The pipeline from YouTube to premium horror is looking very strong this weekend.
The No. 1 spot at the box office went to Backrooms, a feature film adaptation of Kane Parsons’ series of YouTube videos featuring creepy found footage of mysterious, physics-defying office spaces (taken from 4chan threads).
Parsons’ “Backrooms” grossed $38 million on Friday and is expected to gross $80 million to $90 million at the domestic box office this weekend alone. It was indie studio A24’s biggest opening to date, with the previous record held by “Civil War,” which earned $25.7 in its first weekend of release.
The second-place film, “Obsession,” perhaps does something even more impressive. True, it took in just $8 million Friday and an estimated $28.5 million for the weekend — but the movie (about a nightmarish romantic wish gone awry) has already grossed more in its second week than it did in its first week, and is expected to grow another 19 percent in its third weekend.
For context, most wide release films typically drop between 50-70% in their second weekend of release. Last year’s “Sinners” was considered an unusual word-of-mouth success, as sales attrition was less than 5%. With the exception of Christmas releases (which have more staying power because of the holiday), sustained weekend-to-weekend growth is unprecedented. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Obsession is the first movie since 1982 to grow in both its second and third weekends.
And, like “Back Rooms,” “Obsession” is a horror film directed by Currie Barker, a filmmaker who first rose to fame on YouTube and released her hour-long found footage horror film “Milk & Cereal” on YouTube in 2024. Barker is already filming his next film and will be directing a new remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
These two releases follow the surprising success of the video game adaptation Iron Lung released earlier this year. “Iron Lung,” directed by Mark Fischbacher, better known by his YouTube account name Markiplier, grossed nearly $41 million domestically.
In a recent New York Times article about the “YouTube to filmmaker boom,” Mark DelVecchio, general manager of Rutgers Cinema, said, “Many YouTubers have tried and failed to break into mainstream cinema.” What’s the difference between Parsons, Barker and Fischbach? DelVecchio said that despite their young age (Parsons is 20, Barker is 26), they all have “longevity.”
“At this point, some of them have been making videos for a very long time. That way they can develop a loyal audience that follows them,” he added.
By the way, I haven’t seen “Backrooms” yet (I’m looking forward to seeing it tomorrow), but I have seen “Obsession.” Therefore, we can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. I watched most of the second half with my fingers over my eyes, and I may have even screamed a few times.
If you buy through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.
Source link
