YouTube-backed horror threatens Hollywood box-office dominance

YouTube creators – Hollywood is leaning on YouTube talent, and early box-office signs suggest the strategy could pay off fast. “Backrooms” is projected to reach about $60 million, likely outpacing Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” while “Obsession” has reached $74

Hollywood has been trying to outpace YouTube for years, but the pitch now isn’t just about promotion—it’s about who gets to make the movies.

This weekend, “Backrooms,” a moody horror movie based on an internet meme, is poised to bring in about $60 million at the box office. If that number holds, it would likely beat Disney’s new “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

“Backrooms” is directed by Kane Parsons. He has made stuff on YouTube for years, and this is his first film for theaters—an unusual jump that makes the stakes feel immediate. Parsons is 20 years old.

A second YouTube-to-theaters story is already moving in the same direction. “Obsession,” another horror release, has grossed $74 million in the last two weeks. It’s made by Curry Barker, a 26-year-old YouTube veteran whose theatrical debut has already drawn real box-office momentum.

The pattern traces back further to Mark Fischbach—better known to his 38 million YouTube fans as Markiplier. He brought out his “Iron Lung” movie, which he made for a reported $3 million. The film has now grossed $50 million.

Taken together, these results make the industry’s next question less theoretical. When Fischbach made his movie, he self-financed and produced the whole thing, then asked his fans for help with distribution. Going to see “Iron Lung” wasn’t just about supporting the industry; it was something you did because you liked Markiplier and wanted to back him.

Parsons and Barker are working within a different lane. Their followings on YouTube are smaller than Fischbach’s, but their projects plug into Hollywood’s existing machinery. “Backrooms” is backed by A24. while “Obsession” is tied to Blumhouse—studios that can turn a debut into a theatrical release with established muscle.

The sequence reads like Hollywood using YouTube as a farm team: find promising online prospects. then give them a chance through established studio production and distribution. It isn’t a completely new idea. Mainstream media has used the internet broadly and YouTube specifically as an incubator for years—one reason viewers recognize names like Justin Bieber and Issa Rae.

Directors have followed that path before, too. Dan Trachtenberg, who made last year’s “Predator: Badlands,” announced himself to Hollywood back in 2011 with a 7-minute short based on the video game Portal.

The likely next wave looks straightforward. If “making movies and putting them on YouTube” is the obvious route for any young filmmaker, more will take it—and more may get noticed by studios.

The more intriguing part is whether Hollywood finds another kind of creator: people who develop real followings on YouTube—or any other digital platform—and can persuade those fans to look up from their phones and buy tickets. That kind of conversion remains rare. but it’s less shocking than it used to be. especially as podcasters have filled theaters.

For now, “Backrooms” and “Obsession” are giving the industry a live test. The question isn’t whether YouTube can produce talent. It’s whether YouTube can produce the next Markiplier-level audience—again and again—at box-office scale.

YouTube Hollywood box office Backrooms Obsession A24 Blumhouse Markiplier Iron Lung Kane Parsons Curry Barker Kane Parsons age 20 Curry Barker age 26 Dan Trachtenberg Predator: Badlands