This weekend proved to be a remarkable one for movie theaters, as two low-budget horror films drew massive crowds and delivered some of the year’s biggest box office surprises. Leading the charge was A24’s Backrooms, which debuted with an impressive $81 million across 3,442 North American theaters. Meanwhile, Focus Features’ Obsession continued its extraordinary run, earning $26.4 million in its third weekend and surpassing the $100 million mark domestically.
What makes the success of both films even more remarkable is that they were directed by YouTube creators and produced on extremely modest budgets, challenging traditional Hollywood assumptions about what it takes to create a blockbuster.
“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.”
Original Horror Outscores Franchise Films
The strong performance of Backrooms and Obsession comes at a time when summer box office charts are typically dominated by established franchises. Instead, Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu suffered a steep 70% decline in its second weekend, earning $25 million and slipping to third place behind the two horror films.
The disappointing drop has sparked questions about whether the Star Wars franchise is struggling to attract younger audiences beyond its longtime fan base.
Backrooms Breaks Records in Its Debut
Directed by 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons, Backrooms has quickly become one of the year’s biggest success stories. The psychological thriller has already grossed $118 million worldwide, significantly outperforming early projections that estimated a domestic opening between $40 million and $50 million.
Produced for approximately $10 million, the film is already among the most profitable releases of 2026. Parsons has even hinted at expanding the project into a larger franchise.
The film also shattered several industry records. It delivered the biggest opening weekend in A24’s history, surpassing Civil War, which previously held the record with a $25.5 million debut. It also became the largest opening ever for an original horror film and the strongest debut for a first-time filmmaker working outside an existing franchise.
Parsons now holds the distinction of being the youngest director ever to have the number one film at the box office, surpassing Josh Trank, who was 27 when Chronicle topped the charts in 2012.
A YouTube Series Turned Box Office Phenomenon
Based on Parsons’ popular web series, Backrooms follows a furniture store owner, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who discovers a mysterious doorway leading to an endless maze of empty rooms. When he disappears, his therapist, portrayed by Renate Reinsve, ventures into the unknown to find him.
The film’s audience skewed heavily young, with nearly 85% of ticket buyers under the age of 35 and more than half aged 25 or younger.
YouTube Creators Continue Their Hollywood Rise
Parsons is part of a growing group of YouTube creators successfully transitioning to feature filmmaking. Earlier this year, creator Mark Fischbach directed, financed and distributed the horror film Iron Lung, which reportedly earned $50 million worldwide against a $3 million budget.
“Whether or not this is ushering in a new era or a paradigm shift for the business remains to be seen, but this YouTube creator-to-big screen pathway should be viewed as complementary,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. “It’s a production pipeline that has not existed until now.”
Obsession Continues Defying Expectations
While many expected Backrooms and Obsession to compete for the same audience, the opposite has happened. Obsession actually grew 10% from the previous weekend, which itself had already increased 39% over its debut frame.
The film has now earned $106 million domestically and $148 million worldwide despite costing just $1 million to make. It has also become Focus Features’ highest-grossing domestic release, surpassing Downton Abbey.
Producer Jason Blum celebrated the achievement on social media, writing: “Blumhouse-Atomic Monster has the No. 1 and No. 2 movies in the country this weekend, both made for almost no money. Theaters are packed. What a time to be making scary movies.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu Struggles in Second Weekend
While the horror genre thrived, The Mandalorian and Grogu continued to face challenges. The film has earned $137.4 million domestically and $246.6 million globally so far, but its sharp second-weekend decline suggests audience interest may not be as strong as Disney had hoped.
For Disney, however, the theatrical release still provides an additional revenue stream before the film eventually arrives on Disney+, alongside merchandise sales driven by the popularity of Grogu.
“Weekend two had to be big, but ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ just crashed and burned,” says Bock. “That’s more of a reception of this film than the larger ‘Star Wars’ universe.”
Other New Releases Fail to Gain Momentum
The weekend’s attention remained firmly on the horror hits, leaving several new releases struggling to make an impact.
Sony’s family comedy The Breadwinner opened with $7.5 million from 2,352 theaters, finishing behind Lionsgate’s successful musical biopic Michael. The comedy stars comedian Nate Bargatze as a stay-at-home father after his wife lands a deal on Shark Tank.
“The movie is over-performing in the middle states of the country,” says box office analyst David A. Gross. However, he notes, “these [comedies] generally do not travel overseas.”
Meanwhile, Focus Features’ World War II drama Pressure opened with a modest $5.4 million. The film stars Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower during the tense days leading up to D-Day.
Michael Continues Strong Run
One of the year’s most consistent performers remains Michael, the biopic chronicling the life of Michael Jackson. In its sixth weekend, the film added $11.7 million, pushing its domestic total to $339.9 million and its worldwide earnings to an impressive $851.3 million.
The film is now on track to surpass Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing musical biopic in history.
Summer Box Office Faces Crucial Weeks Ahead
The strong showing from Backrooms and Obsession has energized theaters heading into a packed summer release schedule. Upcoming films include Scary Movie, Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Minions and Monsters, Moana, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Industry observers believe the next four months could become one of the strongest summer periods since the pandemic.
“Moviegoing is hot. ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ are electrifying the market, and it’s sensational,” says Gross. “But the industry also needs the big summer productions and franchises to deliver.”
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
