This past weekend marked a tectonic shift in Hollywood that shook the entire industry.
The horror film Behind the Scenes, inspired by 4chan creepypasta and made for an estimated $10 million, grossed a whopping $81 million in its opening weekend, shattering records for distributor A24; and The Obsession, a horror film budgeted at $750,000, grossed $26.4 million in its third weekend—up 10% from the previous weekend—to surpass the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian and Grogu, a Star Wars spinoff with a budget of $165 million, finished third, dropping 70% in its second weekend, marking the lowest debut weekend ever for a Disney-owned Star Wars film.
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«We knew independent horror was hot right now, but we had no idea, how much »"," analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations told the publication. Variety . "It actually competes with the big summer blockbusters.".
Of course, that's only part of the story. Both "Behind the Scenes" and "Obsession" were born from the prolific talent of two young filmmakers forged in the fires of YouTube, the world's leading streaming platform: 20-year-old Kane Parsons and 26-year-old Karri Barker. Earlier this year, the sci-fi horror film "Iron Lungs," directed by YouTube veteran Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach for $3 million, stunned box office analysts by grossing $18.2 million in its opening weekend, more than two and a half times the gross of "Melania" during the same period, despite its $75 million budget.
Variety magazine spoke with Hollywood producers, directors, distributors, and YouTube executives about these dramatic changes and the young rebels taking Hollywood by storm.
James Wan, who co-produced Behind the Scenes through his production company, Atomic Monster, is one of the most prolific horror film directors of all time. As the man behind the Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, and M3GAN franchises, Wan knows a thing or two about what draws audiences to the horror genre and supporting emerging talent, and he's excited about the new generation of YouTube filmmakers.
«"The YouTube generation has finally come of age. They grew up creating their own content without money, simply being as creative as they can be. This spirit has ultimately given rise to a new wave of filmmakers and storytellers," he says. Variety . "Every generation, we see young people making and experimenting with short films, but the biggest advantage of today's generation is the technology that's always at their fingertips, platforms like YouTube where they can upload their work and receive instant feedback from viewers. This allows them to instantly react to what works and what doesn't, and therefore hone their skills. And platforms like YouTube are almost like a film festival, where people can instantly show their short films/content to everyone around the world.".
Like Obsession, Wan burst onto the scene in 2004 with the low-budget horror film Saw, about a mysterious killer who forces his victims to play sadistic games to survive. Wan and his co-writer, Leigh Whannell, attracted investors by filming a scene from a DIY script, then shot the feature-length version in 18 days on a budget of $1.2 million. The film eventually grossed over $100 million and launched a film franchise that spans 10 films (and counting). And the first film Wan produced through his company, Atomic Monster, was 2016's Lights Out, the directorial debut of David F. Sandberg, aka "ponysmasher," the first YouTuber to break into Hollywood as a horror director. The film, which grossed nearly $150 million on a $5 million budget, was adapted from Sandberg's viral YouTube short film of the same name.
Wang describes YouTube as "the perfect incubator for new voices," a sentiment echoed by Fischbach, who first amassed 38.6 million subscribers on his channel through horror game Let's Play videos, then several original YouTube series and films, culminating in his self-produced film debut, Iron Lungs (now available for purchase or rental on YouTube). Not only has filmmaking equipment become cheaper and therefore more accessible—many creators use the cinema-quality Sony FX3 camera, which costs around $3,000, as opposed to the preferred Hollywood Arri Alexa, which costs over $100,000—but many YouTube creators write, film, act, edit, promote, and distribute their content, releasing hundreds of videos a year; some, like Dhar Mann, have even built their own massive studios.
They also compete with approximately 69 million other YouTube content creators for audience attention, which creates constant innovation.
«"There's a lot of competition for people's attention on YouTube, which encourages skill development, and there's a lot of talented people there who are looking to expand beyond that space," Fischbach says.
Behind the Scenes wasn't just Wan, but another genre heavyweight: Jason Blum, whose 2009 found-footage horror film Paranormal Activity grossed nearly $200 million on a $15,000 budget, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
In addition to the low-budget Paranormal Activity films, Blumhouse-Atomic Monster CEO has produced horror franchises such as Insidious, Sinister, The Purge, and the modern classic Get Out, to name a few. Like Fischbach, Blum believes YouTube has become a great launchpad for young filmmakers.
«"These content creators spend years creating content for a live audience on the world's largest platform, learning in real time what works," says Bloom. "On YouTube, if you lose a viewer for a few seconds, they're gone forever, so they develop a keen instinct to hold attention, and by the time they reach us, that instinct is firmly ingrained.".
YouTube makes a significant effort to support emerging talent. They have a Partner Program that connects promising content creators with creative "managers" working at YouTube. These partner managers act as mentors and advisors. They also have a Creative Collectives program, which brings together content creators from around the world to discuss professional issues and exchange ideas, as well as connect with executives and members of internal product teams who can provide constructive feedback.
«The Partner Program is truly unique in the industry because we can give each client individual attention. Our job is to understand the creator’s ambitions, how big they want to be, and how quickly they want to grow. Once we understand that, we can identify opportunities,» says Kim Larson, Head of Creator and Gaming at YouTube. «We Not "We're a traditional studio. We don't restrict access, we don't finance, and we don't own the intellectual property, so they manage the process themselves, which liberates filmmakers who worked in Hollywood and felt pressured by restrictive circles.".
