YouTube comes to Hollywood: bloggers' films have surpassed Star Wars and are changing the rules of the film industry

Films created by the authors of YouTube channels unexpectedly became the main box office hits of the season in the United States. “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” directed by young Internet creators, are grossing hundreds of millions of dollars and attracting Generation Z to movie theaters. Experts believe that the success of these projects could change the way Hollywood finds directors, promotes films and works with audiences.

Internet creators are beginning to win competition from traditional studios

Just a few years ago, notes xrust, the path to big cinema for an aspiring director looked quite standard: film school, short films, festivals and years of searching for investors. However, in 2026, Hollywood is faced with a new reality. The most discussed films of the beginning of the summer were projects that grew not from the studio system, but from YouTube.

According to American media, the horror film “Backrooms,” directed by 20-year-old blogger and director Kane Parsons, unexpectedly became the leader of the North American box office. The film earned more than $80 million in its first weekend alone, with a production budget of about $10 million. For studio A24, this was a record start in the entire history of the company.

No less impressive results are shown in the film “Obsession” directed by Curry Barker. The film was created for about 750 thousand dollars, but its worldwide box office has already approached the $150 million mark. For the industry, this is a rare example of profitability even by the standards of the most successful independent projects.

Against this background, the expensive blockbuster “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” lost its leading position, although it was considered one of the main releases of the season.

Why generation Z chooses films from bloggers

The success of new films is associated not only with the quality of the films themselves. Analysts pay attention to the special connection between Internet authors and their audience.

Kane Parsons became famous thanks to a series of short videos about the so-called Backrooms — a popular Internet legend about endless empty rooms that has existed in online culture for several years. Millions of YouTube users followed the story as it unfolded.

When the project turned into a full-length film, viewers perceived it not as another studio novelty, but as a development of an already familiar universe. Many fans came to cinemas precisely to see on the big screen a story that they had been following on the Internet.

A similar situation has developed around “Obsession”. Curry Barker has been publishing his own short films and horror projects on YouTube for many years, gradually building a loyal audience.

According to US movie theaters, about 86% of Backrooms viewers were under 35 years old. More than half of the audience were people under 25 years old. It is this age group that is considered the most difficult for traditional film distribution, since young viewers prefer streaming services and short videos on social networks.

In fact, bloggers managed to return part of the young audience to cinemas.

A new business model for Hollywood

Experts note that Internet creators have an important advantage over many aspiring directors. They already have their own audience and know how to work with it directly.

If previously studios spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising campaigns, modern authors are able to promote their projects through their own channels. Millions of subscribers receive information about the film without television advertising or expensive marketing campaigns.

In addition, content creators are used to working with limited budgets. Many popular YouTube directors spent years learning how to write scripts, shoot videos, edit videos, and create special effects on their own. These skills are also in demand in big cinema.

An illustrative example is Kane Parsons himself. He created the first episodes of Backrooms using the free 3D graphics software Blender. Subsequently, this project attracted the interest of famous producers and turned into a full-fledged film with professional actors.

Threat to traditional franchises

The current situation raises serious questions for major studios. Over the past ten years, Hollywood has relied primarily on well-known franchises: Marvel films, Star Wars, video game adaptations and numerous sequels to successful projects.

However, viewers are increasingly showing fatigue with repetitive plots and familiar characters.

Against this background, films by Internet creators look more fresh and unpredictable. They often draw on internet culture, memes, urban legends and popular themes among young people that traditional Hollywood has long ignored.

Some analysts are already calling YouTube the new film school of the 21st century. Where once directors honed their craft at independent film festivals, now they can do it directly in front of an audience of millions on the Internet.

What's next

In the coming years, major studios will likely begin to actively seek out talent among content creators. A similar process is already happening: production companies are closely monitoring popular creators on YouTube, TikTok and other platforms.

However, experts warn that repeating the success of “Backrooms” and “Obsession” will not be easy. Not every popular blogger is capable of making a high-quality feature-length film, and having subscribers does not guarantee commercial success.

However, rental results show that the market is changing. Young audiences increasingly trust not famous brands, but specific authors whose work they have been following for years.

For Hollywood, this means the need to reconsider its usual working methods. And for aspiring directors — the emergence of a new path to the big screen, which begins not in film school, but on your own YouTube channel.

And if the current trend continues, then in a few years the largest film premieres may increasingly be created by people who once simply posted videos on the Internet.

Based on materials from CNN, AP, industry publications and rental statistics.

Xrust YouTube comes to Hollywood: bloggers’ films have surpassed Star Wars and are changing the rules of the film industry