On Monday, October 24th, Owen woke up early to the constant vibration of his phone. Notifications, mentions, messages, articles, congratulations, everything mixed together. He barely had time to skim through them: a long day of shooting awaited him, and he couldn't afford distractions.
On Sunday, Paranormal Activity had closed with 4.1 million, finishing a weekend of more than 11 million dollars and a full week above 15 million. Far beyond what he himself had projected just days earlier, when he had estimated the film might add 12 million in the three weeks it had left in theaters.
Now he was in a far better scenario than he had imagined.
The movie had already reached 90.3 million dollars worldwide. An ROI of x4,515, surpassing The Blair Witch Project by more than three hundred points. And the most shocking part was that it still had weeks of exhibition left: the pre-Halloween stretch and then the most important weekend of the year for any horror film. Passing 100 million was no longer a possibility, it was practically a guarantee.
Ever since he had broken the record, the media noise around Owen had exploded. Not only on social media, where his channel, his Instagram, and his Twitter had all surged, but also in real life.
On the set of The Spectacular Now, every member of the crew congratulated him: actors, technicians, wardrobe, makeup, production… some even asked him for photos. They looked at him as if he were a living legend.
Not even in his first life, when he had been nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, had he received such an exaggerated level of attention. But it made sense: he had broken a record that had stood intact for 23 years, and he was surpassing it by a margin that would continue to grow day by day.
Even so, not everything felt uncomfortable. With a handful of people he could still be himself: Jenna, Elijah, Cristian, who was there as a producer, making sure everything ran smoothly, and Grace, the director of photography, who worked side by side with Elijah ever since filming had begun.
With them, he could have a normal conversation, without anyone giving him artificial praise every two minutes or asking him for the fifteenth time how he did it.
Second Take Films had reached 1.550.000 subscribers. Even though there wasn't a new video, the counter kept climbing. Not at the breakneck pace of when he uploaded One-Minute Time Machine and Lights Out, but still at an excellent rate of growth.
The numbers spoke for themselves:
-Lights Out had reached 35 million views.
-One-Minute Time Machine, 15 million.
-Paperman, 11 million.
-The Black Hole, 8 million.
Just those four videos added up to 69 million views, and the press was already calling him "the guy with the viral shorts."
Then there were three more videos. The first trailer Owen had uploaded for Paranormal Activity had stalled at 3 million, partly because A24's official trailer became the dominant version. And the trailers for Paperman and One-Minute Time Machine had accumulated another 7 million together.
In total, the channel had roughly 79 million views spread across only seven videos. A number that placed him in territory many creators took years to reach.
To celebrate surpassing a million and a half subscribers, and the title of the most profitable film in history, Owen posted on the Second Take Films Instagram account. It was a seven-photo carousel functioning like a small time capsule of his recent journey:
-A picture from the Paranormal Activity shoot: Owen in a T-shirt soaked in fake blood, and Sophie beside him with both hands around his neck and her mouth smeared, pretending to strangle him.
-A photo from the Paperman set: Owen and Matt, immaculate in 1950s suits, adjusting their ties before a take. Matt, though he was the director and didn't need wardrobe, insisted on dressing like everyone else for aesthetic reasons.
-A behind-the-scenes shot of One-Minute Time Machine: Gaten and Sarah smiling and holding the time machine prop.
-A photo of Eric and Tyler with Matt, surrounded by cameras, cables, and monitors, in the middle of creative chaos during a filming day.
-Another one of Owen, Matt, and the editor sitting in front of the computer late at night. Owen with a coffee in hand, Matt with a beer, and the editor fully focused, eyes glued to the screen, dragging clips while the other two argued over which cut looked better.
-Another behind-the-scenes shot from Lights Out: Owen wearing the monster mask, the raw version, before any post-production tweaks, staring at Sophie, who stared straight into the camera with her eyes wide open, as if she knew her fate in that story was to die.
-And the last one, a normal photo: all of them together, not doing anything silly, just smiling at the camera.
The post on the channel's Instagram became the most popular one on the profile.
