This past weekend marked a tectonic shift in Hollywood as two low-budget horror films from young YouTube directors dominated the box office. “Backrooms,” a horror film born from a 4chan creepypasta and produced for around $10 million, opened to an extraordinary $81 million, smashing records for distributor A24. Meanwhile, “Obsession,” a horror film made on a budget of $750,000, grossed $26.4 million in its third weekend and crossed $100 million domestically. In contrast, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a $165 million “Star Wars” spinoff, came in third, tumbling 70% in its second weekend.
Both films came from young filmmakers forged on YouTube: Kane Parsons, 20, and Curry Barker, 26. Earlier this year, “Iron Lung,” a $3 million self-funded sci-fi horror from YouTuber Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, opened to $18.2 million, over two-and-a-half times the opening of “Melania,” despite that film costing $75 million. Analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations told Variety: “We knew indie horror was hot, but we didn’t know how hot. It’s actually competing with the big summer blockbusters.”
James Wan, co-producer of “Backrooms” and veteran horror filmmaker, praised the new generation. “The YouTube generation has finally come of age. They grew up creating their own content with no money and just by being as creative as possible. This spirit ends up fostering a new wave of filmmakers and storytellers,” he told Variety. Wan noted that platforms like YouTube allow creators to upload work and get instant feedback, honing their skills like a global film festival.
Wan himself burst onto the scene with 2004’s “Saw,” made on a $1.2 million budget and grossing over $100 million. His company Atomic Monster produced 2016’s “Lights Out,” the feature debut of YouTuber David Sandberg, which made nearly $150 million on a $5 million budget. Wan described YouTube as “the perfect incubator for emerging voices.”
Fischbach, who has 38.6 million subscribers, self-released “Iron Lung” and noted that filmmaking equipment has become cheaper and more accessible. Many creators use the Sony FX3 camera (around $3,000) versus the Arri Alexa (over $100,000). They also write, film, act in, edit, promote and distribute their own content, producing hundreds of videos a year. Some, like Dhar Mann, have built their own studios.
These YouTubers compete with an estimated 69 million other creators for eyeballs, which breeds constant innovation. As Wan concluded, “Every generation, we see young people shoot and experiment with short films, but the big advantage today’s generation has is technology right at their fingertips with platforms like YouTube.”
