A24’s ‘Backrooms’ Continues Box Office Dominance with $10 Million Budget

Horror cinema has an incredible knack for transforming modest budgets into cultural phenomena, and what Kane Parsons and A24 have achieved with ‘Backrooms’ is remarkable, even for industry veterans. This film emerged from an unexpected source, not from a Hollywood writer’s room but from the bedroom of a self-taught creator who crafted a viral universe on YouTube. Upon its theatrical release, it sparked a new discussion about the potential of independent genre filmmaking.

The narrative follows a small-town furniture store owner who stumbles upon a portal to a surreal dimension within his showroom, featuring a cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass.

Adapted from Parsons’ found footage YouTube series, which he began sharing on his channel Kane Pixels in early 2022, the story revolves around a fictional research organization exploring an extradimensional space filled with vast, mostly empty, interconnected indoor complexes. The series gained viral traction, amassing tens of millions of views, eventually attracting the attention of A24.

Now, nearly three weeks into its theatrical run, ‘Backrooms’ shows no signs of slowing down. According to box office tracking data, the film earned $1.7 million on its third Monday, a decrease of just under 49 percent from the same day the previous week, despite losing 161 theaters the prior Friday. Its domestic total has surged to $161.9 million, with analysts predicting a final US run between $175 and $190 million. For a film with a production budget of just $10 million, this means it has already multiplied its budget by over 16 times in North American ticket sales alone.

The film’s opening weekend was a story in itself. A24’s horror film shattered box office expectations, raking in $81 million domestically and $118 million worldwide, marking the largest debut ever for A24 and more than tripling the previous record set by Alex Garland’s thriller ‘Civil War’.

The momentum continued as Parsons’ film crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office in just six days, becoming A24’s highest-grossing release in the US and surpassing ‘Marty Supreme’, the Timothée Chalamet period film that previously held the title with $96 million domestically.

By early June, ‘Backrooms’ had become A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release, generating $212 million globally, including $135 million in North America, surpassing the lifetime earnings of ‘Marty Supreme’ at $191 million worldwide and marking the first time a single film from the studio crossed the $200 million global threshold.

The narrative behind these impressive numbers is just as captivating as the figures themselves. At just 20 years old, Parsons has made a significant mark, with ‘Backrooms’ produced by A24 and Chernin Entertainment alongside Atomic Monster, Blumhouse, and 21 Laps. His success reflects a broader shift in Hollywood, highlighting who gets to create films. The film debuted alongside ‘Obsession’, another horror hit from fellow YouTuber Curry Barker, igniting a genuine industry conversation about creator-driven cinema.

Jason Blum, who produced both films, described this trend in generational terms. Speaking at a PGA panel, Blum told The Hollywood Reporter that there is “almost this feeling of the ’70s, of a new generation of young people making edgy movies that are connecting in theaters in a crazy way.” Producer James Wan echoed this sentiment, attributing Parsons’ creative authenticity as a key factor in the audience’s strong response. “The irony is, because Kane is so young and new, he isn’t cynical or marred by the machination of commercial filmmaking,” Wan said. “He’s not thinking about opening weekend numbers; he’s focused on the authenticity of the film and what his fans expect. And they showed up in droves for him.”

The film’s impressive staying power in the top three of the US box office, consistently outperforming major studio competition weeks into its run, indicates that word of mouth is playing a significant role. Its B-minus CinemaScore, as shown in the shared screenshot, is unusually low for a film performing at this level, yet audiences continue to flock to theaters. This discrepancy between exit poll scores and sustained ticket sales often signifies the kind of polarizing, conversation-generating horror that spreads rapidly.

Parsons has hinted at potential sequels to ‘Backrooms’, suggesting that the dimension of endless fluorescent corridors may have a longer cinematic future ahead. Given the film’s accomplishments on a shoestring budget, it’s clear that A24 will be closely monitoring Parsons’ next steps.

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