YouTuber box office boom: ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ draw Gen Z to theaters

This image released by A24 shows Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "Backrooms." (A24 via AP)

Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn’t for the big budget “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu, ” which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.

“Backrooms,” released by A24 in 3,442 locations in the U.S. and Canada, made an astonishing US$81.5 million in its first three days in theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That’s just a few hundred thousand dollars shy of what “The Mandalorian and Grogu” earned in its first three days last weekend; And “Backrooms,” which was directed and co-written by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, cost only $10 million to produce.

The wild success of “Backrooms” didn’t even hurt “Obsession,” which is also the directorial debut of a YouTuber, Curry Barker, who is only 26. Three weekends in, “Obsession,” a movie that cost less than $1 million to make, still hasn’t dropped below its opening weekend earnings. This weekend, it was up 10% with another $26.4 million for a second-place finish, leaving Star Wars, the legacy franchise movie from the veteran filmmaker and the Walt Disney Studios, in third with $25 million.

YouTube might not be the death of movie theaters after all. If this weekend is any indication, it could be the industry’s new great hope.

This is a weekend where theaters also hosted the debuts of “The Breadwinner,” a PG-rated family comedy starring the popular comedian Nate Bargatze, and “Pressure,” a solid World War II drama about the tense 72 hours before D-Day with Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser. But it was the 20-something YouTubers that drew the most crowds. And both “Backrooms” and “Obsession” were produced by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.

Abhijay Prakash, the president of Blumhouse-Atomic Monster said that the weekend is both staggering and validation of their business, which has from the beginning championed original horror movies that appeal to younger audiences, and generated over $10 billion in box office to date.

He noted that they’ve made a point of looking for up and coming talent on YouTube and, knowing how Hollywood works, this weekend likely inspire a wave of copycats. But beyond that, he’s encouraged by the fact that the young creators who’ve already had enormous success online still value the cultural currency of theatrical movies.

“It’s a great sign of relevance for us,” Prakash said. “With some distance, we’ll probably look back at this as a real turning point.”

“Backrooms” started as a creepypasta — an internet-generated urban legend — before Parsons turned the concept, about a never-ending expanse of dull, depressing rooms and hallways, into a viral web series, which he made with the help of the open-source 3D graphics software Blender. It caught the attention of James Wan and Shawn Levy’s production companies who were interested in taking it to the next level; Soon a movie was in development with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve starring.

It wasn’t just a domestic hit either; Including international showings, “Backrooms” has already made $118 million globally. A24 said Parsons is now the youngest director to have a No. 1 film globally. It’s also a record opening for the studio, whose previous high-water mark was “Civil War,” which opened to $25.5 million in 2024.

The R-rated film was well-reviewed by critics and drew a young and diverse crowd to theaters. According to exit polls, 86% of the audience was under 35, more than half were under 25 and 44% were under 21. Many attended in groups and there were reports of sold-out shows, packed theaters and repeat viewings. Audiences gave it a less-than-stellar B- CinemaScore, however.

But the buzz is still creating a frenzy of all ages, even teenagers, wanting to see “Backrooms.” Some theaters have even posted employees outside of the screens to make sure that anyone under 21 is accompanied by an adult. The same is true for the R-rated “Obsession,” which has now made $104.7 million in North America, and is now Focus Features’ highest grossing domestic release.

Luis Olloqui, the CEO of Cinépolis USA, which operates 26 theaters across the country — most of which are dine-in — said they’ve seen sellouts at many of their locations for both movies.

“We were a little worried that they would be competing for the same audience. It’s not the case,” Olloqui said. “It shows that when we have the right content, people from all ages are willing to go to the theater.”

“The Mandalorian and Grogu,” meanwhile, fell around 69% from its opening last weekend. The movie has now made $246.6 million globally.

“Michael” landed in fourth place with $11.7 million in its sixth weekend — the musical biopic has made $339.9 million domestically to date. “The Breadwinner,” released by Sony, rounded out the top five with an estimated $7.5 million. ”Pressure" opened in seventh place with $5.8 million.

Outside of the top 10 was the heist-romance “Tuner,” which expanded to 452 theaters in its second weekend, earning a solid $1.7 million.

“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,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Comscore.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

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.

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press