YouTube’s Hollywood Takeover

PRESENTED BY LEVANTA

Happy Monday, Future Party. Ten years after it first rolled out to the masses, Pokémon Go has finally pulled off its ultimate ambition: a large-scale event where thousands of people work together to battle the same Pokémon. Last Thursday, more than 1,000 players gathered in Times Square to defeat Mewtwo together. With the recent push to make collaborative AR experiences a reality, the event could serve as a blueprint for how to pull them off at scale.

Hollywood studios and streamers are inking multimillion-dollar deals for internet-native horror properties in hopes of replicating the success of this summer’s surprise hits, Backrooms and Obsession.

The Big Picture: Obsession has become the highest-grossing film ever made for under $1 million, while Backrooms has easily become A24’s highest-grossing movie — and both did it by drawing a largely under-30 audience. In recent years, that’s been the hardest demographic to get into theaters. With Gen Z’s interest in moviegoing surging, appealing to the generation’s tastes has become one of Hollywood’s top priorities.

Behind The Search: Two major deals are already setting the stage for another YouTube-first summer at the box office.

Closing Credits: There’s truly never been a better time to pitch a YouTube- or Reddit-born horror concept. Michael De Luca, co-chair of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said the studio is “seeing them as a resource for adaptations, the same way we look at books and other media.”

But there’s a limited pool of creators who currently have the tools to make the leap into feature filmmaking, so some producers are stepping in to help cultivate that talent. Roy Lee, who’s producing Siren Head, is working with creators from the SCP Foundation to develop short films. And Aaron B. Koontz, who originated the package for The Mandela Catalogue, is launching an incubator to help creators develop their horror ideas.

Coming Soon: The YouTube-ification of IP could drive the biggest blurring yet between Hollywood and the creator economy — and potentially fuel a major surge at the box office.

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Letterboxd, the social platform of choice for cinephiles, is about to become the subject of a major bidding war.

Why It Hits: There have been few social media success stories this decade, but Letterboxd stands apart — it’s grown to 30 million users in just a few years. Given the fractured state of movie marketing, owning Letterboxd is like having a direct line to an engaged, young, and passionate audience.

Behind The Suitors: It’s still early days, but Canadian holding company Tiny, the majority owner of Letterboxd, is in talks with several suitors about a potential sale of the platform.

Final Deal: Variety notes that some may see a studio or streamer owning Letterboxd as creating “inherent conflicts.” But NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. have owned Rotten Tomatoes — arguably the closest analogue to Letterboxd — over the past decade. Today, the site is owned by Versant.

In other words, there’s plenty of precedent for a deal like this to go through.

Prediction: While any Hollywood company that acquires Letterboxd would be under a microscope for signs of favoring its own titles, that’s likely to be less of a concern than expected. Instead, expect a studio owner to mine the platform’s data and insights to shape future marketing decisions.

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33.6% of you voted Rarely in Friday’s poll: How often do you make time for arts and crafts?

“I’d probably be saner if I made more time for arts and crafts!”

“I literally just bought new paint and canvases at Michaels to feel better and try something new.”

“I love to do crafts as a hobby and stress relief. Currently learning how to make lace!”

“In my world, arts and crafts include painting with acrylics sometimes, changing home décor and gardening often, and looking at art online, reading poetry, and creative cooking almost daily. I run toward beauty and away from the ugly.”

“I am a knitter. If I can’t take my yarn with me, I don’t go. ”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

💸 Neon has sold a significant stake to Department M and launched Neon TV.

📺 A change in the stream: Netflix may introduce live TV channels, while Disney+ may debut a free tier.

🎥 Character.ai wants to reshape its narrative by producing interactive microdramas starring its AI chatbots.

📈 Chip startup SK Hynix pulled off the biggest US IPO ever by a foreign company, raising $26.5 billion.

👀 Apple is suing OpenAI, alleging it stole trade secrets tied to the companies’ brief partnership in 2024.

🚗 Polestar has hit the brakes on its US business, leaving owners and drivers with an uncertain road ahead.

📱 Meta pulled back its Muse Image rollout after backlash over requiring users to opt out of having their public Instagram posts used by the feature.

👔 Bluesky has permanently installed Toni Schneider as its CEO.

🤖 LinkedIn apparently has an AI slop problem. So much for chatbot-powered thought leadership.