It’s not just the youth of the creators that is crucial, though – it’s the youth of the viewers. Star Wars has been around since 1977, while Masters of the Universe is an IP which was at its most valuable in the mid-1980s, so the films in both franchises are aimed at nostalgic middle-aged fans. That may have been their producers’ fatal mistake.

In April, a survey by Fandango noted that 87% of Gen Zers and 82% of millennials had seen at least one film in cinemas in the past year, compared to 70% of Gen Xers and 58% of baby boomers. Gen Zers and millennials also went to cinemas more regularly than their elders: around seven times a year, compared to 6.1 times for Gen X and 5.7 for baby boomers. There wasn’t a vast readymade audience for Stars Wars and Masters of the Universe, then, whereas a generation of enthusiastic cinemagoers was primed and ready for Backrooms and Obsession.

According to a recent article in The Guardian, films provide Gen Z with a welcome break from doomscrolling, and cinemas provide a place to hang out with friends. “What Gen Z are looking for is a ‘third space’,” said the article, “a social environment away from home and work. And for many, the cinema can fill that role.”

What makes these films click

That’s why it makes sense that both Backrooms and Obsession are horror films. As the success of Sinners and Weapons demonstrated last year, horror has been stunningly profitable in the post-pandemic era: it can be made with a small budget, and yet can still attract viewers who treasure the immersive, communal experience of screaming and gasping in a crowd. Another example is 2022’s chilling Talk To Me, which was made by Danny and Michael Philippou, two Australian YouTubers, while they were in their 20s.

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What else do Gen-Z audiences want from the cinema? Judging by the discourse on social media, teenage and twentysomething viewers want a film they can discuss and dissect. Take, for example, The Drama, which is reported to have cost $28m (£21m) and raked in about $100m (£75m) more than that. It’s a comedy rather than a horror film, and it has two popular stars – Zendaya and Robert Pattinson – but, like Obsession, it stretches a romantic relationship issue to an uncomfortable extreme. It feels as if it’s actually about something.

Audiences can debate the relative morality of the characters, just as they can debate their own relationship issues online. In the case of Backrooms, they can debate what exactly is going on. Neither Masters of the Universe nor The Mandalorian and Grogu leaves quite as much scope for such post-film analysis.