"The Backrooms" and "Love You to Death" usher in a new era of YouTube creator filmmaking, with two low-budget horror films sweeping the world.

Last weekend, 20-year-old Kane Parsons directed "The Backrooms," which grossed $81.7 million in North America, setting a record as A24's best opening in film history. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Curry Barker's "Obsession," a love-you-to-death story, has surpassed $148 million worldwide.
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• Two films, two YouTube-born directors in their twenties
• What do Hollywood veterans say?
• Hollywood's arrogance, and creators' arrogance
• Is this the beginning of a new era, or an exception?

Last weekend, an unusual scene appeared on Hollywood's box office charts: the top two directors, both under 30, both from YouTube, making low-budget horror films, and both beating Disney's newly released "Star Wars" movie.

Screentime columnist Lucas Shaw pointed out in his latest article that this weekend marks a "potential turning point in audience tastes." He compares this moment to the late 1990s, when "American Pie" sparked a teenage comedy boom, and producer Jason Blum directly told Shaw:

"This weekend is a turning point for movie viewing. I love Star Wars, but 20-year-olds want something different."

Two films, two YouTube-born directors in their twenties

"Backrooms," directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, was released in the U.S. on May 29. Parsons gained fame as a teenager by posting the "The Backrooms" series of short videos on YouTube. The concept originated from a post on the 4chan forum, which he turned into a viral horror video series.

Producer Michael Clear and Dan Cohen approached Parsons to adapt it into a film when he was only 16. James Wan told Shaw that he had to get approval via video call with Parsons' parents at the time.

The film's debut shocked the industry: $81.7 million in North America in its first week, with a total of $118 million globally. Not only is it A24's best opening ever, but it also more than tripled the previous record holder, "Civil War" (2024, $25.5 million).

The production cost was about $10 million. Parsons also became the youngest director in history to top the box office, breaking the record previously held by Josh Trank ("Chronicle," 2012, age 27). The cast includes Oscar-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor and Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve.

The love-you-to-death story "Obsession," directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, is even more extreme. Barker's notable works include the YouTube series "Milk and Serial." The film was shot on a budget of approximately $750k in just 20 days. After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2025, it sparked bidding wars among distributors, ultimately being acquired by Focus Features for $15 million, with Blumhouse assisting in distribution.

"Obsession" has an unusual box office trajectory: a 39% increase in its second week, and a 10% rise in its third week, with North American gross reaching $106 million and worldwide total $148 million. Shaw specifically notes that this is the first film since "E.T." in 1982 to see box office growth in the second and third weeks outside of holiday periods.

What do Hollywood veterans say?

James Wan, director of "The Conjuring" and "Aquaman," and head of the production company Atomic Monster, told Lucas Shaw: "Platforms like YouTube have nurtured a new generation of filmmakers."

Wan said Parsons and Barker understand new technology better than he did at their age: "They've been cultivated in a slightly different way of making movies." Interestingly, Wan himself had a similar discovery experience, having found the Swedish director David Sandberg on YouTube, who later directed the "Annabelle" series.

Hollywood's arrogance, and creators' arrogance

This isn't the first time YouTube-born creators have challenged Hollywood. Lucas Shaw reviews failed attempts over the past decade: studios tried acquiring MCN networks that dominated ad sales and distribution, had YouTube stars host talk shows, or cast TikTok celebrities in movies (e.g., Addison Rae in "He's All That").

Most experiments ended in failure. Producer Tommy Oliver said at the Produced By conference: "Hollywood has always looked down on creators." Shaw believes this arrogance led to failures like Quibi (a streaming app claiming to be a "high-quality version of YouTube" that ultimately shut down).

But Shaw also points out another side: YouTube creators themselves can be arrogant, thinking they don't need traditional studios or gatekeepers, believing they can do everything on their own.

Recent theatrical attempts by Ryan’s World and Dude Perfect to replicate Taylor Swift's independent model also failed. "You need companies like ours to help," Blum told Shaw. The behind-the-scenes of "Backrooms" involved a joint effort by Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy's 21 Laps, Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment, and A24, bringing a 20-year-old YouTuber's IP to theaters.

The core of this model isn't studios replacing creators, nor creators bypassing studios, but forming genuine partnerships.

Is this the beginning of a new era, or an exception?

Lucas Shaw remains cautious about jumping to conclusions too early. Many on the internet compare this weekend to 1969, when "Easy Rider" marked the start of the auteur film era, but Shaw reminds us: by the end of this summer, box office charts will still be dominated by "Toy Story 5," new Spider-Man movies, and Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey."

Successful horror films are not rare, and "Backrooms" itself is an adaptation of an existing IP.

However, several things are indeed happening: audiences are starting to reject some once-profitable stories, video game adaptations are becoming more reliable at the box office, and nostalgia is shifting toward early millennial generations. Plus, with Markiplier directing "Iron Lung," there are now three theatrical hits directed by YouTube creators.

Shaw compares this group to directors who emerged from the MTV era in the 1990s, like David Fincher and Spike Jonze, who learned to communicate with young audiences through MTV and then entered Hollywood. The relationship between platform-native creators and traditional gatekeeping studios is being renegotiated, but claiming the old order is over is still premature.