be a historic shift for Hollywood.
Why it matters: Major movie studios have spent years trying to crack the code on organic social media marketing.
- Gen Z has turned free platforms like YouTube into powerful testing grounds for new ideas, using them to reach massive, highly engaged audiences.
- Established studios could use a similar strategy, but only if they are willing to take more risks.
By the numbers: What made the box office debuts of both "Obsession" and "Backrooms" so surprising is how well they fared against major studio releases last month.
- "Backrooms," which cost roughly $10 million to produce, brought in roughly the same amount of theatrical revenue in its three-day opening as the debut for "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" — which cost around $300 million in production and marketing.
- "Obsession," which cost roughly $750,000, brought in more at the box office in its third week than the latest Star Wars film did in its second week.
- The film actually increased its earnings in its second week in theaters, a rare feat for any film, let alone a creator-led YouTube horror film.
Zoom out: Horror, a genre that has historically lagged behind action and adventure sequels at the box office, is proving to be an effective genre in jump-starting Gen Z's theatrical ambitions.
- It also underscores Hollywood's preference toward existing franchises over novel, internet-first stories going viral online.
Case in point: "Iron Lung," a film adapted from a horror video game by YouTube creator Markiplier, has grossed more than $50 million since its debut in January.
- Ironically, the full film debuted on YouTube last week, after its theatrical run.
The bottom line: The success of these new films points to the unrealized ideas and undiscovered creators online that Hollywood has not yet tapped.
- Instead of spending big bucks to develop and market expensive original content, studios may find it cheaper to leverage their expertise to lure younger talent with huge, untapped online audiences.
What to watch: "The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act" is another YouTube-born horror film that is expected to hit the ground running when it debuts in theaters this week.
