Topline
The psychological thriller “Backrooms” grossed $81 million to top the domestic box office during its opening weekend, according to multiple reports, a record for the A24 studio, which claimed the flick made its 20-year-old director the youngest to have a top-selling film.
Key Facts
“Backrooms,” a film based on a popular YouTube series, collected $81 million from North American theaters and $36 million elsewhere as of Sunday, the highest-grossing opening weekend for an A24-distributed film, Deadline reported (the studio’s “Civil War” grossed $25.5 million in 2024).
A24 claimed the opening weekend made director Kane Parsons the youngest to top the box office charts, far surpassing the then-27-year-old Josh Trank for “Chronicle” in 2011 ($27 million), according to Deadline.
“Obsession” grossed $26.4 million at the domestic box office in its third weekend, totaling $148 million worldwide across its run, and “Star Wars: Mandalorian and Grogu” collected $53 million worldwide for a running total of $246.6 million as domestic sales dropped 69% to $25 million this weekend.
The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” brought in $12.6 million this weekend at the domestic box office, bringing its worldwide total to $845 million, as it is projected to soon outpace “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($911 million) as the highest-grossing music biopic ever, Variety reported.
Surprising Fact
The $118 million global opening weekend for “Backrooms” is nearly 12 times its production budget, which came in at just under $10 million. “Obsession” similarly outperformed its budget, drawing in almost 80 times its reported costs of around $750,000 to $1 million, with an $82 million debut last week.
Key Background
Box office success for “Backrooms” follows Parsons uploading his short film, “The Backrooms (Found Footage)” on YouTube in 2022. The story, which drew from an internet meme across Reddit and 4chan, amassed tens of millions of views in weeks and the series has since accumulated more than 220 million views as of Sunday. Parsons told Vanity Fair he was approached by studios almost immediately after uploading his films, and the then-16-year-old said he pitched to A24 the same week his college applications were due. He signed with A24 at 19, making Parsons the studio’s youngest-ever director.
