I just have to say that 2026 has to be one of the best years for indie filmmakers. Like, since this year, we’ve been seeing creators who were previously known for their videos on YouTube go into Hollywood and break records. It’s astounding because they’ve shown that the status quo that we all believed to be the norm in Hollywood is actually not set in stone, because it can be changed; after all, human taste changes all the time.
And this is a good thing because it means that the industry is no longer under the chokehold of the big companies that have the resources to fund big-budget movies, and anyone at all can stroll into Hollywood with an idea and a dream, and they just might be able to bring forth the next blockbuster. That is mind-blowing!
This year alone, we had at least three movies that shocked the entire world. Backrooms was directed by a YouTuber who is only 20 years old (I think). It was shot on a budget of $10M, and when it hit the box office, it pulled in a whopping $395M! Yeah! Can you imagine such a turnover on investment?
And that’s not the only one. The next movie to do this was on an even smaller budget, and that’s Obsession, the movie that made Indé Navarette the internet sensation she is today, leading her to bag a role in the upcoming X-Men movie as Rogue. Obsession was made on a $750k budget, and it made $498M at the box office. That’s over 600 times the cost of making the film. It’s crazy!
And the final example I have is even more mind-blowing, and although this didn’t happen in Hollywood, it happened all the way in China; it also touches on what I’m talking about. The movie is Niu Lai, which was made by a mother and her son. Only. They were not professionals or anything, so everything in the movie was crude and rough-cut. Her son simply had a dream of making a film, and she wanted to help him out. They spent a total of $200 to make the film. Yeah, just two hundred dollars.
The people who first watched it went online to bash it, and it generated so much hate online that eventually, more people decided to watch it just to know what the hate was for. And more people wanted to watch it. And more. Until it became the highest budget-to-box-office ratio in cinema history. As of the time of making this post, the film had already made up to $3M. Yeah, three million dollars, on a budget of two hundred dollars!
What am I trying to say with all this? I’m not saying that every indie movie will break the bank. And I’m also not saying that the big companies are not needed because that’s a lie. The big companies keep the industry going because they’re the ones who can afford to pay the actors what they’re worth and also the crew members. Indie filmmakers will never be able to afford all that. So, everyone is enjoying.
What I’m saying is that, like everything else, this is the best time to tell your story. Go out there and do your thing. Own yourself and tell your story. It doesn't have to be perfect; it doesn’t have to be loud. Just do you. Own it. One day, you could just find yourself making bank in a way you would never have expected. And that will change your life forever. Inde was paid around $20k for her role in Obsession, and now even with $5M, you might have to use abeg to get her in your movie. How much can you pay someone who has a multi-film contract with Marvel? The director of Backroom already has a deal worth $65M to direct several films, but that is being contested because other studios want him as well.
As we say in my country, "One day na one day.” It’s all a matter of timing, and eventually, that hustle you’ve been breaking your back over is gonna pay. And when that happens, it will be big asf!
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