It's important to note that Parsons, Barker, and Fischbach didn't become celebrities overnight. They steadily built their audiences over the years by telling stories and creating thousands of videos, surpassing Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule many times over.
Parsons, the director of the film "Behind the Scenes," began his YouTube career at the age of 9, posting Minecraft playthroughs. This soon evolved into creating memes and short films under the pseudonym "Kane Pixels." In early 2020, he downloaded Blender and began experimenting with animation, leading to the creation of his 2022 animated short film "Behind the Scenes (Found Footage)," a take on the viral internet story of a monochrome yellow liminal space that opens to other dimensions and otherworldly creatures. The short has garnered 81 million views.
Barker was 18 years old when he formed a sketch comedy group with his New York Film Academy classmate, Cooper Tomlinson. That's a bad idea . The duo posted videos on YouTube and TikTok, and Barker also made brief appearances on the comedy shows Dave and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2023, his short horror film "Chair" became a viral hit on YouTube, garnering 5.5 million views and landing him a deal with Tea Shop Productions, where he premiered his film "Obsession." His next film, the found-footage horror film "Milk and the Serial Killer," released in 2024 and shot on an $800 budget, also received rave reviews and led to a contract with United Talent Agency.
«"I've been doing this for 14 years. I've been making videos almost every day and probably created over 6,000," Fischbach reflects. "I've made short films and series that were more popular than 'Iron Lung' on YouTube Originals. I've probably put in twice as many as 10,000 hours, and that's the result of working on YouTube.".
And their legion of fans, who have been consuming their content for years, are now following them to the cinemas.
«"An entire generation of moviegoers grew up with their work, and they have a very specific taste in horror, something that's a little outside the mainstream," says Bloom. "So when one of these directors moves to theaters, the audience that discovered them online moves with them.".
Take Iron Lungs, for example. Fischbach not only wrote, directed, and starred in the film, but also financed it himself with YouTube revenue. When no studio picked it up and no film festival accepted it, he decided to release it himself, urging his millions of followers to write or call local theaters and request screenings. He expected the film to be shown in a few hundred theaters, but after a massive fan campaign, it was released in 4,161 theaters.
«I have a pretty big audience, and I can count on that. So I could take a chance and go to theaters to see if my fans would come,» says Fischbach. «And they did.” in crowds . I thought the film would be shown in 200-400 cinemas, but they exceeded all expectations.".
According to analytics firm Brighter Path, Parsons' YouTube popularity was a major contributor to Behind the Scenes' record-breaking opening weekend: "The company estimates that Kane Pixels fans alone will account for 22% of demand during the opening weekend, making them a major contributor to the film's success.".
In addition, there are economic factors и Changing tastes. As Fischbach notes, since Generation Z can't afford concerts due to astronomical ticket prices—to the point that more and more concert films are being made targeting this generation, such as "Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)"—going to the cinema to see a horror movie is becoming a relatively inexpensive way to spend time with friends.
«"We even saw at Thursday's previews that the under-35 demographic views certain releases as moments they want to participate in collectively and in real time," says a studio source. "What's different about Backrooms is the depth of the audience's existing relationship with the IP. These fans weren't just watching videos; they were actively expanding it. They were writing stories, discussing theories, creating videos, and contributing to the universe themselves. It creates a fundamentally different kind of fandom." (Bloom, one of the producers of Obsession, says that "three-quarters of our audience at the premiere were under 25.")
Generation Z is also experiencing serious franchise fatigue in theaters, driven by a flood of sequels and spin-offs (see: The Mandalorian and Grogu).
Screen Engine, a research firm that conducts research for Hollywood studios, analyzed the viewing habits of 200 17- and 18-year-olds across the country and found that they are bored with superheroes, sequels, and spin-offs, are far less interested in established stars and directors, and primarily learn about upcoming projects from short videos on social media, Puck reports.
In contrast, there are horror films like Behind the Scenes, Whiplash, and Iron Lung: original works by first-time directors, light on stars but heavy on concept. And horror has always been very popular on YouTube (and among Generation Z). One of the few holidays the site emphasizes is Halloween, when the platform is flooded with thousands upon thousands of videos, from Halloween costume tutorials to full-length horror films, a YouTube spokesperson told me. Last year, according to their internal data, videos titled "Behind the Scenes" garnered over 2 billion views, and videos related to "Five Nights at Freddy's" over 13 billion.
«"The irony is that because Caine is so young and just starting out, he's not cynical or tainted by the machinations of commercial filmmaking—he doesn't think about opening weekend box office numbers, he doesn't think about typical studio quips—he thinks solely about the authenticity of the film he's making and what his fans expect," Wan says. "And that's why they flocked to his screenings.".
And it's not stopping anytime soon. Barker is set to direct the supernatural horror film Anything But Ghosts for Blum, then a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film for A24, and a rival studio has reportedly offered him $10 million for a future project that hasn't yet been screened; Parsons is hinting at potential sequels to Backrooms; and Wan says his company, Atomic Monster, is currently collaborating with Blum and director/YouTuber Dylan Clark on the next film, The Blair Witch Project.
«"Horror has always been a genre where new talent can break into the industry," explains Bloom. "You don't need a huge budget. You need a good idea, a point of view, and many courage. And now YouTube has democratized filmmaking like nothing else. Before, you needed a studio or an agent, but now a guy with a camera and internet access can film something, show it to millions of people, and build a real audience without anyone's approval.".
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