Indie horror movies have taken the industry by storm and are putting big-budget Hollywood films to shame. While Hollywood makes movies like The Odyssey and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which audiences generally find uninteresting, independent filmmakers and YouTubers are conquering the cinemas. 

The release of small-budget films, like Iron Lung, Obsession, and Backrooms, is generating millions in box-office returns relative to their budgets, whereas larger productions are seeing sharp declines in ticket sales. These feats are especially impressive because the YouTubers behind these hit films are quite young. Backrooms, for instance, was directed and co-written by 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons. The film was released by A24 across 3,442 locations in the US and Canada, grossing $81.5 million in its opening three days. These returns are just shy of what The Mandalorian and Grogu earned in their debut weekend. Backrooms’ global revenue is already at $118m, dubbing Parsons the youngest director to achieve a global number one film. The movie is doing so well that some are even suggesting that Parsons was not actually the one who directed the film because of his young age.

Meanwhile, Obsession was filmed for less than $1 million and has become one of the major surprise hits of 2026. The film was directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker and grossed $109 million worldwide. The movie is also projected to gross between $300M and $400M.

Many viewers online have mocked Hollywood for their lackluster box office returns, calling it karma for modern mainstream movies regularly mocking their fans, race-swapping characters, and disrespecting source material. 

Overall, the current situation has shown a significant cultural shift in how people create and enjoy movies. Internet culture has seeped into mainstream entertainment; people are tired of Hollywood’s safe, watered-down, uninteresting films that prioritize left-wing political messaging over telling a good story that will stand the test of time. If Hollywood continues to refuse to adapt and provide its audience with what they want, it may be left behind by viewers in favor of indie filmmakers who have captured what has long been missing from entertainment: fun.