The days of the creator economy and Hollywood existing in separate worlds are numbered. Partnering with creators rather than ignoring them has led to a more effective marketing approach for studios. At the same time, major streamers and networks like Netflix and NBC have partnered with more creators, leading a new era of the entertainment industry.
That’s according to a study by National Research Group in collaboration with The Wrap on the evolution of the creator economy. The report looked at several trends, from the influence of creators to how user-generated content has begun taking share on traditional connected TVs to the openness of viewers to microdramas.
When it comes to reviews, YouTube and TikTok videos are now more likely to convince audiences to watch a new theatrical release or check out a new streaming show than reviews from professional critics. A study of more than 3,300 U.S. moviegoers aged 12 to 74 years old listed YouTube videos and TikTok videos as the No. 1 and No. 2 most influential sources of movie reviews. That was followed by professional critics, people the respondent followed on social media, the show or movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score and podcasts.
The value of social media is even more pronounced when it comes to Gen Z. When asked how they heard about the most recent movie they watched at home, 35% of Gen Z respondents listed “social media” as their top answer compared to the 26% who gave that answer across all other age groups.
Savvy studios have noticed this trend and are capitalizing on it. It’s now common for fan edits to outperform official trailers. That trend is partially what led Lionsgate to create an official partnership program for select fan editors. Lionsgate alongside Netflix, Sega and Kodansha also made their IP more accessible to video game creators by partnering with Roblox’s license manager, a program that lets independent users make and profit from games using licensed IP.
At the same time, creators have been broadening the entertainment landscape. Creator-led shows like Sean Evans’ “Hot Ones” or Amelia Dimoldenberg “Chicken Shop Date” have interviewed A-list talent — a press stop that used to be reserved for only the highest ranked publications or late night shows.
TV and movies have also started to more aggressively turn to the creator space for the next generation of talent. YouTube titan MrBeast successfully jumped into streaming television with his Amazon Prime Video show “Beast Games,” which airs its season finale on Wednesday. Before they were on “Saturday Night Live,” both Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska were known for their social media accounts.
Meanwhile, Netflix has signed several major deals with iHeartMedia and Spotify podcasters alongside creators like Mark Rober and Alix Earle. As for theaters, they’ve seen a wave of creator-led projects. Mark Fischbach’s (aka Markiplier) independent horror movie “Iron Lung” made waves earlier this year for grossing $50 million against a budget of $3 million. Similarly, A24 partnered with creator Kane Parsons to make a horror movie about his “Backrooms” web series.
As creator content is becoming more popular with audiences, social media platforms have adjusted to better cater to this shift. YouTube in particular has invested heavily in making its living room offering feel more like a streaming platform. More than three-quarters of social video viewers watched YouTube content on their TVs on at least a weekly basis in 2025, the NRG and TheWrap report found. That’s a 10 percentage point increase compared to the previous year.
Companies like Instagram and even Substack now offer a TV app. At the same time, streamers like Netflix and Peacock are redesigning their UI to incorporate vertical video and scrolling features.
The $8 billion microdrama industry may also serve as a way for these two worlds to combine. For the purposes of this article, microdramas refer to short, serialized and scripted series that are designed to be binge watched on a vertical video platform. More than 830 million viewers already watch microdramas in China, and these shows are gaining traction in the U.S. A study found that 72% of Americans were at least somewhat interested in watching a microdrama.
There have also been moves in Hollywood that indicate more traditional players are taking the microdrama phenomenon seriously. Last October, Fox invested in the vertical-video production studio Holywater. That same month, SAG-AFTRA released a Verticals Agreement specifically for microdrama performers.
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