YouTube, the new path to Hollywood for filmmakers

September 27, 2026 / 9:16 AM EDT / CBS News

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day," released in July, has grossed nearly a billion dollars in the U.S. alone, which, heading into fall, has Matt Belloni and others in Hollywood experiencing an unusual emotion: mild optimism.

"I think we've had a successful year at the box office a), because there are more movies; then b) I think this year there have been movies for different audiences," he said. "We see movies like 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' bring in the younger audience. We've seen 'The Odyssey' bring in the older audience. We've seen a mass-market hit like 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' bring in everybody."

Belloni is founding partner at Puck News, and the host of "The Town" podcast. He knows just about every player at every studio. "This year they are finally up to a cadence of movies that, even when they don't all work, they contribute to the box office," he said.

Take this summer: With its $4.7 billion in domestic box office, the summer of 2026 was the highest-grossing in history (not adjusted for inflation). Across North America, 322 million tickets were sold, up 22% from last year. What Hollywood cheered most…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/