The 2020s have proven to be one of the most innovative decades in cinema history, despite widespread perceptions of decline. The theatrical experience has faced challenges from streaming, YouTube, and the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the film industry has adapted with groundbreaking trends that were unimaginable at the start of the decade.
YouTube Natives Take Over Hollywood
One of the most notable shifts is the rise of directors who learned their craft on YouTube. As of 2026, the seventh and eighth biggest films worldwide—Obsession ($442m gross) and Backrooms ($384m gross)—were directed by YouTube natives. Curry Barker, 26, dropped out of film school to make YouTube videos and TikToks before directing Obsession. Kane Parsons, then 20, directed Backrooms based on his own YouTube shorts inspired by creepypasta from 2019.
This marks a departure from past failures where studios mishandled internet properties. Steven Spielberg is now producing Alex Kister's The Mandela Catalogue, based on an analogue horror series on YouTube since 2021.
Copyright Expiry Horror Gold Rush
The expiration of copyright on works from 1923—thanks to the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act—sparked a wave of low-budget horror films. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) led the charge, followed by The Mouse Trap, Screamboat (based on Steamboat Willie), Popeye the Slayer Man, and Bambi: The Reckoning. These films are cheap and exploitative, but more are coming, including Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble featuring multiple public domain characters. King Kong enters the public domain in 2029.
Fan Power: From Barbenheimer to Sonic
Audiences have hijacked movies to their own ends, as seen with Barbenheimer—the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer—which boosted both films. Conversely, Sony misread ironic mockery of Morbius and rereleased it on 1,000 screens to no audience. The Gentleminions trend saw teenagers dress in suits for Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Most notably, Sonic the Hedgehog became the most important film of the decade after fan backlash forced a character redesign. The original trailer featured a nightmarish Sonic with human proportions and tiny teeth. The director tweeted a redesign within days, and the new Sonic delighted fans. The film became the sixth biggest of 2020. Video game adaptations, once dismissed, now thrive: A Minecraft Movie earned nearly $1bn, and The Super Mario Movie (2023) was second only to Barbie. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the biggest film of 2026 so far.
By demonstrating how to give audiences what they want, Sonic turned video game adaptations into a lucrative genre. The future may see Mr Beast directing Sonic the Hedgehog 5 and, when rights lapse in 2087, a low-rent horror film about the blue hedgehog.
