De Luca Praises Backrooms Obsession, Warns Uncertainty
SkimNews Take
The success of "Backrooms" and "Obsession" highlights a market demand for content that mirrors existing audience-creator dynamics, suggesting studios might find success by identifying and amplifying these organic conversations rather than solely funding traditional development.
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Michael De Luca praised the $85M‑$88M opening of A24’s “Backrooms” and the $106M opening of Focus Features’ “Obsession,” calling the creators’ online origins a key factor.
- Kane Parsons spent five years developing Backrooms on YouTube, using subscriber feedback as “a billion test screenings” before the film’s release.
- Curry Barker similarly built Obsession through YouTube audience input, turning the short‑form channel into a feature‑length hit.
- Warner Bros. highlighted digital‑first marketing successes, citing Leonardo DiCaprio’s TikTok for Chase Infiniti and Tom Cruise’s social post that amplified the “Barbenheimer” buzz.
- Warner Bros. praised its label strategy, citing New Line’s Richard Brener, Clockwork’s Christian Parkes, DC’s James Gunn and Peter Safran, and Animation head Bill Damaschke.
- Sara Murphy moderated the panel and was credited with Warner’s first Best Picture since 2013 and MGM’s first Best Picture nomination since 1988.
- De Luca warned that box‑office outcomes lack a predictive algorithm and lamented the “popcorn experiment” cost to Chris Nolan that kept Warner from having both Oppenheimer and Barbie at the Oscars.
Why it matters: De Luca’s endorsement of creator‑driven, data‑rich filmmaking gives YouTube talent a fast track to big‑budget releases and validates Warner’s investment in digital‑first marketing, while his warning that box‑office success has no algorithm reminds studios that traditional testing still cannot guarantee revenue.
Ask SkimNews
