‘Backrooms,’ made by a 20-year-old YouTuber, is one of the biggest hits of the year

Someone made an astute comparison and I can’t get it out of my head: what we’re seeing currently with YouTube creators moving into feature-film spaces is a lot like when music-video directors started directing feature films in the 1990s. Directors like David Fincher, Antoine Fuqua, Spike Jonze, Michael Bay and Jonathan Glazer got their start in music videos during MTV’s heyday. That’s what YouTube is now – a laboratory for creative talent, with a built-in understanding of what stories and visuals are compelling for younger audiences. Between Obsession and Backrooms, the future of Hollywood is “giving a few million dollars to a YouTuber to make a movie and watching as they create massively successful original horror franchises.” Backrooms opened this past weekend and it’s already a MASSIVE success.

This weekend was one for the box office history books. Movie theaters across the nation were jamming with Gen Z crowds, who showed up en masse for not one but two buzzy horror films. A24’s “Backrooms” collected a jaw-dropping, record-breaking $81 million from 3,442 North American theaters in its opening weekend. That’s as ticket sales for the Focus Features breakout “Obsession” jumped again in its third frame with $26.4 million from 2,781 cinemas — and crossed the $100 million mark domestically. Both movies were directed by YouTube stars and cost nearly nothing to produce, upending conventional wisdom about the necessary components for a hit.

“This should empower the industry. There’s a new audience, and they’re waiting for this kind of content,” says analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “We knew indie horror was hot, but we didn’t know how hot. It’s actually competing with the big summer blockbusters.”

The original fare ruling is especially striking at the start of summer movie season, a period that’s usually dominated by major franchises. Yet Disney’s “Star Wars” spinoff, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” suffered a catastrophic 70% drop in its second weekend, signaling the property isn’t catering beyond an aging group of core fans. Despite playing on far more screens, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” landed in third place on weekend charts behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.”

Directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, “Backrooms” has earned $118 million globally so far. The psychological thriller has obliterated projections, with early tracking suggesting a $40 million to $50 million domestic debut. With a production budget of roughly $10 million, it’s already one of the most profitable movies of the year. Though a sequel hasn’t been announced, Parsons has already started toying with the idea of turning “Backrooms” into a film franchise.

“Backrooms” also set several box office benchmarks: It delivered the largest opening weekend ever for A24, crushing the record set by Alex Garland’s 2024 thriller “Civil War” with $25.5 million. It also ranked as the biggest debut in history for original horror, as well as the best start for a first-time filmmaker on a non-franchise film. Parsons is the youngest director, by far, to have the No. 1 film at the box office. The benchmark was previously held by Josh Trank, who was 27 when 2012’s “Chronicle” opened in first place with $22 million.

[From Variety]

According to Box Office Mojo, Obsession – directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, is just shy of $150 million for domestic and international box office, and that’s for a film which cost $1 million to make. Backrooms cost $10 million, and A24 probably hoped that it would be a modest hit, not for the film to OPEN with $81 million in one weekend. These dual success stories are going to create a huge rush to finance YouTube creators.

Note by CB: I saw Backrooms this weekend. The theater was packed and everyone was riveted. I could not believe how good and genuinely scary it was. The writing was killer and the performances were Oscar-worthy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, posters courtesy of A24.