De Luca Credits YouTube-Driven Filmmakers for Box-Office Breakouts
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Co-Chair Michael De Luca praises YouTube-driven filmmakers Kane Parsons (Backrooms) and Curry Barker (Obsession) for their audience-calibrated approach, saying their ongoing dialogue with fans and pre-release testing helped Backrooms open to about $85–88M and Obsession surpass $106M. He emphasizes the role of digital marketing and creator involvement (including the Barbenheimer-era marketing), notes there’s no crystal ball for ticket sales, and stresses the importance of strong filmmaker relationships and a diversified slate at Warner.