YouTube at the movies

When Iron Lung—a claustrophobic horror film made by YouTuber Markiplier with a reported budget of around $100,000—opened in theaters this January with no traditional marketing support, Hollywood barely noticed. Then it grossed nearly $50 million worldwide. "He self-financed this and self-distributed it, which is not normal at all," says Steven Zeitchik, senior editor of tech and politics at the Hollywood Reporter. Within weeks, two more YouTube-native filmmakers followed: Curry Barker's Obsession and Kane Pixels' Back Rooms, the latter becoming the highest-grossing movie in A24's history, surpassing Lady Bird and Midsommar. These films share one thing: they were made by creators who built their audiences on YouTube, then brought those audiences to movie theaters.

The YouTube advantage

These films don't look like what Hollywood expected from internet creators. "If you didn't know that they were affiliated with some sort of YouTube creator, you might just assume they're your typical studio horror movie," Zeitchik notes. The low-budget horror genre has a long lineage—Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project proved that audiences don't need expensive effects or big stars. YouTube creators, accustomed to making compelling content on shoestring budgets, naturally fit this mold.