Backrooms Sets A24 Record With $38 Million Friday, Projected $85 Million-$90 Million Weekend

“Backrooms” has set an A24 record with a $38 million Friday and is eyeing an opening of at least $80 million, as Kane Parsons’ feature expansion of his viral YouTube series races toward a projected $85 million to $90 million through the weekend.

“SATURDAY AM: A24’s Kane Parsons internet-born IP Backrooms continues to defy expectations with first day/previews of $38”

Deadline

Variety says “Backrooms” earned $38 million domestic on Friday from 3,442 theaters and is projected to gross $85 million to $90 million through the weekend, surpassing Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” which earned $25.5 million in 2024.

Deadline

The Hollywood Reporter frames the moment as Parsons’ rise to the top of the box office, noting the film is co-financed and produced by Chernin Entertainment and that it landed with around $38 million on Friday, including Thursday previews.

The same weekend chart has Curry Barker’s “Obsession” taking the silver medal with $8.1 million on its third Friday, after a $28 million over Memorial Day and an expected $28 million by Sunday.

In the background of the weekend’s numbers, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is projected to bring in around $24 million in its second weekend, after already grossing $171 million globally with a net budget of $165 million.

WIRED quotes Kane Parsons saying, “It's been go, go, go,” as the 20-year-old director describes having “zero time to process how far he’s come” after “Backrooms” expanded his atmospheric YouTube web series.

The New York Times reports that “Backrooms” was directed by Kane Parsons and that his videos have generated 342 million views on YouTube, with A24 releasing the film in 3,400 theaters in the United States and Canada on Thursday.

Rolling Stone

The Hollywood Reporter also ties the moment to a passing of the guard, saying Parsons’ ascension comes just two weeks after fellow YouTuber Curry Barker became the hottest 20-something filmmaker in Hollywood thanks to surprise hit “Obsession.”

TechCrunch adds that “Backrooms” made $38 million on Friday and is expected to bring in a total of $80 million to $90 million at the domestic box office over this weekend alone, while “Obsession” is projected to land at $28.5 million.

TechCrunch further notes that “Obsession” is set to grow another 19 percent in its third weekend, and it cites the idea that “Obsession” is the first film outside of Christmas since 1982 to increase in both its second and third weekends.

The weekend’s momentum is being treated as a launchpad for more than just domestic totals, with Deadline projecting “Backrooms” could beat “Mandalorian” for the No. 1 spot at the worldwide weekend B.O. and giving an offshore outlook of an estimated $36M for a global start between $121M-$124M.

“If the internet rumor mill is to be believed, there’s no way that 20-year-old Kane Parsons actually directed his captivating debut feature, “Backrooms”

Salon

Deadline also says CinemaScore is a B- and that Backrooms is playing evenly across the country with the top grossing venue being the AMC Burbank in LA with $93K, while PostTrak exits show 53% in definite recommend and 68% positive.

Variety places the film’s cast and production team in the middle of the business story, listing Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass, and naming James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins as producers.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that “Backrooms” is focused on a failed architect, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who stumbles across an endless series of rooms in the furniture store he manages, and it notes around 86 percent of the audience is younger than 35 and more than half are under 25.

As the box office stakes rise, the same reporting also frames “Obsession” as a continuing counterweight, with The Hollywood Reporter saying it is expected to be up 19 percent from last weekend with an estimated $28.5 million.