Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn\u2019t for the big-budget \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu,\u201d which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small-budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cBackrooms,\u201d released by A24 in 3,442 locations in the U.S. and Canada, made an astonishing $81.5 million in its first three days in theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That\u2019s just a few hundred thousand dollars shy of what \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d earned in its first three days last weekend, and \u201cBackrooms,\u201d which was directed and co-written by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, cost only $10 million to produce.<\/p>\n
The wild success of \u201cBackrooms\u201d didn\u2019t even hurt \u201cObsession,\u201d which is also the directorial debut of a YouTuber, Curry Barker, who is only 26. Three weekends in, \u201cObsession,\u201d a movie that cost less than $1 million to make, still hasn\u2019t dropped below its opening weekend earnings. This weekend, it was up 10% with another $26.4 million for a second-place finish, leaving \u201cStar Wars,\u201d the legacy franchise movie from the veteran filmmaker and the Walt Disney Studios, in third with $25 million.<\/p>\n
YouTube might not be the death of movie theaters after all. If this weekend is any indication, it could be the industry\u2019s new great hope.<\/p>\n
This is a weekend where theaters also hosted the debuts of \u201cThe Breadwinner,\u201d a PG-rated family comedy starring the popular comedian Nate Bargatze, and \u201cPressure,\u201d a solid World War II drama about the tense 72 hours before D-Day with Oscar winner Brendan Fraser. But it was the 20-something YouTubers that drew the most crowds. And both \u201cBackrooms\u201d and \u201cObsession\u201d were produced by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.<\/p>\n
Abhijay Prakash, the president of Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, said that the weekend is both staggering and validation of their business, which has from the beginning championed original horror movies that appeal to younger audiences, and generated over $10 billion in box office to date.<\/p>\n
He noted that they\u2019ve made a point of looking for up-and-coming talent on YouTube and, knowing how Hollywood works, this weekend will likely inspire a wave of copycats. But beyond that, he\u2019s encouraged by the fact that the young creators who\u2019ve already had enormous success online still value the cultural currency of theatrical movies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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