Zack Stentz, co-writer of Thor and X-Men: First Class, initially called the channel's "Honest Trailers" feature "insufferable". After the channel's staff contacted Stentz, he agreed to watch the "Honest Trailer" for Thor with them. He later appeared on the first episode of "Summer Movie Report" and the 83rd episode of Movie Fights.
Created by Andy Signore and Brett Weiner and shepherded by Break Media's Head of Programming Mitch Rotter, Honest Trailers debuted in February 2012 and by June 2014 had become the source of over 300 million views on the Screen Junkies YouTube channel. The series started when the creators saw that Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was being re-released in 3D and decided to make a parody trailer for it, continuing the series as a result of the positive reception the videos received. The series received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series at the 68th and 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.
In 2015, the series Writers Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Erica Russell and Andy Signore were nominated at the 5th Streamy Awards. In 2016 and 2017 the series was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series.
As of December 2016, Screen Junkies has over 5.8 million subscribers and over one billion video views. In 2014 the Screen Junkies YouTube Channel was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at #34.
Activity on both the main channel and the Screen Junkies News channel was then suspended until further notice following the news. The creative team of the channel requested patience from the fans; Screen Junkies News editor-in-chief Roth Cornet assured that the team was "meeting daily to find a good path forward". Signore's image was removed from the thumbnails of several videos on both channels following his termination. Activity on both channels resumed on October 30, 2017, after an update video was posted on the main channel on October 26. Several videos on both channels featuring Signore, including all of the Flick Bait videos, were deleted out of sensitivity.
Movie Fights made a return in 2018 with a new format. The format involves two fighters compared to three and three judges compared to one. However, later that year, the two fighter format was switched back to the three fighter format, though the three judge format remains.
