Fact: A $0 Horror Movie Outsold Nolan at the Box Office — And Was Shot in Less Than a Week
Nope, the headline’s not a mistake. The creators didn’t pay a dime to make it. But the box office sure paid them back.
Picture this: summer 2020. The world’s in a coma, theaters are closed, masks aren’t just for Halloween. Enter Christopher Nolan, ready to 'save cinema' with his $205 million blockbuster Tenet. But it doesn’t quite go to plan.
While the studio hesitated, unsure whether to burn its budget on empty seats, the number one film at the box office turned out to be… a movie shot on Zoom. With no set. No stars. Just 29 minutes long. And a title that reeks of viral paranoia — Unsubscribe.
Behind this trick were two clever guys: director Christian Nilsson and YouTuber Eric Tabach. Their plan? Rent out a theater, screen the film for themselves, and buy every single ticket. Money moves from one pocket to the other — but the ticket sales count.
And in an empty, bleeding-out U.S. box office, $25,000 was enough to become the official #1 movie of the week.
The plot? An evil internet troll hunting down influencers. Filmed in five days. Original music. Totally DIY. But by industry standards — a movie. And technically, a box office hit. Ironically, it stole the spotlight Tenet was aiming for.
The creators themselves called it either a brilliant producer’s move or a straight-up con. But unlike the studios — at least they’re honest.
