‘Backrooms’ Scares Up $38 Million on Friday, Shattering Record for A24’s Best Opening Weekend

BACKROOMS, Chiwetel Ejiofor, 2026. © A24 / courtesy Everett Collection — Courtesy Everett Collection

Kane Parsons’ Backrooms has shattered the record for A24’s best opening weekend.

Adapted from Parsons’ viral YouTube series, “Backrooms” earned $38 million domestic on Friday from 3,442 theaters, and is projected to gross $85 million to $90 million through the weekend. That’s more than triple the previous record holder, Alex Garland’s thriller “Civil War,” which earned $25.5 million in 2024 to claim the title of A24’s best debut.

Backrooms follows a small-town furniture store owner who discovers a portal to an otherworldly dimension in his showroom. Cast members include Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass. James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins serve as producers. Chernin Entertainment was the co-studio and co-financier of “Backrooms.”

A24 Record With $80M-Opening, Focus’ ‘Obsession’ Making Box Office History in Third Weekend

YouTube filmmakers are ascendant, with ‘Obsession’ topping the second weekend of ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ and becoming the first film in more than 40 years to increase in both its second and third weekends, outside of Christmas.

Renate Reinsve in Backrooms — Renate Reinsve in ‘Backrooms.’ A24

Rival studios even think the film, co-financed and produced by Chernin Entertainment, could go as high as $90 million.

It will easily take the No. 1 spot, after landing with around $38 million on Friday, including Thursday previews. It focuses on a failed architect (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who stumbles across an endless series of rooms in the furniture store he manages. Around 86 percent of the audience is younger than 35 and more than half are under 25.

The rise of Parsons, 20, comes 2 weeks after fellow YouTuber Curry Barker became the hottest 20-something filmmaker in Hollywood due to his surprise hit Obsession.

The $750,000 feature, now in third week, is making history as the first film since 1982 to increase in both its second and third weekends.

It is expected to be up 19 percent from last weekend, with an estimated $28.5 million. That’s after defying box office gravity last weekend, earning an unheard of 39 percent more in its second outing than its first. It is projected to end the weekend with $106.8 million domestically to become Focus’ top grossing movie of all time in North America.

Barker has been getting attention from Hollywood for his next original feature, even as he works on the edit of his already-shot movie, Anything But Ghosts and considers a reboot of Texas Chainsaw Massacre for A24.

It all feels like passing of the guard moment, with Parsons’ and Barker’s movies overshadowing the old establishment franchise, Star Wars.

The new Star Wars is looking to bring in around $24 million in its second weekend, a drop of around 70 percent for a third place finish. It has already grossed $171 million globally, off a relatively trim (for Star Wars standards) net budget of $165 million.

Disney insiders have maintained that the pinwheel effect the movie has on merch, parks and Disney+ is part of its calculus for the movie beyond box office.

Comic Nate Bargatze’s first-ever movie, The Breadwinner, is aiming for fifth place finish behind Michael with $7.5 million for the weekend. He stars opposite Mandy Moore as a hapless husband charged with running their household and caring for their children while his wife is away. It failed with critics, landing 32 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences have been kinder, granting it 87 percent and A- cinemascore.

And Focus’ World War II drama Pressure, starring Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott, is aiming for $5.4 million for 7th place behind phenomenal holdover, Devil Wears Prada 2.

TriStar Pictures’ The Breadwinner follows Bargatze as dad who is forced to take charge of his chaotic household when his wife leaves on a month long buiness trip. Other cast members include Mandy Moore, Stella Grace Fitzgerald, Birdie Borria, Charlotte Ann Tucker, Colin Jost and Zach Cherry.

Friday: Opening Day

The Breadwinner fared the best of the two, grossing $2.75 million on Friday from 3,525 North American theaters for a fifth-place finish. By Sunday, it should make $7.5 million.

Pressure landed at No. 6 on Friday with $2.46 million domestic from 1,829 screens. It’s expected to pull in $5.4 million by the end of the weekend. The WWII thriller stars Brendan Fraser as Eisenhower, who must decide whether or not to launch D-Day in the face of brutal conditions. Other cast members include Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis.

Curry Barker’s Obsession made $8.1 million on its third Friday in theaters. After stellar $28 million over Memorial Day, the indie horror should make another $28 million by Sunday. That’s 19% uptick from the $22 million it earned over last weekend’s three-day frame.

“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” took third with just $6.5 million on its second Friday in cinemas, an 70% drop from its opening day. While initial projections saw the Lucasfilm western grossing $40 million by Sunday, that number now looks closer to $25 million. That figure would push the film’s domestic total to $136 million through two weekends.

Lionsgate’s Michael finished in fourth, adding $3.5 on Friday. It should collect $12.7 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic earnings to $340 million in 6 weekends.

Backrooms: Horror Shattering Record for A24’s Best Opening Weekend

‘Backrooms’ Scares Up $38 Million on Friday, Shattering Record for A24’s Best Opening Weekend

A24 Record With $80M-Opening, Focus’ ‘Obsession’ Making Box Office History in Third Weekend

PROFESSOR / CRITIC / AUTHOR