A Gen Z Revolution at the Movies

About this episode

<p>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.</p> <p>Today my colleague Kyle Buchanan explains what younger audiences see in these films and how they’ve energized an entire industry.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kyle-buchanan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Kyle Buchanan</strong></a>, a pop culture reporter and awards season columnist for The New York Times.</p> <p>Background reading: The viral creator Kane Parsons, who directed “Backrooms,” has gone from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/movies/kane-parsons-24-youngest-director-backrooms.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube sensation to A24’s youngest director.</a></p> <p>Photo: Focus Features</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>