The Amazing Digital Circus: Another YouTube sensation hits cinemas

The Amazing Digital Circus has become the latest YouTube hit to land on cinema screens.

The show, made by Australian studio Glitch Productions, has notched up hundreds of millions of views on the streaming site since it launched in 2023.

Glitch released the last two episodes of the series in cinemas around the world and, according to entertainment news website Deadline, it made $6.8m at the US box office on its opening day.

That puts it ahead of horror hits The Backrooms and Obsession, both of which were directed by well-known YouTubers.

The Amazing Digital Circus' (TADC) cast of characters are avatars of humans who have found themselves trapped inside the show's simulated universe.

Its distinctive, computer-generated visual style, humour and willingness to tackle emotional themes has made it a big hit with fans, and inspired a huge meme culture around the show online.

When Glitch Productions announced plans to show The Last Act - the title of the double-episode finale - in cinemas, fans were encouraged to contact cinema chains to demand that they screen it.

It was a similar strategy to the one used by YouTuber Markiplier, whose debut film Iron Lung made $17.8m in its opening weekend in the USA.

However, not all fans are happy that the final episodes of TADC are being released in cinemas before they appear on Glitch's official YouTube channel on 19 June.

Some have accused the company of abandoning its online roots, and fans in countries that have missed out on screenings have complained at being excluded.

TADC fans Lin Porter, Kat Dingwall and Emmanuel Akinnubi have been telling BBC Newsbeat why they love the show.

Porter, 21, says the relatable characters are a big attraction for her.

"They all have their issues and their problems and you watch it and then you kind of realise: 'Yeah, I kind of act like that sometimes'," she says.

Akinnubi, 21, who says he's been a fan since "day one", agrees, and believes TADC's look also helps it to find fans.

"It can also be kind of aesthetically or visually pleasing to the eye, it's just so colourful and I think that's what really grabs people in," he says.

For 20-year-old Dingwall, the appeal is that TADC started with a small creator, known as Gooseworx.

"There's not been anybody from higher up telling them 'you can't do this', they just let them tell the stories as they are."

Porter, who spoke to Newsbeat as she waited, in costume, outside a screening of The Last Act, says she's been "super-hyped" for the cinema release.

"To get into cosplay, to sit down and watch a movie, I mean, that's dedication," she says.

Cineworld worker and TADC fan Luke Phesay can attest to that.

The 24-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat that screenings have been filled with "hyped" fans, some in cosplay.

"It's really fun to watch the fans come in and be like: 'yep they are here for Digital Circus'."

And Phesay praised the series for the "big sense of community" it brings.

"I watched it when the first pilot came out on YouTube, I still remember who I was watching it with, it's such a happy show which gets deep when it needs to."

Akinnubi is planning to watch the final instalment but tells Newsbeat it has already been divisive due to the way it's been released.

"Some fans from underprivileged backgrounds and people from different countries who might not be near a cinema where it's showing won't be able to see it and will have to wait two weeks for it to fully release on YouTube," he says.

"So during those two weeks you know they are certainly subject to seeing some spoilers and just having the ending ruined for them."

But he does believe it will be a good experience for many.

"A lot of the dedicated fans who are privileged enough to live near areas that are showing the movie will be able to go to the cinemas and dress up as whatever their favourite character is and be able to see people who love this show just as much as they do."

The Last Act, which is also being released in countries including Japan, Brazil and South Africa, is expected to have a busy opening weekend.

Its box office is expected to tail off once the finale becomes officially available online.

But the discussion over the ending, and whether it stuck the landing, is likely to rumble among fans for some time.

Porter says she, like other fans, is bracing for a dramatic closing act.

"I know there's going to be tears, I might cry myself," she says.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.