OBSESSION Star Inde Navarrette Says Gen Z Is Tired of Ads and Product Placement in Movies: "We Want Original Stories"

Hollywood keeps trying to figure out what Gen Z wants from movies, but Obsession star Inde Navarrettethinks the answer is pretty simple. Young audiences want original stories that make them feel something, not movies that constantly try to sell them something.

During an appearance on The Kyle Buchanan Show, Navarrette shared her thoughts on what Hollywood needs to do to keep younger audiences coming to movie theaters. Her biggest complaint? Too much advertising and product placement getting in the way of the actual storytelling.

“Gen Z just wants to go to something that they don’t feel like they’re being sold. Maybe we are tired constantly of having ads in movies or production placement and all of these things. We understand it’s fundamental. We grew up with commercials that are fun that we still quote like State Farm and Aflac. It’s kind of fun. But we don’t want to be sold. We want original stories.”

She makes a fair point. Advertising is everywhere these days, and audiences don't necessarily want to spend money on a movie ticket just to sit through another round of corporate marketing disguised as entertainment.

Navarrette also pushed back against the idea that growing up surrounded by technology somehow makes Gen Z less interested in emotional storytelling.

“Just because we’re living in the time of technology doesn’t mean we’re not living a human life or feel human experiences,” she added. “I’m happy Obsession brought that to the table. We want originality and we want to feel.”

The Focus Features horror film turned her and co-star Michael Johnston into breakout stars this summer, pulling in an incredible $522 million worldwide against a production budget of less than $1 million.

That makes Obsession one of the most profitable movies in Hollywood history, and its box office performance was particularly impressive. The film actually increased its earnings over four consecutive weekends, fueled by enthusiastic word of mouth from Gen Z moviegoers.

Those numbers should get Hollywood's attention, especially when studios are constantly trying to figure out how to get younger audiences away from their phones and into theaters.

It turns out Gen Z is already showing up. Earlier this year, a Fandango study that found Gen Z is the most active moviegoing demographic. According to the research, 87% of Gen Z and 82% of millennials had visited a movie theater at least once over the course of a year. That compares to 70% of Gen X and 58% of baby boomers.

Gen Z and millennials also averaged around seven theatrical visits per year, compared to 6.1 for Gen X and 5.7 for baby boomers. Younger moviegoers were also more willing to spend money on concessions and premium screenings like IMAX.

Jerramy Hainline, Fandango's executive vice president, explained what makes those findings particularly interesting:

“While there has been a perception that Gen Z is less engaged with theatrical moviegoing, our data shows that their momentum has been building. What’s especially notable is how strongly they value the shared, communal aspect of the experience, reinforcing that theaters continue to play an important role as a social destination for younger audiences.”

So the problem isn't that young people have lost interest in movies. They just want Hollywood to give them something worth leaving the house and worth paying for.

The massive success of Obsession certainly supports Navarrette's argument. Give audiences an original story that connects with them, and they'll not only buy tickets, they'll tell their friends to go see it.

Hollywood doesn't need to turn every movie into a commercial or assume younger audiences only care about technology and familiar franchises. Sometimes a great story and a reason to experience it with other people are enough.

What do you think? Has product placement in movies gotten out of hand, or does it not bother you?