Sony Pictures has named former YouTube executive Fede Goldenberg as head of Screen Gems, tasking the horror label with developing theatrical projects from the next generation of digital-native storytellers. TheWrap reports Goldenberg will report to Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures' Motion Picture Group, while Ashley Brucks, the label's president since 2023, moves into a producing role. Screen Daily adds that Goldenberg brings more than 20 years of entertainment experience, including 15 years at YouTube, where since 2017 he led TV and film content partnerships and drove creator initiatives such as Markiplier's exclusive digital release of the theatrical hit Iron Lung.

The surprise is that Screen Gems — home of Resident Evil and Underworld and a revived label since 1998 — is being reshaped around YouTube talent rather than the IP-driven genre fare it leaned on in recent years. TheWrap notes its recent slate produced singles and doubles: Until Dawn grossed $54 million on a $15 million budget and I Know What You Did Last Summer $65 million on $18 million, while Insidious: Out of the Further became its biggest recent hit at $170 million on an $18 million budget. According to TheWrap, the pivot echoes the 1990s independent boom, when studios launched specialty labels like Sony Pictures Classics and Fox Searchlight.

The move follows a wave of creator-led theatrical successes. TheWrap cites Curry Barker's Obsession, a Focus Features release from a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker that made over $500 million on a budget under $1 million, and Kane Parsons' Backrooms as the evidence Hollywood keeps pointing to, per Screen Daily. It also highlights Markiplier (Mark Fischbach), whose self-financed, self-released Iron Lung made $50 million in January — a model Alanah Pearce and Jacksepticeye praised while announcing their own film Godmother. Screen Daily quotes Panitch saying the most exciting new filmmakers are emerging outside traditional Hollywood pipelines.

According to TheWrap, Sony is specifically interested in developing theatrical movies from creators rather than streaming films, despite its Netflix deal, and is open to both short-form and long-form creators — primarily storytellers with good ideas. The outlet reports the company sees the hire as adapting to Gen Z moviegoers who trust creators over advertising, and values creators' ability to eventize content and mobilize communities. A Sony insider told TheWrap that independent releases often lack global release plans and robust marketing — gaps Screen Gems Pictures under Goldenberg aims to fill. 'This is the biggest sea change in Hollywood since the original studio system broke up,' Tongal CEO James DeJulio told TheWrap.