Young YouTubers are making a splash at the box office.
Twenty-year-old Kane Parsons became the youngest director to ever have a film debut at the box office with his new horror film, "Backstage," which earned a whopping $81 million.
«"Backstage" is an adaptation of Parsons' 2022 found-footage web series, inspired by a 2019 image posted on the social media platform 4chan. The series follows a group of scientists who discover an eerie dimension consisting of seemingly endless, empty interior spaces.
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His YouTube channel, Kane Pixels, has over 3 million subscribers. The first episode of his "Backrooms" series has garnered over 81 million views.
Parsons' feature-length film, starring Oscar-nominated actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Rainswe, was reportedly budgeted at $10 million, with initial opening-weekend projections pegged at $20 million. However, as the release date approached, projections skyrocketed, reaching $40-50 million, and have continued to climb steadily.
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According to Variety, "nearly 85% viewers" were under 35, and "more than 50% were under 25." The film quickly became the highest-grossing film for independent entertainment company A24.
«"It's a remarkable achievement that's bringing audiences to theaters in ways that were unimaginable," commented Rotten Tomatoes box office reviewer Eric Childress.
20-year-old "Behind the Scenes" director Kane Parsons, known on YouTube as Kane Pixels, has become the youngest director to ever have a film reach number one at the box office. (Getty Images)
Parsons isn't the only content creator who has managed to defy the odds at the box office. 26-year-old writer-director Curry Barker first made a splash last month with his low-budget horror film "Obsession." It grossed $17 million in its opening weekend, defying box office forecasts that had predicted less than $10 million.
Barker is one half of the sketch comedy duo "That's a Bad Idea," which has more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube and TikTok.
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Whiplash achieved the near-impossible: it made even more money the following weekend, grossing an estimated $24 million—$30 million including Memorial Day weekend—a whopping $39% more than its opening weekend and surpassing much bigger films like The Devil Wears Prada 2 and the Michael Jackson biopic Michael. Last Wednesday, it even surpassed the new Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu.
And in its third weekend, "Obsession" made even more money, grossing $26 million over the weekend.
Directed by 26-year-old content creator Curry Barker, Obsession defied box office norms by making more money in its two consecutive weekends than it did in its first.
«"This movie did something no movie since 2000 has," Childress wrote. "You can go back to the '80s and find summer movies like E.T. and Superman II that did that. Even R-rated movies like Risky Business, The Untouchables, No Exit, and Ruthless People. But not in this day and age, and not among movies that were originally released in wide release.".
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In the film Obsession, a young man uses an unusual toy to make a wish that his friend, with whom he is in love, will fall in love with him – but soon realizes that his wish is turning against him.
The film, which stars mostly unknown actors and cost less than $1 million to make, has already grossed more than $100 million at the U.S. box office and $150 million worldwide.
Behind the Scenes and Obsession, both produced by renowned horror film producer Jason Blum of BlumHouse Productions, outsold The Mandalorian and Grogu to take third place at the box office and lose a staggering 69% from an already disappointing opening weekend.
«"It won't be as big a financial loss as Solo, but ultimately the lower worldwide box office may require a course correction for the [Star Wars] franchise," Childress said.
«The Mandalorian and Grogu trailed the two horror films last weekend, grossing less than $25 million at the U.S. box office. While Jon Favreau's film likely won't be considered a box office flop due to its $165 million budget (it has grossed $250 million worldwide so far), it will likely become the highest-grossing Star Wars film of all time.
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The disappointing performance of the latest Star Wars film could be a concern for Disney executives, especially with another Star Wars film starring Ryan Gosling scheduled for release next year.
Meanwhile, the films "Behind the Scenes" and "Obsession" will be considered among the most profitable films of the year.
Original article: Young YouTubers lead the box office with films like "Behind the Scenes" and "Whiplash.".