@SecondTakeFilms
📸 New post (7 photos)
Post text:
I started this channel a while ago and never imagined I'd achieve so much in such a short time… We've already passed one and a half million subscribers, and Paranormal Activity became the most profitable film in history.
Thank you for watching the videos, for sharing them, and for all the support. I truly appreciate it.
More things are coming.
— Owen 🤍🎬
❤️ 342,000 likes
💬 12,800 comments
Highlighted comments
@a24:
An incredible journey. On to what's next. 👏🎬
@matt.directs:
Mom I swear I wasn't drinking beer in that photo, it's edited. Jokes aside, congrats bro, we keep going
@variety:
The breakout indie creator of the year. Congratulations! 🔥
@sophie_t:
I can't believe that photo of me choking you is public… but anyway, congrats ❤️😂
@grace.dp1:
The monster-mask photo still gives me nightmares. Congrats, Owen.
@cinemaitsfine7:
Historic. Literally.
@deadline:
Record-breaking and still rising. Congrats, Owen. 📈
@jennaortega:
💙
@gatenm123:
A million already?? Dude, slow down
@claudiafilma:
The channel's evolution is insane. You earned it.
@sarahasfhord:
🔥🔥🔥
@tomblyth:
You deserve it, brother!
…
Owen put his phone away, leaving social media aside. It was time for breakfast and work. He stepped out of his room and headed to the dining area.
The week moved forward at a slow but steady pace, and Paranormal Activity kept growing day by day.
Monday: 1.6M
Tuesday: 1.8M
Wednesday: 1.9M
Thursday: 2.0M
A total of 7.3 million just on weekdays. It was obvious that the pre-Halloween window was peaking: the genre was at its highest point, and the momentum kept building.
At that pace, the film was less than three million away from reaching 100 million worldwide, a milestone that, according to every analyst, it would easily hit by Friday.
But while the box office rose, another kind of movement began forming on Twitter. No one knew exactly who started it or when it turned into a trending topic, but a massive debate emerged trying to uncover Owen's origins.
The narrative circulating online was messy: some repeated the idea that he had risked everything, others talked about savings earned through hard work and part-time jobs. And a few claimed he had taken out a loan.
Owen had never publicly explained where he got the money. Everything was rumors, but enough to ignite everyone's curiosity.
And then, almost out of nowhere, a thread appeared and began to go viral:
@SHavary:
I'm trying to figure out where Owen Ashford got the money before his short The Black Hole.
Does anyone have info?
It's like he didn't exist before May 2022.
@Rs.I:
May 5 he uploads his first short film on Second Take Films. His personal Instagram starts shortly before that, where he promotes his short film, posts some behind-the-scenes pics from Paranormal Activity. There's nothing before that. Weird for someone young.
@daniiikat6:
Most actors or celebs delete old photos when they enter the industry. Not that weird.
@akash.n7:
In the Variety interview he said he went to USC and got expelled. USC, guys, one of the most expensive schools out there. With that alone we know his family has money and that's where he got the money for Paranormal Activity. Case closed.
@Samgrilish:
We're assuming he's rich just because he went to USC? If he had a scholarship or if his family saved since he was born, he could've gone too.
@akash.n7 (replying to Samgrilish):
USC is top tier. I've got a friend there and I know it costs more than $80k a year. Median salary in America is like $70k. A normal family couldn't pay that even with savings. And acting is always more expensive.
@alexuclaforever:
UCLA is way better and not so elitist!
@ymr342:
So his parents gave him the money. Well… that's less exciting than I expected.
…
From that point on, the debate exploded:
@nadirf:
And? If his parents helped him, what's the problem? He's their kid, and if they have that much money, it wouldn't cost them much (according to these very questionable Twitter-detective theories…)
@dylan04:
The problem is they sold the story of "he risked everything he had." Turns out that wasn't even true.
@Rihannams:
Owen literally never said that. The media invented that narrative.
@jeremyy.tv:
Either way, we're talking about only twenty thousand dollars. It's not like his family lent him half a million.
