At this point, it may be fair to say we’ve entered a new era of the box office. After Backrooms (a film based on a 4chan post from 2019) dominated theaters last weekend, it was beaten at the box office by a viral YouTube series. The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act made $7.8 million at the domestic box office, eking out a narrow victory over Scary Movie, which earned $7.7 million in previews. Beyond these two, Masters of the Universe opened with $4.4 million. Between Obsession, Backrooms, and now The Amazing Digital Circus, it’s clear that off-kilter indies are bringing younger audiences to movie theaters.
The Amazing Digital Circus is an animated dark comedy directed by Gooseworx and produced by Glitch Productions. The show’s pilot debuted in October 2023 and has since racked up 438 million views on YouTube. Since then, seven more episodes have gone up on Glitch’s YouTube page, with the ninth and final episode scheduled for June 19. Netflix eventually gained streaming rights to the series.
The Last Act is a theatrical cut of the show that combines the already released eighth episode with the unreleased finale. It’s only in theaters from June 4 to 7 through Fathom Entertainment, so analysts assume that its $7.8 million debut is quite front-loaded, with the movie projected to make $12 million over the course of the weekend. Still, given that the unreleased parts of the show will be on YouTube in two weeks, this theatrical haul is quite impressive.
The series mixes humor and existential dread, following a group of people trapped in a circus-themed virtual reality program that threatens them with an endless digital existence. Gooseworx — who wrote, composed, and directed the show — has cited Harlan Ellison’s disturbing short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and its AI villain AM, as a direct source of inspiration. According to her, the main difference is that “instead of AM being a living embodiment of hate, he’s a fun-loving wacky little guy.” Its “trapped in a video game” premise also echoes .hack//Sign and Sword Art Online, and fans of deep-cut anime oddities will probably notice the overlap with the surreal circus-themed Popee the Performer. Regardless of its influences, the series’ popularity shows that it has struck a chord.