“Backrooms,” the feature film expansion of Kane Parsons’ YouTube found-footage series, opened at number one with $38 million on Friday and is projected to earn $80–90 million domestically this weekend, setting A24’s biggest opening ever. The film adapts the eerie office-space concept from a 4chan thread and defies physics, drawing on Parsons’ long-running YouTube audience to drive record indie results.
Record Opening For A24
“Backrooms” shattered A24’s previous opening-weekend record held by “Civil War,” which made $25.7 million. The film’s Friday take of $38 million signals strong demand for horror that originates from online content and leverages a built-in fanbase.
Obsession’s Unusual Growth Curve
“Obsession” attracted $8 million on Friday with an estimated $28.5 million weekend, yet it earned more in its second weekend than its first and is set to grow another 19% in its third. Most wide releases drop 50–70% in week two, and growing across consecutive weekends is rare; “Obsession” appears to be the first film since 1982 to grow on both its second and third weekends.
YouTube Filmmaker Pipeline
“Obsession” was directed by Curry Barker, who released the hourlong found-footage horror “Milk & Serial” on YouTube in 2024 and has already shot his next film and will direct a remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The two releases follow “Iron Lung,” a video game adaptation directed by YouTube creator Markiplier that grossed nearly $41 million domestically earlier this year.
Longevity And Audience Loyalty
Rutgers Cinema general manager Mark DelVecchio said many YouTubers fail to transition to mainstream film, but Parsons, Barker, and Fischbach stand out due to longevity and loyal audiences developed over years. Despite their youth—Parsons is 20 and Barker is 26—their sustained output has created followings that reliably attend their theatrical releases.
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