@pmmccoy:
If it's "only" 20k send it to me. I'll DM you my bank info.
@katherineshot:
This got out of hand. The guy made a good movie, that's it.
@dylan04:
I'm not denying that, but it is a little disappointing that there's no started from nothing story behind it.
@Shadowkidfat:
Since when do you have to be poor to make films? Seriously.
…
And then a comment appeared that turned the thread's temperature all the way up:
@brandonUSC21:
Listen up, guys, I'm a USC student, same acting program as Owen. I was his classmate (I wasn't expelled, luckily lol).
I can confirm Owen was from the upper side of campus. Not celebrity-kids level, but definitely top 5% income family.
I'm not saying he doesn't deserve credit, but his background wasn't exactly humble.
The thread exploded with responses:
@milejordan:
That does sound more believable.
@joniquest:
So: rich kid. Got it, that's easy.
@MillieJD (replying to @joniquest):
He only used twenty thousand for a film that already made more than ninety million. Studios with massive budgets don't achieve that. It's not "easy." The highest ROI record hadn't been broken in over twenty years, genius.
@lauratells:
People desperately want a rags-to-riches story. If it doesn't fit, they make one up.
…
By that point the thread already had thousands of replies, but the discussion took an unexpected turn when a new tweet appeared, one that included a short video:
@NoahCarver97:
Well… I guess it's time to say it.
I was Owen's classmate at USC, I'd even say we were friends. When he got expelled, just a few days later he was selling his BMW.
I'm the one who bought it. It cost me a bit over $30,000. That's what he used to make the movie, I'm sure of it. (Don't attack me, I'm just telling what I lived.)
[📹 Attached video]
The video lasted only a few seconds. The guy, Noah, showed a dark blue BMW 3 Series. He simply repeated that he had bought the car when everything happened and then displayed a photo on his phone of an old chat with Owen, showing them coordinating a time to check out the vehicle.
The guy's intention was obvious: to get a bit of attention. But it worked.
Within minutes, the thread blew up again.
@alexanderSDM:
So he sold his car to fund the movie. Now that sounds like sacrifice.
@Nadiias:
But… if his family had so much money, why did he need to sell the car?
@marcusraison-:
Maybe because he got expelled and his parents got tired of giving him money. Could be.
@lighte2:
Look… starting a film with the money from a thirty-thousand-dollar car isn't exactly extreme hardship, but it does make the story more interesting.
@Franky46i:
I love how the narrative suddenly became exciting again 😭
…
The thread, with more than 30,000 replies now, entered the Top 3 global trends. The debate was no longer about Owen's origins, but about which narrative best fit his success:
Rich?
Privileged?
Lost his privileges after getting expelled and redeemed himself by selling his car to finance his own movie?
A mix of everything?
It was in the middle of all that when Owen tweeted from his personal, now verified, account:
@owenashford:
If anyone sees my BMW, I want it back. I miss it. We can negotiate.
...
The tweet exploded with over 400,000 likes, more than fifty thousand retweets, and thousands of replies.
@luclight:
Confirmed, he sold it. The lore continues.
@gambinojul:
bro dropped a bomb and dipped.
@jetsu9882:
your car literally funded the most profitable film in history. it fulfilled its destiny.
@NoahCarver97:
Bro, if you want, I can swing by anytime. The BMW is in good hands 😂
…
Owen didn't reply anymore, nor did he add any new tweets. But with that, he had already confirmed that he'd sold the BMW to use the money for his film.
Now the debate shifted once again, this time toward a different question: had it been an act of necessity, independence, or simply a practical decision by a guy determined to make a movie no matter what?
"Hey."
The voice cut through the air gently, but Chelsea didn't react. She kept staring at her phone screen, completely motionless.
"Hey, Chelsea!"
She finally blinked and looked up. She was sitting at one of the outdoor tables on the USC campus, her lunch tray almost untouched in front of her. Beside her, her friend Jasmín was watching her with raised eyebrows.
"Yes?"
-------------------------------------------------
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