YouTube alumni drive box office surge with horror hits Backrooms and Obsession
Backrooms delivers a record-breaking opening for the indie studio, while Obsession achieves a rare box office growth trajectory, underscoring the commercial viability of long-standing online audiences.
The domestic box office was dominated this weekend by two horror films directed by former YouTubers, marking a significant shift in the commercial landscape for digital creators transitioning to mainstream cinema. Taking the number one spot was Backrooms, a feature film expansion of Kane Parsons’ YouTube series based on a mysterious, physics-defying office space originally popularised on 4chan. Directed by Parsons, the film earned $38 million on its opening Friday, with projections estimating a domestic total between $80 million and $90 million.
This performance establishes the biggest opening weekend in the history of indie studio A24, significantly surpassing the previous record held by Civil War, which grossed $25.7 million in its first weekend. The success highlights the studio’s ability to capitalise on established digital IP, with Parsons’ work drawing directly from his existing online following and the broader internet lore surrounding the Backrooms concept.
In second place, Obsession, directed by Curry Barker, delivered a performance that defies standard industry trends. The film, described as a romantic wish gone nightmarishly wrong, earned $8 million on Friday with an estimated weekend haul of $28.5 million. Notably, Obsession has increased its box office revenue in both its second and third weekends of release, a feat that makes it the first film since 1982 to achieve such growth outside of holiday periods.
While wide-release films typically see a 50 to 70 percent drop in their second weekend, Obsession’s trajectory suggests strong word-of-mouth momentum. Industry data indicates that last year’s Sinners was considered an extraordinary success for falling less than 5 percent in its second weekend, making Obsession’s continued growth statistically anomalous. Barker, who released the hourlong found footage horror film Milk and Serial on YouTube in 2024, has already shot his next project and is set to direct a new remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The weekend’s results follow the earlier domestic gross of nearly $41 million for Iron Lung, a video game adaptation directed by Mark Fischbach, known online as Markiplier. Industry experts, including Rutgers Cinema general manager Mark DelVecchio, attribute the success of Parsons, Barker, and Fischbach to their longevity and ability to cultivate loyal audiences over time. DelVecchio noted that while many YouTubers have attempted to transition to mainstream movies without success, these directors have maintained consistent content creation, allowing them to leverage dedicated fanbases for theatrical releases.
