The $30 mlilion toe in the water

A South African filmmaker, Robert dos Santos, has released his low-budget sci-fi film 'This is How the World Ends' as a straight-to-VHS release, aiming to reclaim the negative connotation associated with the term and challenge the traditional film distribution model.

The film was shot in South Africa and has already received pre-orders from around the world, surpassing 1,000 copies.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The pre-orders have been handled by boutique physical media specialists VHS Haven in the U.S., who will distribute the film in the U.S.

Following promising meetings in Cannes, there are hopes to eventually get 'This is How the World Ends' into cinemas.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The release of 'This is How the World Ends' comes amid the dual box office phenomenons of 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms,' both from YouTube creators who arrived in cinemas already with sizeable followings.

'They built an audience,' says dos Santos. 'Obviously, that's in a totally different theater, but I think what you're seeing is filmmakers saying that the traditional route isn't necessarily working for us.'

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The release of 'This is How the World Ends' has sparked a conversation about the future of cinema, with some industry execs seeing it as a bold move to reclaim the negative connotation associated with the term.

'Sure, you're if going to a sales agent and you're like: 'Hey, here's our film. Sorry, but we've actually already released it on VHS and DVD,' they might not get it, so in a way it's like shooting ourselves in the foot,' says dos Santos.

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The theme park is set to be a major tourist attraction,with the British government committing to provide major infrastructure support.

Behind the Movie

Claiming to be the first straight-to-VHS release in 20 years, 'This is How the World Ends' is a low-budget sci-fi adevnture about a brother who sets out to find his sister at a hedonistic party deep in the desert dubbed the 'last party on earth.'

'The concept for us was: what does VHS in 2026 look like and how can this be a new reimagining of what 'straight-to-VHS' means,' dos Santos tells.

'It used to be proper slander, if someone said 'straight-to-VHS,' it meant terrible. But the whole point of this is to reclaim that and say, look, straight-to-VHS is actually saying that this is a well-made film, made with intention for an audience.'

The film has already received pre-orders from around the world, with dos Santos claiming there was never the intention 'to be making bank' on the film.

However, he now has boutique physical media specialists VHS Haven in the U.S. on board to distribute the film in the U.S.

Following promising meetings in Cannes, there are hopes to eventually get 'This is How the World Ends' into cinemas.

A Deliberate Middle Finger

The release of 'This is How the World Ends' is also seen as a deliberate middle finger to the growing encroachment of AI in the film industry.

'This is a film that is made by humans, for humans — this is cinema you can hold, touch, and most importantly own,' says dos Santos.

He adds that he was 'upset with every headline being 'Hollywood is cooked,' 'Hollywood is over,' 'Filmmaking is dead,' and wanted to say, 'It's not, there are people like myself who really care about cinema, who really care about filmmaking.'

The film itself has AI at its centre, set towards the end of a war between humans and the AI Machine States that humans don't look like winning.

'What I realized while making this is that there's a very organic part to being a human and to being a creatvie and to being someone who wants to tell stories and someone who wants to hopefully impart lessons through stories,' says dos Santos.