Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn鈥檛 for the big budget , 鈥� which fell sharply in , however, but for a small budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.
released by A24 in 3,442 locations in the U.S. and Canada, made an astonishing $81.5 million in its first three days in theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That鈥檚 just a few hundred thousand dollars shy of what 鈥淭he Mandalorian and Grogu鈥� earned in its first three days last weekend; And 鈥淏补肠办谤辞辞尘蝉,鈥� which was directed and co-written by , cost only $10 million to produce.
The wild success of 鈥淏ackrooms鈥� didn鈥檛 even hurt 鈥淥bsession,鈥� which is also the directorial debut of a YouTuber, Curry Barker, who is only 26. Three weekends in, 鈥淥bsession,鈥� a movie that cost less than $1 million to make, still hasn鈥檛 dropped below its opening weekend earnings. This weekend, it was up 10% with another $26.4 million for a second-place finish, leaving Star Wars, the legacy franchise movie from the veteran filmmaker and the Walt Disney Studios, in third with $25 million.
YouTube might not be the death of movie theaters after all. If this weekend is any indication, it could be the industry鈥檚 new great hope.
This is a weekend where theaters also hosted the debuts of a family comedy starring the popular comedian Nate Bargatze, and a solid World War II drama about the tense 72 hours before D-Day with . But it was the 20-something YouTubers that drew the most crowds. And both 鈥淏ackrooms鈥� and 鈥淥bsession鈥� were produced by Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.
Luis Olloqui, the CEO of Cin茅polis USA, which operates 26 theaters across the country 鈥� most of which are dine-in 鈥� said they鈥檝e seen sellouts at many of their locations for both movies.
鈥淲e were a little worried that they would be competing for the same audience. It鈥檚 not the case,鈥� Olloqui said. 鈥淚t shows that when we have the right content, people from all ages are willing to go to the theater.鈥�
鈥淏ackrooms鈥� started as a creepypasta 鈥� an internet-generated urban legend 鈥� before Parsons turned the concept, about a never-ending expanse of dull, depressing rooms and hallways, into a viral web series, which he made with the help of the open-source 3D graphics software Blender. It caught the attention of James Wan and Shawn Levy鈥檚 production companies who were interested in taking it to the next level; Soon a movie was in development with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve starring.
It wasn鈥檛 just a domestic hit either; Including international showings, 鈥淏ackrooms鈥� has already made $118 million globally. A24 said Parsons is now the youngest director to have a No. 1 film globally. It鈥檚 also a record opening for the studio, whose previous high-water mark was 鈥淐ivil War,鈥� which opened to $25.5 million in 2024.
The R-rated film was well-reviewed by critics and drew a young and diverse crowd to theaters. According to exit polls, 86% of the audience was under 35, more than half were under 25 and 44% were under 21. Many attended in groups and there were reports of sold-out shows, packed theaters and repeat viewings. Audiences gave it a less-than-stellar B- CinemaScore, however.
But the buzz is still creating a frenzy of all ages, even teenagers, wanting to see 鈥淏ackrooms.鈥� Some theaters have even posted employees outside of the screens to make sure that anyone under 21 is accompanied by an adult.
鈥淥bsession,” which has now made $104.7 million in North America, is now Focus Features’ highest grossing domestic release. 鈥淭he Mandalorian and Grogu,鈥� meanwhile, fell around 69% from its opening last weekend. The movie has now made $246.6 million globally.
鈥淢ichael鈥� landed in fourth place with $11.7 million in its sixth weekend 鈥� the musical biopic has made $339.9 million domestically to date. 鈥淭he Breadwinner,鈥� released by Sony, rounded out the top five with an estimated $7.5 million. 鈥漃ressure” opened in seventh place with $5.8 million.
Outside of the top 10 was the which expanded to 452 theaters in its second weekend, earning a solid $1.7 million.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 asking what鈥檚 the next big thing in Hollywood for movies, and what can bring people back to the movie theater? And this may be it,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Comscore. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening right now is a shift, not only in how movies are being produced and delivered to theaters by YouTube creators, but it鈥檚 totally changing what we think about the summer movie season.鈥�
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淏补肠办谤辞辞尘蝉,鈥� $81.5 million.
2. 鈥淥bsession,鈥� $26.4 million.
3. 鈥淪tar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,鈥� $25 million.
4. 鈥淢ichael,鈥� $11.7 million.
5. 鈥淭he Breadwinner,鈥� $7.5 million.
6. 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada 2,鈥� $5.9 million.
7. 鈥淧谤别蝉蝉耻谤别,鈥� $5.8 million.
8. 鈥淭he Sheep Detectives,鈥� $4.6 million.
9. 鈥淧assenger,鈥� $2.6 million.
10. 鈥淢ortal Kombat II,鈥� $2 million.
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