A Gen Z Revolution at the Movies episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 16, 2026 · 30 MIN

A Gen Z Revolution at the Movies

from The Daily · host Deborah Lebree

For years, Hollywood has been trying to figure out how to get young people into movie theaters. This spring, it has happened at an unthinkable scale thanks to two low-budget horror films made by 20-something directors. Today my colleague Kyle Buchanan explains what younger audiences see in these films and how they’ve energized an entire industry. Guest: Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter and awards season columnist for The New York Times. Background reading: The viral creator Kane Parsons, who directed “Backrooms,” has gone from YouTube sensation to A24’s youngest director. Photo: Focus Features For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For years, Hollywood has been trying to figure out how to get young people into movie theaters. This spring, it has happened at an unthinkable scale thanks to two low-budget horror films made by 20-something directors. Today my colleague Kyle Buchanan explains what younger audiences see in these films and how they’ve energized an entire industry. Guest: Kyle Buchanan, a pop culture reporter and awards season columnist for The New York Times. Background reading: The viral creator Kane Parsons, who directed “Backrooms,” has gone from YouTube sensation to A24’s youngest director. Photo: Focus Features For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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A Gen Z Revolution at the Movies

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This episode was published on June 16, 2026.

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For years, Hollywood has been trying to figure out how to get young people into movie theaters. This spring, it has happened at an unthinkable scale thanks to two low-budget horror films made by 20-something directors. Today my colleague Kyle...

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