YouTube Creators Drive Massive Box Office Success: ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’

This weekend saw an impressive turnout in movie theaters, with audiences flocking to watch a small budget horror film. The focus was not on the big-budget “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which experienced a decline, but rather on ‘Backrooms’, a film from 20-year-old debut director Kane Parsons. Released by A24 in 3,442 locations in the U.S. and Canada, ‘Backrooms’ made an impressive $81.5 million over its first three days, close to the debut earnings of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ last weekend.

Directed and co-written by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, ‘Backrooms’ was produced on a budget of only $10 million. This significant achievement did not impact another successful film from a YouTube creator, ‘Obsession’, directed by Curry Barker. ‘Obsession’, costing less than $1 million, has maintained strong earnings, rising by 10% this weekend and adding $26.4 million for a second-place finish. ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ came in third with $25 million.

This weekend also saw the debut of ‘The Breadwinner’, a family comedy starring Nate Bargatze, and ‘Pressure’, a World War II drama featuring Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser. However, the standout performers were the films from young YouTube creators, both produced by Blumhouse and Atomic Monster. Luis Olloqui, CEO of Cinépolis USA, observed sellouts for both films and noted the cross-generational appeal.

‘Backrooms’ originated as a creepy internet legend before Parsons adapted the idea into a viral web series using Blender software. This caught the interest of James Wan and Shawn Levy’s production companies, leading to a film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. The movie achieved domestic and international success, accumulating $118 million globally. According to A24, Parsons is now the youngest director with a No. 1 global film, setting a studio record.

The film attracted a young, diverse audience, with exit polls indicating 86% were under 35, 50% under 25, and 44% under 21. Despite receiving a B- rating from CinemaScore, ‘Backrooms’ generated widespread interest and multiple viewings across ages. Some theaters enforced age restrictions, ensuring those under 21 were accompanied by adults.

‘Obsession’ remains Focus Features’ top domestic release with $104.7 million, while ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ dropped 69% since last weekend, with a global total of $246.6 million. ‘Michael’ secured fourth place with $11.7 million after six weeks, amassing $339.9 million domestically.

Paul Dergarabedian from Comscore remarked, “Everyone’s asking what’s the next big thing in Hollywood for movies, and what can bring people back to the movie theater? And this may be it. What’s happening right now is a shift, not only in how movies are being produced and delivered to theaters by YouTube creators but it’s totally changing what we think about the summer movie season.”

According to Comscore, top box office performers from Friday to Sunday include:

• 1. ‘Backrooms’, $81.5 million.
• 2. ‘Obsession’, $26.4 million.
• 3. ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’, $25 million.
• 4. ‘Michael’, $11.7 million.
• 5. ‘The Breadwinner’, $7.5 million.
• 6. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, $5.9 million.
• 7. ‘Pressure’, $5.8 million.
• 8. ‘The Sheep Detectives’, $4.6 million.
• 9. ‘Passenger’, $2.6 million.
• 10. ‘Mortal Kombat II’, $2 million.