Backrooms, the new film based on 21-year-old Kane Parsons' viral YouTube series, has delivered a record-breaking opening weekend and emerged as one of the biggest horror hits of 2026.
Huge Opening Weekend Worldwide
Released on May 29, Backrooms opened to an impressive $118 million worldwide in its first weekend. The film earned $81.5 million from North America and another $36.5 million from 39 international markets, making it the biggest opening in the history of independent studio A24.
The film was produced on a reported budget of just $10 million, meaning it has already earned more than 11 times its production cost within a few days of release.
According to worldwide weekend box office reports, Backrooms finished comfortably at the top of the global chart. It outperformed major titles, including Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which collected $52.8 million during the same period, and Obsession, which added $40.2 million globally to reach a cumulative total of $148 million.
Massive Box Office Success For A24
The horror film has surpassed the opening numbers of several recent A24 releases. Its debut was significantly higher than Civil War and Marty Supreme, both of which previously held some of the studio's strongest opening-weekend records of $25.5 million and $ 28.5 million, respectively.
The film also became A24's second-highest-grossing title domestically within a single weekend, moving past Everything Everywhere All at Once.
In addition, Backrooms recorded one of the biggest post-pandemic openings for a horror movie and entered the list of the highest horror openings in North American box office history.
YouTube Project Turned Film
Backrooms began as a viral YouTube horror series created by Kane Parsons during his teenage years. Its popularity grew rapidly online, turning the internet phenomenon into a full-length feature film.
Cast, Release And What's Next
The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Avan Jogia and Lukita Maxwell. Parsons co-wrote the screenplay with Will Soodik, while James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins served as producers.
After opening in 3,442 theatres across North America, the film is continuing its global rollout, with several major territories still to come.
Indian audiences will get to watch Backrooms in cinemas from June 12.
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