Speaking on the Kyle Buchanan Show, Inde Navarrette gave her impression of Gen Z’s renewed interest in going to the movies and what kinds of pictures they’re keen on seeing, following the success of Backrooms and Obsession over the summer.
It’s safe to say that Inde Navarrette has a bright future ahead of her, in no small part due to her standout performance in Curry Barker’s Obsession. The movie quickly became one of the most profitable indie flicks ever made and brought oodles of younger viewers to theaters, earning rave reviews from audiences and critics alike.
This, alongside the success of 21-year-old Kane Parson’s Backrooms, have highlighted a growing trend among moviegoers; young audiences are keen on seeing original stories brought to the screen and love when studios take a chance on new talent.
Navarrette echoed this sentiment during her interview on the Kyle Buchanan Show, where the host asked her what Gen Z wants to see on the silver screen.
“I think Gen Z just wants to go to something that they don’t feel like they’re being sold,” she answered. “I think that maybe we are tired constantly of having ads in movies or production placement and all of these things. We understand it’s fundamental, right? We grew up with commercials that are fun that we still quote, like State Farm and Aflac, or whatever. It’s kind of fun. But we don’t want to be sold. We want original stories.”
“Just because we’re living in the time of technology doesn’t mean we’re not living a human life or feeling human experiences. I’m happy Obsession brought that to the table. We want originality and authenticity, and we want to feel,” she continued.
Navarrette’s remarks speak to the rise in popularity for horror films and smaller projects lately. In fact, Backrooms kicked off an industry-wide rush to snatch up the rights to internet copypasta IPs to greenlight films for the likes of The Mandela Catalogue (directed by Spielberg, himself), The SCP Foundation, and even Siren Head, with none other than Zach Cregger onboard to produce.
The Obsession actress isn’t wrong; as pointed out by Variety, a study from Fandango found that Gen Z is the largest demographic of moviegoers right now, with 87% — alongside 82% of millennials — going to theaters to see at least one movie over the last year.
Fandango executive vice president Jerramy Hainline remarked on this data, saying, “While there has been a perception that Gen Z is less engaged with theatrical moviegoing, our data shows that their momentum has been building. What’s especially notable is how strongly they value the shared, communal aspect of the experience, reinforcing that theaters continue to play an important role as a social destination for younger audiences.”
Navarrette is now pivoting toward a much larger project, having been confirmed to play Rogue in Marvel’s X-Men reboot. She’s also keen on voicing a character in a Resident Evil game, and said she studied anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer to better understand scriptwriting and storytelling.