Hollywood has found a new source of ideas on Reddit: the Backrooms phenomenon is turning into a factory for future blockbusters

The internet is no longer just a place for memes and discussions — it is increasingly becoming a full-fledged Hollywood franchise factory. One of the clearest examples of this shift is the Backrooms phenomenon, which grew out of creepypasta and discussions on Reddit and is now becoming one of the most talked-about new content sources for the film industry.

From creepypasta to a studio blockbuster

Backrooms originally emerged as an internet legend: the idea of endless yellow office corridors that you can somehow «fall into» from reality. The story quickly spread across forums, then got a second life on Reddit and YouTube, where users began creating their own versions of the «levels», creatures and rules of this universe.

Later, the concept turned into a viral video project by young creator Kane Parsons, known as Kane Pixels. Major studios took notice of his shorts, and in the end the project grew into a full-length feature film backed by A24 and producers of the caliber of James Wan.

Today, Backrooms is no longer just an internet horror story, but a full-fledged media franchise with films, fan theories and an expanding universe.

Reddit as the new «IP incubator»

The key point of The Hollywood Reporter article is that Reddit is becoming a kind of idea laboratory for Hollywood.

Studios and producers increasingly:

monitor subreddits like r/Backrooms, r/worldbuilding and r/creepy

analyze user stories and lore

look for concepts that have already «passed audience testing»

adapt popular ideas into film and series scripts

In essence, Reddit is becoming an early stage of intellectual property (IP) development, where ideas already gain their first audience, criticism and evolution — even before studios take interest in them.

Why Backrooms turned out to be the ideal candidate

The Backrooms phenomenon proved to be almost perfect for Hollywood for several reasons:

Open universe — there is no rigid canon, fans can expand the lore endlessly

Visual simplicity — easy to adapt for film through minimalist yet atmospheric sets

Virality — the format is ideal for social media and short videos

Genre flexibility — from horror to science fiction and psychological thriller

It is precisely this «modularity» that makes the internet legend a convenient foundation for a franchise.

Hollywood's changing model: from screenwriters to internet creators

The Backrooms story is part of a broader trend. In recent years, more and more directors and screenwriters have entered the industry directly from the internet.

Studios are beginning to work with creators who:

already have audiences on YouTube or TikTok

know how to create viral stories

understand the dynamics of online interest

In practice, the internet is becoming a kind of «pre-production» system, where the success of an idea can be measured even before filming begins.

Risks of the new system

However, experts also note the other side:

the risk of turning cinema into a «hunt for virality»

dependence on Reddit and social media trends

a possible decline in the role of original screenwriting development

legal and ethical questions around «collective creativity»

The main question is whether the industry will be able to maintain a balance between mass internet creativity and traditional auteur cinema.

Bottom line

The Backrooms phenomenon shows that the line between the internet and Hollywood has almost disappeared. Reddit is no longer just a discussion platform — it is becoming a full-fledged source of intellectual property from which future franchises can emerge.

And if ideas once went through the path «script → studio → screen», now it increasingly starts the other way around:

**Reddit → viral content → studio → cinemas.**