Popular YouTube Series ‘The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act’ Is Coming to Theaters — and Already Breaking Records for Fathom (Exclusive)

Published by IndieWire on May 11, 2026 9:00 AM

Glitch Productions CEO Kevin Lerdwichagul spoke to IndieWire about taking the popular YouTube series to theaters, and his hopes for expanding a dedicated fanbase.

By Wilson Chapman May 11, 2026 11:00 AM EST

At first glance, “The Amazing Digital Circus” doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a box office smash. A surreal and dark independent animated series produced by Australian company Glitch, the online series plays like a more colorful version of Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,” following a group of humans trapped in a virtual reality simulation where they’re tormented by the erratic ringmaster AI Caine and struggle to maintain their sanity. It’s dark, strange, and heavily existential — and has a gigantic online fanbase that’s turning it into a theatrical hit.

On June 4, Fathom Entertainment will release “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” a compilation of the show’s eighth episode and its previously unreleased ninth and final installment, in U.S. theaters. The release already broke presale records for Fathom upon its April 10 release, and IndieWire can exclusively report that ticket sales for the limited engagement have now surpassed $7.5 million. In addition, the number of theaters carrying the release has more than doubled since first launch, going from approximately 900 theaters to crossing 2,100 North American theaters. Fathom has also announced that an exclusive collectible popcorn bucket and beverage cup will be made available at select participating theaters nationwide.

Fathom Entertainment CEO Ray Nutt told IndieWire in an interview that the company’s interest in “The Amazing Digital Circus” came from researching the show’s massive online success, such as the 1.2 billion views the first eight episodes have amassed on YouTube. In addition, the show hits several sweet spots for Fathom, with their animated releases, such as the annual Studio Ghibli Fest, proving some of their most lucrative events; their biggest theatrical release ever was a 2024 rerelease of “Coraline,” which grossed $34 million. In recent years, the company has also found considerable success with episodic events; their previous presale record holder was “Christmas with The Chosen,” a compilation of episodes from the Christian TV show “The Chosen.”

“We’ve been for the right episodic to do what we did with ‘The Chosen’ and and this came about, and it just kept percolating,” Nutt told IndieWire. “And the research just kept telling us this was the right thing.”

Glitch Productions, which produces “The Amazing Digital Circus,” was founded in 2017 by brothers Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul. The studio began by producing content through the technique of Machinima, where video game or computer graphics engine footage is edited together to create a coherent narrative; their first release “SMG4,” is a sketch show that uses models from “Mario” games as its foundation.

Kevin Lerdwichagul, who serves as the studio’s CEO, told IndieWire that when “The Amazing Digital Circus” premiered on YouTube in 2023 and quickly became a word-of-mouth hit, it quickly helped the studio to expand along with it. At the time of the show’s release, it employed around 20 to 25 artists; the show’s success has allowed the company to hire over 100 artists to work on its various other projects.

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In terms of what the doors that “The Last Act” will open for Glitch looks like, Lerdwichagul says he is hoping the success of the release will pave the way for the company to explore more theatrical events in the future. He described “The Last Act” as proof that the “traditional world and the internet world” can be successfully melded, and that theatrical and in-person events still have their place despite his company’s online origins.

“I genuinely believe that the future of the entertainment industry will be in person, Physical events or communal events where people can actually see and touch and hear things in person ” Lerdwichagul said. “Especially in this digital AI age, there’s just so much of that stuff now that I feel like the idea of going somewhere in person to watch something is actually going to be have a higher value to it.”

“The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act” premieres in theaters June 4. The series is streaming on YouTube and Netflix.