This weekend’s two biggest movies were both directed by YouTubers
This weekend’s two biggest movies were both directed by YouTubers
本周末票房最高的两部电影均由 YouTube 博主执导
The YouTube-to-prestige-horror pipeline is looking very strong this weekend. Taking the number one spot at the box office is “Backrooms,” a feature film expansion of Kane Parsons’ series of YouTube videos featuring eerie found footage of a mysterious office space (drawn from a 4chan thread) that defies physics. 本周末，“YouTube 博主转型恐怖片导演”的路径显得格外强劲。占据票房榜首的是《Backrooms》，这部电影改编自 Kane Parsons 在 YouTube 上发布的系列视频，内容是关于一个违背物理定律的神秘办公空间的诡异伪纪录片（灵感源自 4chan 论坛）。
Directed by Parsons, “Backrooms” will bring in an estimated $81 million at the domestic box office this weekend alone. That’s the biggest opening by far for indie studio A24 — the previous record was held by “Civil War,” which made $25.7 million in its first weekend of release. 由 Parsons 执导的《Backrooms》仅在本周末预计就将斩获 8100 万美元的北美票房。这是独立制片公司 A24 迄今为止最强劲的开画成绩——此前的纪录保持者是《内战》（Civil War），其首周末票房为 2570 万美元。
The number two film, “Obsession,” is pulling off something that’s arguably even more impressive. True, its estimated weekend total is a mere $26.4 million — but the movie (about a romantic wish gone nightmarishly wrong) already made more money in its second weekend than its first, and now its third weekend is set to grow another 10 percent. 排名第二的电影《Obsession》的表现甚至可以说更为惊人。诚然，其周末票房预估仅为 2640 万美元，但这部讲述“浪漫愿望演变成噩梦”的电影，其第二周的票房收入已经超过了首周，且预计第三周还将增长 10%。
For context, most wide release films normally fall between 50 to 70 percent in their second weekend; last year’s “Sinners” was considered an extraordinary word-of-mouth success because it fell less than 5 percent. Outside of Christmas releases (which have more staying power, thanks to the holidays), growing from weekend to weekend is unheard of — according to the Hollywood Reporter, “Obsession” is the first film since 1982 to grow on both its second and third weekends. 作为参考，大多数大规模发行的电影在上映第二个周末票房通常会下滑 50% 到 70%；去年的《Sinners》因跌幅不到 5% 而被视为口碑上的巨大成功。除了圣诞档期发行的电影（因假期原因具有更强的长尾效应）外，周末票房逐周增长是闻所未闻的——据《好莱坞报道》称，《Obsession》是自 1982 年以来首部在上映第二周和第三周票房均实现增长的电影。
And like “Backrooms,” “Obsession” is a horror movie directed by someone who first made his name on YouTube — Curry Barker, whose YouTube filmmaking culminated (for now) in the hourlong found footage horror film “Milk & Serial” released in 2024. Barker has already shot his next film and is set to direct a new remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” 与《Backrooms》一样，《Obsession》也是一部由 YouTube 成名博主执导的恐怖片。导演 Curry Barker 此前的 YouTube 创作生涯在 2024 年达到顶峰，推出了长达一小时的伪纪录恐怖片《Milk & Serial》。Barker 已经完成了下一部电影的拍摄，并准备执导《德州电锯杀人狂》的新翻拍版。
The two releases follow the surprise success of “Iron Lung,” a video game adaptation released earlier this year. Directed by Mark Fischbach — better known under his YouTube account name Markiplier — “Iron Lung” grossed nearly $41 million domestically. 这两部电影的成功紧随今年早些时候上映的电子游戏改编电影《Iron Lung》的意外走红。该片由 Mark Fischbach（更广为人知的 YouTube 账号名为 Markiplier）执导，在北美获得了近 4100 万美元的票房。
In a New York Times article about the recent “YouTube-to-filmmaker boomlet,” Rutgers Cinema general manager Mark DelVecchio noted that “lots of YouTubers have tried to make the leap to mainstream movies and come up short.” What sets Parsons, Barker, and Fischbach apart? DelVecchio said that despite their youth (Parsons is 20, Barker is 26), they all have “longevity.” “At this point, some of them have been making videos for a very long time, and that’s how you develop a loyal audience that will follow you,” he added. 在《纽约时报》一篇关于近期“YouTube 博主转型电影人热潮”的文章中，罗格斯大学电影院总经理 Mark DelVecchio 指出：“许多 YouTube 博主尝试跨界主流电影，但都以失败告终。”是什么让 Parsons、Barker 和 Fischbach 脱颖而出？DelVecchio 表示，尽管他们都很年轻（Parsons 20 岁，Barker 26 岁），但他们都具备“持久力”。他补充道：“到目前为止，他们中的一些人制作视频已经有很长一段时间了，这就是你如何培养出愿意追随你的忠实观众。”
Both films came in ahead of the first Star Wars film in seven years, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which is on-track to gross $24 million this weekend. 这两部电影的票房均超过了七年来首部《星球大战》电影《曼达洛人与格罗古》（The Mandalorian and Grogu），该片本周末预计票房为 2400 万美元。
By the way, while I haven’t seen “Backrooms” yet (fingers crossed for tomorrow), I have seen “Obsession.” So I can confirm that it absolutely does not disappoint — I watched most of the second half with my fingers over my eyes, and I may even have screamed a few times. 顺便提一下，虽然我还没看过《Backrooms》（希望明天能看上），但我已经看过《Obsession》了。我可以确认它绝对不会让人失望——我在看后半部分时，大部分时间都用手指遮住眼睛，甚至可能尖叫了好几次。