Nathan BarryFounder and CEO, Kit · Founder and CEO at Kit

YouTubers Are Taking Over Hollywood

8 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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0:49

In a brief conversational exchange, Speaker A expresses excitement about a growing wave of YouTubers who are producing and releasing full‑length Hollywood‑style movies. Specific examples include a 20‑year‑old YouTuber who directed the horror film "The Backrooms" and earned over $100 million, another creator’s horror project "Obsession" that bypassed traditional studio pathways, and Markiplier’s self‑directed, self‑written, self‑funded feature that opened in 2,500 theaters and topped the box‑office. Speaker B acknowledges the phenomenon, and Speaker A concludes that creators now have unprecedented storytelling opportunities in theatrical distribution, suggesting the sky’s the limit for future projects.

I am very inspired right now by a lot of YouTubers who are making legit Hollywood movies. A 20-year-old directed The Backrooms. He was a YouTuber, made over $100 million, and he's 20 years old. Another YouTuber made another horror film. Obsession is what it's called. They went around the traditional model and just did it themselves. And there's another YouTuber, Markiplier.
Yeah, I just saw him on stage at Colin and Samir's event a couple weeks ago. Oh, you did?
Oh yeah, I saw that interview actually. He's incredible. He Self-directed, self-wrote, self-funded his own movie. And he starred in it as well.
Wow.
And it got into 2,500 theaters and became the number one movie. I feel like there's a surge now for creators to start telling better stories in a medium like theater that wasn't accessible before. When we have this skill of storytelling in these mediums that we're a part of, the sky's the limit.