“Backrooms ”earns thrilling $118 million at the box office, shattering records for horror, A24, and its director

Ryan ColemanSun, May 31, 2026 at 10:14 PM UTC

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Renate Reinsve in 'Backrooms'
Credit: Courtesy of A24Key Points -

A24's claustrophobic new horror Backrooms raced to No. 1 at the box office this weekend with a startling $118 million global gross.

Directed by 20-year-old YouTube prodigy Kane Parsons, the film, derived from unsettling internet lore, has become A24's biggest-ever box office premiere.

That massive opening weekend take also makes Parsons the youngest-ever director to secure a box office No. 1.

Step aside, Obsession. It's over for you, Scream 7. Send Help? None needed here. There's a new king of horror at the 2026 box office.

Backrooms, the claustrophobic new chiller from A24, directed by wunderkind YouTuber Kane Parsons, earned an astonishing $81.4 million domestically and $118 million globally at the box office this weekend, per Comscore.

It's been a phenomenal run for the genre at the movies this year already, with Sam Raimi's survival thriller Send Help topping the box office two weeks running in January, Scream 7 slashing its way to a $63 million premiere in March, and fellow YouTuber Curry Barker creating a massive sleeper hit this month with the two-hander Obsession.

But Backrooms stands alone, as the biggest horror premiere of 2026 thus far. And that's just one of the handful records it broke this weekend.

'The Mandalorian and Grogu' stars Pedro Pascal
Credit: Francois Duhamel/Lucasfilm Ltd

A24, once the minor, indie film distributor that could, has now fully cultivated its niche, expanded the production and financing arms of its operation, and is locked and loaded on box office success. Last year's Marty Supreme won the film company the highest returns it'd seen in its 13-year history, topping out at $96 million after its domestic run.

Backrooms has already vaulted over Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once, Adam Sandler stunner Uncut Gems, and modern horror classic Hereditary to second place on the film company's ranking of best grosses. But at $81.4 million, its already earned the title of the company's best premiere.

Parsons, who developed lore originated in the dusty corners of internet message boards like 4chan and Reddit into the 2022 webseries "Backrooms," has now become the youngest-ever director of a box office topper. The previous title holder was Josh Trank, who, at 27, opened the oddball horror-thriller Chronicle to $22 million in 2011.

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Elsewhere on the box office charts this weekend, last weekend's big winner, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, clung on to No. 2 globally with a $52.8 million take, but slipped to No. 3 at home with $25 million.

Edging it out was Obsession, which in week 3 is proving to have remarkably strong legs with a $26.4 million take domestically and $40.2 million take globally. The Focus Features horror film from director Curry Barker now stands at $104.7 million at home and $148 million around the world — an achievement that cannot be understated, given its reported budget of $1 million or less. Co-producer Blumhouse has well and redeemed itself after a string of disappointments, including Lee Cronin's The Mummy, M3GAN 2.0, and The Woman in the Yard.

Next weekend, it's horror v. horror v. horror at the box office again. Well, kind of.

Scary Movie, the sixth installment of the beloved horror parody franchise, is returning after 13 years. That's 20 since Anna Faris and Regina Hall were involved, and 25 since Marlon and Shawn Wayans last joined them.

The film is expected to do big business, but another new release may split the audience, ceding way for another Backrooms victory. Mattel is going for the gold again with a live-action adaptation of Masters of the Universe, this time assembling an all-star cast including Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Jared Leto, Alison Brie, Kristen Wiig, and Idris Elba.

on Entertainment Weekly

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