Can films succeed without social media?

Historically, films have succeeded through cinema releases and critical acclaim. But, in an era of streaming services, higher film production rates and (debatably) market oversaturation, is social media attention now more important than making a good movie? Movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer are glaring examples of films that benefited from social media attention, although both films did also receive critical acclaim. On the contrary films like Emilia Perez were received poorly by many but, the film still grossed well, likely partly due to its ironic virality online.

A mass group of movies that have succeeded over time without social media are ‘cult classics’. Often films that are seen as bad, ridiculous or confusing by the majority of society, cult classics have gained popularity over time through devoted fanbases and independent presentations of culture. Films like Flash Gordon are iconic for their subpar special effects and acting whereas films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show maintain a devote following through unique presentations of queerness and sexuality.

Many cult classics (such as these) developed their original followings without social media but, the development of such communication has only increased the popularity and prevalence of these movies. Chat forums in the early 2000’s and short form video content apps like TikTok have heightened discussions around cult classics, allowing new generations to discover these films. It is also key to note that many of these films, such as Rocky Horror, were not box office successes, but instead have outlasted their time through audience admiration and longevity of film making, namely assisted by social media.

Some films wholly rely on social media to be successful. The recent rise in influencer movies is a glaring example of this. Media companies have been increasingly seen to hire Youtubers/content creators for movie production, writing and acting. In 2026, we saw the release of Iron Lung which was written, directed, edited AND acting in by Markiplier, a popular YouTuber with over 38 million subscribers.

Although Mark received mostly positive reception from critics, many YouTuber movies did not fair so well. Shane Dawson, KSI, Ryan Higa and the Fine Bros all released films which were slated by critiques and genuinely damaged some of their careers (particularly Shane Dawson, who’s film Not Cool received a MetaScore of 1 and made just $36,026 at the box office of an $800,000 budget). A poor social media reception meant these films, which stemming directly from social media popularity, bombed dramatically.

In a modern era, it is increasingly difficult to separate any industry from the existence of social media. The online world is as prevalent as the real world now so in order to have at least some commercial success, films must use social media to their advantage, or they risk being missed entirely, especially if they have no prior fanbase to rely on. Some films are able to do well without as much social media hype as others (such as the Avatar films, which have such a widespread fanbase, even if it is casual, they don’t need to invest as much time into social media advertising) whereas others develop the films public persona through social media, such as Barbie. It is becoming ever more difficult for films to succeed without social media, a pattern which does not seem to be changing any time soon.