Backrooms Breaks Records: A24's Horror Hit Shatters Box Office Expectations

The 20-year-old director's feature debut earned $81.4 million domestically in its opening weekend, becoming the studio's highest-grossing domestic release in just six days.

Box Office Performance

Record-Breaking Previews

The horror film Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons and co-produced by A24 and Chernin Entertainment, earned $10.4 million in Thursday previews—shattering A24's previous preview record of $2.9 million set by Civil War.

Opening Weekend Dominance

The film earned approximately $38 million on its first Friday from 3,442 theaters. Projections for its opening weekend varied between $81 million and $90 million domestically. Actual domestic earnings were $81.4 million, giving the film a global opening of $118 million against a production budget under $10 million.

Key Milestones

• A24's largest domestic opening weekend in the studio's 14-year history
• Became A24's highest-grossing domestic release within six days, surpassing Marty Supreme ($96 million domestic)
• Crossed $100 million domestically by its sixth day; global total reached over $136 million
• Projected to become A24's highest-grossing global release, surpassing Marty Supreme ($191.3 million) within 10–11 days

Monday and Tuesday Grosses

• Monday: $7.669 million domestically—the highest Monday gross for an R-rated horror film in June, surpassing The Conjuring 2 ($4.3 million on June 13, 2016)
• Tuesday: $8.6–$8.7 million—the second highest Tuesday for a horror film at the June box office after The Omen (2006)

Second Weekend Projections

The film is projected to earn between $32–$37 million in its second weekend, representing a decline of approximately 55% to 68% from its opening weekend.

Film Details

Plot

Backrooms follows Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a small-town furniture store owner and former architect, who discovers a portal to an infinite maze of empty rooms in his store's basement. His therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), later enters the realm to find him. Set in the 1990s, the film prioritizes atmospheric and psychological horror over explicit monsters.

Cast and Crew

• Director: Kane Parsons (20 years old, his feature directorial debut)
• Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Avan Jogia, Lukita Maxwell
• Producers: James Wan, Shawn Levy, Osgood Perkins
• Co-financier: Chernin Entertainment
• Production companies: A24, Atomic Monster-Blumhouse, 21 Laps Entertainment, Odd Fellow Pictures, Phobos

Production

• Budget: Under $10 million
• Sets: Approximately 30,000 square feet across four sound stages, designed to be disorienting; Parsons used Blender software to create 3D blueprints
• Wallpaper tests: Approximately 50 tests conducted to achieve the desired shade of yellow for the liminal corridors
• Marketing: Campaign cost over $10 million in the United States

Background and Origins

Internet Phenomenon

The "Backrooms" concept originated from a 2019 post on 4chan featuring an image of yellowed corridors and text suggesting one could "noclip" out of reality. The image was later traced to a 2003 archived webpage documenting renovations of a Wisconsin furniture store. The concept gained popularity as a "creepypasta" and inspired user-generated fiction, video games, and a television episode.

YouTube Series

Parsons uploaded a nine-minute short film titled The Backrooms (Found Footage) to his YouTube channel (Kane Pixels) in January 2022. The video received over 78 million views. The series of shorts accumulated more than 220 million total views.

Path to Feature Film

A24 optioned the project in 2022, when Parsons was 17. He signed with A24 at age 19, becoming the youngest director in the studio's history. He chose to forgo college to pursue the film.

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Backrooms holds a 78% critic score and a 74% audience score as of early reviews. Critics have offered mixed to positive assessments:

"The film's eeriness has limits and the lack of internal logic becomes apparent." — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter

"A waking nightmare that prioritizes atmosphere over jump scares." — Nick Schager, The Daily Beast, comparing the film to David Lynch's Lost Highway

"The found footage elements are praised, but the film felt too long." — Jeremy Jahns, YouTube critic

"The backstory is more intriguing than the film itself." — Jake Coyle, Associated Press

"One of the most out there, surreal, art-horror features since David Lynch's Eraserhead." — Jamie Graham, Empire

Director Age and Controversy

Online rumors circulated asserting that Parsons did not direct the film. In response, actor Mark Duplass posted on X: "When I was there, Kane was 100% in control. More so than many directors 3x his age." Parsons addressed the rumors with a statement referencing a fictional figure called "The Older Gentleman."

At age 20, Parsons became the youngest filmmaker to achieve a No. 1 opening weekend at the North American box office, surpassing the record previously held by Josh Trank (27, Chronicle, $22 million opening).

Sequel Development

A sequel is in early development. Parsons has expressed interest in expanding the film into an anthology. Sources indicate Parsons is seeking a screenwriting collaborator for the sequel. No cast attachments or green lights have been confirmed. Parsons' contract for further Backrooms projects is with A24.

Other Weekend Releases

• Obsession (Focus Features, directed by Curry Barker): Projected to earn $28 million in its third weekend (19% increase). Domestic total: $111 million—Focus Features' highest-grossing film domestically
• The Mandalorian and Grogu (Disney): Projected to earn $25 million in its second weekend (70% decline). Domestic total: $139 million
• The Breadwinner (Sony): Projected to earn $7.5 million in its opening weekend
• Pressure (StudioCanal/Focus): Projected to earn $5.4 million in its opening weekend
• Michael (Lionsgate): Projected to reach $888 million worldwide, becoming that studio's highest-grossing title

Audience Demographics

According to A24 internal polls:

• Over 50% of the opening weekend audience attended because it is an A24 film
• 30% attended due to director Kane Parsons
• 86% of the audience was under 35, and more than half were under 25

The demographic skews overwhelmingly young, reflecting the film's viral internet origins and its director's Gen Z appeal.