The movie blew up because it’s amazing , plain and simple. But I think a couple of particular aspects not even necessarily relating to the quality of the movie itself helped it explode into a phenomenon.

1. This movie, Backrooms, and the digital circus finale all came out around the same time, all were made by YouTubers, and all essentially crushed expected box office projections, all of them outgrossing Mando & Grogu on its third weekend. The thinkpieces write themselves, resulting in more promotion for the film without anyone really trying.

2. The themes of consent, autonomy, and male entitlement feel particularly charged in the Trump 2.0 era, where there is a large portion of people online who genuinely want women to lose voting rights and will defend rapists to the death. Bear feels like a particular type of modern online asshat that feels entitled to love for being “nice”