Much has been written about the state of cinema in recent years, with many pundits in the past decade or so making doomsday predictions about the long-term future of the big screen experience.
And while it’s true that, in the years since the COVID lockdowns, box office totals have struggled to return to previous levels (and there have been a number of high-profile, expensive flops) we’re beginning to see increasing signs of a major development that makes for a pretty compelling evidence against those more negative takes.
The future of cinema, for the moment at least, appears to lie in horror. The last few years have already proved that the genre is one of the most robust in terms of profitability, while we’ve also seen increasing respect for horror films at the most prestigious awards ceremonies, evidenced by major wins for both Weapons and Sinners at this year’s Oscars.
And in the past month, two major success stories have emerged that further point to horror as the way forward for a film industry looking to rediscover its spark. First there was Obsession, Curry Baker’s smart and stylish Monkey’s Paw tale headlined by a breakout performance by Inde Navarette. The film started well at the box office and has only continued to grow, thanks to enthusiastic word of mouth, especially from Gen Z cinemagoers.
It became the very rare example of a film that increased its takings in its second week, and there was further good news this week as it did the same in its third week as well – becoming the first wide release to achieve that result since Steven Spielberg’s ET the Extra-Terrestrial all the way back in 1982 (and leapfrogging Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu in the box office charts in the process).
Perhaps even more impressive is the success for A24 release Backrooms – a horror film from 20-year-old director Kane Parsons which he adapted from his own YouTube series of the same name and arrived in cinemas this past Friday (29 May). The film managed to rake in a global total of $118 million in its opening weekend, meaning it has already made more than 10 times its $10 million budget, and seems very likely to grow even further in the coming weeks.
The key thing here is that both these films are being targeted largely at younger, Gen Z audiences – and the enthusiasm with which they are being received suggests previous claims that there is no longer an appetite for cinema experiences are very much wide of the mark. Instead, it’s simply a change in what kinds of films are likely to do well, with the simultaneous disastrous reception for the aforementioned Mandalorian film providing further evidence of those changing tastes.
Also crucial is that both Baker and Parsons have moved to cinema after successfully building large followings on YouTube – following other recents success stories including the Philippou brothers, who impressed critics and audiences alike with both Talk to Me and Bring Her Back.
Where once film directors might have cut their teeth on TV or in music videos, this is offering another, alternative route to the big screen and seems likely to yield more new voices in the not-so-distant future.
We’ve seen shifts like this in cinema time and time again, with each new threat that might seem – to some skeptics – to spell the end of the medium only ushering in a new era. Given the success of both Obsession and Backrooms, it seems safe to declare that another new chapter in the long story of cinema is now officially under way.
Backrooms and Obsession are both showing in UK cinemas.
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