“Backrooms” is poised for breakout status at the box office. A24’s eerie horror film, from YouTube creator-turned-director Kane Parsons, should earn $40 million to $50 million in its opening weekend.
It’s a massive result, one that would shatter the record for A24’s biggest debut to date, a benchmark that belongs to Alex Garland’s 2024 thriller “Civil War” with $25.5 million. Many major releases from A24, including “Marty Supreme,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Heredity,” opened in just a few theaters to build buzz before launching nationwide. “Backrooms” is eschewing a platform release and will instead debut in 3,400 North American venues. With a production budget of around $10 million, “Backrooms” will reap major financial reward for Parsons, A24 and co-producer and co-financier Chernin Entertainment.
Parsons, 20, is the latest YouTuber who has turned his talents to the big screen. “Backrooms” follows the success of “Obsession,” a horror breakout from creator Curry Barker. That film has generated a remarkable $62 million in North America and $84.6 million worldwide after just two weekends of release. “Obsession” was produced for less than $1 million and then acquired by Focus for $15 million; it will easily become one of the year’s most profitable releases. Earlier this year, YouTuber Markiplier (whose real name is Mark Fischback) directed, self-financed and distributed the horror film “Iron Lung,” which earned a stellar $50 million against a $3 million budget.
Based on Parsons’ hit web series, “Backrooms” follows a therapist’s patient, who shares his discovery of a dimension beyond reality. When the patient (Chiwetel Ejiofor) disappears, his therapist (Renate Reinsve) ventures into the unknown to rescue him.
Two other films, Sony’s PG family comedy “The Breadwinner” and the Focus Features war drama “Pressure,” will open in wide release. Those newcomers are expected to land behind several holdovers, including “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Obsession” and Lionsgate’s biopic “Michael,” on North American charts.
“The Breadwinner” is aiming for $8 million from 3,000 theaters. Nate Bargatze, one of the world’s top-touring comedians, stars in “The Breadwinner” as a husband who agrees to become a stay-at-home dad when his wife lands a deal on “Shark Tank.” Sony produced the film for $25 million.
“Pressure” is hoping to serve as counter-programming against the family-oriented tentpoles and horror hits. The film expects to collect $6 million from 1,825 venues. Brendan Fraser portrays Dwight D. Eisenhower in “Pressure,” which takes place in the tense 72 hours leading up to D-Day.
Meanwhile, Hollywood will be closely watching the second weekend of Disney’s “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian.” The film is targeting $40 million in its sophomore outing, a standard 50% decline from its debut. Over Memorial Day weekend, the tentpole had launched to $102 million over the holiday stretch (including $81 million over the traditional three-day frame) as well as $163 million globally. Although initial ticket sales were notable, they didn’t quite confirm that the Force has returned to “Star Wars” after a seven-year absence from the big screen. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” needs staying power to prove it’s not just appealing to core fans of the franchise.
Despite competition from “Backrooms,” box office watchers expect “Obsession” to have another huge showing in its third weekend of release. It could bring in anywhere from $15 million to $20 million between Friday and Sunday, a scary-good hold from the prior weekend.
