About this episode

The episode explores the impact of YouTube on the film industry and discusses successful films created by YouTube content creators.

In episode 294 Declan, Graham and Jeff looked at what the streaming landscape could look like in the near future given all the recent amalgamations, such as Paramount and HBO. At the end of that show, Declan posed the question “what about YouTube”? The answer is this latest show. We brought that same team back together to look at the very successful phenomenon that is YouTube to examine its success, and what does it offer that other, more conventional streaming platforms do not. With the excellent timing you would expect from At The Flicks, our discussion became very topical. 2 films created by people who essentially refined their craft on YouTube, were proving to be big hitters in this Summer’s movie season. Obsession comes from writer / director Curry Barker (26 years old) and has become the most financially successful film ever to be made for less than one million dollars. Then there is Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons (20 when he made the film), another massive hit. We talk about both and how their YouTube channels contributed to their respective successes. Going beyond the YouTube content creators, we also discuss how people of all ages use the platform. From the How To…

People in this episode

Hosts: Declan, Graham, Jeff

Topics covered

• streaming platforms
• YouTube success
• film industry
• content creation
• algorithm effects

Keywords

• streaming
• YouTube
• Obsession
• Backrooms
• film success
• content creators
• algorithm

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: YouTube, Paramount, HBO

Books & works: Obsession, Backrooms

More episodes of At the Flicks

• 295: The Mandalorian with Steve · June 18, 2026 · 30 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the At the Flicks podcast page.