Two horror films, directed by YouTube content creators, topped the US box office on the last weekend of May. As the Associated Press (AP) notes, the films “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” despite budgets of $10 million and $1 million, respectively, have surpassed the box office in recent days for the new film in the Star Wars saga, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which cost the creators $165 million.
“Behind the Scenes of Reality” was directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, based on Internet creepypasta about liminal spaces. The story of a labyrinth of empty rooms that you can enter but cannot leave, grossed more than $80 million in its first three days of release in the United States.
Studio A24, known for the Oscar-winning black comedy “Everything Everywhere at Once,” was not afraid to invite the young content maker to the director’s chair. Producers were attracted by Parsons’ viral video on the same topic, “Behind the Scenes,” and he managed to release a series of more than 20 short films on his YouTube channel Kane Pixels.
“Obsession,” which took second place in the rating, completely repeated the achievement of “Titanic,” Bloomberg notes. The film by 26-year-old Curry Barker has been increasing ticket sales for the third weekend in a row, which has long been unusual in the modern market.
During its entire theatrical run, the horror film about a love spell gone wrong has already recouped its $1 million budget 100 times, and this weekend added $26.4 million to its box office.
The opening figures for “Behind the Scenes of Reality” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” as AP notes, were almost identical, but ticket sales for the continuation of the story of Baby Yoda fell by almost 70% by the second weekend, as is usually the case with blockbusters.
AP film critic Lindsey Barr believes the success of low-budget horror films lies in the interest of young audiences. According to her, the YouTube platform, which was previously seen as “death for movie theaters,” may end up becoming their “new hope.”
Alex Delvecchio, manager of the Rutgers Cinema in New Brunswick, New Jersey, agrees. In an interview with The New York Times (NYT), he explained that tickets to such films are bought by college students who grew up watching the short films of these YouTubers.
“The difference between these guys is their creative longevity. By now, some of them have been creating videos for a very long time, and this is the only way to create a loyal audience that will follow you,” Delvecchio emphasized.
He included Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) in the same category of successful transition from YouTubers to directors. His horror film Iron Lung grossed $41 million in the US earlier this year on a $3 million budget.
