CINEMA Independent horror films Obsession et Backroomsmade by young YouTubers, have ignited Hollywood in recent weeks, and attracted a younger audience to movie theaters.
The yellow corridors as far as the eye can see Backroomsa film directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, terrified tens of thousands of American spectators when it was released in theaters this weekend, totaling $118 million in box office revenue. The success of A24, the new juggernaut of independent studios (Moonlight, The Witch, Marty Supreme…) follows that ofObsessionby Curry Barker, 26, who raised $148 million in just two weeks.
Two real successes, in particular for Obsessionwhich only cost $750,000 to produce. “It’s a huge, huge success and potentially a real turning point for the industry,” says Matthew Frank, from the specialist media The Ankler. “The vast majority of ticket buyers this weekend and previous ones (…) were under 35, or even under 25. So it attracts this age group to whom we do not generally address in a specific way (…) It is when we do something for this audience that it manifests itself,” he says.
Neck and neck with Disney
Movie theater attendance has fallen in recent years, notably due to the popularity of streaming platforms, the Covid-19 pandemic and the strikes that paralyzed Hollywood in 2023. But this year’s figures have given renewed optimism to the sector, suggesting its best results since the pandemic. And that’s partly thanks to Generation Z, which boosted box office revenues by 25% last year, according to a report from the National Research Group. Cinema executives are “delighted” with these successes, says Ronnie Yount, a manager at Phoenix Theaters. According to him, these films had a comparable level of attendance in these cinemas to the success of Disney Lilo and Stitchwhich seemed unthinkable before.
At the end of January, the release of the film Iron Lungfrom YouTuber Mark Fischbach, aka Markiplier (36 million subscribers on YouTube), already announced this new independent horror cinema success. Adapted from the video game of the same name released in 2022, and entirely self-produced by the director, who also wrote the screenplay and plays the main role, the film, a mixture of horror and science fiction, succeeded in taking second place in the American box office upon its release. Ironically, Iron Lung heeled Send Helpthe new film from horror legend Sam Raimi. The latter had emerged with Evil Dead (1981), a cult and ultra-gory film that was entirely self-financed for $350,000, and which grossed nearly $3 million at the time; Today, Evil Dead has become a benchmark franchise and its sixth installment in cinema, Evil Dead Burnis expected in theaters in July.
Chercher les cinéastes «n’importe où»
Kane Parsons, Kane Pixels on YouTube, has over 3.2 million subscribers and his videos have over 300 million views. The inspiration for Backrooms comes from a photo posted online in 2019 on a forum, accompanied by a short text evoking a parallel world. “I don’t remember exactly the first time I saw (the original photo) because it was already all over the internet,” rewinds the director, who was 13 at the time. At the beginning of 2022, he created a short film for his YouTube channel in which a young boy gets lost in terrifying corridors. In two weeks, the video exceeded 20 million views. Filming of the feature film will take place in the summer of 2025, with British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and Norwegian Renate Reinsve in the main roles.
Curry Barker’s film, Obsessionexplores the terrible consequences experienced by a young man when his wish to see a young woman fall in love with him comes true. The YouTuber with 1.1 million subscribers on his channel That’s a Bad Idea presented his feature film at the prestigious Toronto film festival in 2025.
Today, all studios are wondering how to “replicate” these successes, says Matthew Frank. “It’s great, not just because they’re great successes, but because they were made on limited budgets,†he says. But it’s not just about finding famous YouTubers. We have to look for “great filmmakers who can come from anywhere”. Kane Parsons says he “never could have considered not being in the directing”. For him, the universe of “Backrooms is not finished, that’s for sure. But I care more about the story than the precise way in which I am going to tell it,” concludes the one who has the “wish” to explore this universe in a television series.
Backrooms,
by Kane Parsons.
Obsession,
de Curry Barker.
