I sat in a near-empty theater as a wash of sickly yellow filled the screen. You could feel the room tilt inward when Chiwetel Ejiofor stepped into that unnerving corridor. For a few minutes, everyone forgot their phones and leaned forward.
I write this as someone who follows box office as closely as trends on YouTube. You and I both know viral energy when we see it, and Kane Parsons’ Backrooms is still making people stay late at the multiplex.
A packed midnight screening in Paris sold out: Box office that shifted a studio’s headlines
Reports from The Hollywood Reporter say Backrooms has reached $357,000,000 (≈€328,000,000) worldwide. That number sits beside another: Obsession recently crossed $400,000,000 (≈€368,000,000). Both films have reshaped the conversation about horror’s commercial power this year.
Parsons’ expansion of his viral YouTube shorts hit $100,000,000 (≈€92,000,000) in just a week after release, and the film has become A24’s top-earner in markets such as China, France, Russia and the CIS, Poland, and Thailand, per reporting by The Hollywood Reporter. Germany, Taiwan, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands have also shown strong play.
The money matters to A24 for obvious reasons: it refocuses attention from the studio’s recent Google AI controversy and reminds distributors and talent that indie-minded films can still produce mainstream returns.
An overheard conversation in a lobby turned into a trend: Why audiences keep returning
When you hear people whispering about an ending in the elevator, you know the film has found a pulse. I’ve watched viewers trade frame-by-frame breakdowns online, then show up to screenings to test theories in real time.
Parsons’ Backrooms is a pressure cooker of liminal dread — spare, focused, and perfectly timed for social platforms that reward repeat viewing. The film’s origin in YouTube shorts is not trivia: Parsons had millions of built-in fans who amplified word-of-mouth the moment the theatrical cut arrived, and the later Everything Must Go Edition added 15 minutes that kept the conversation moving.
How much has Backrooms made worldwide?
Short answer: about $357,000,000 (≈€328,000,000), according to industry tracking cited by Hollywood Reporter. That places it among A24’s highest-grossing titles globally and helps explain why the film is now a cultural touchpoint rather than a niche experiment.
A friend texting a spoiler at 2 a.m. showed me the next risk: Franchise instincts and studio strategy
Deadline reported that Parsons may expand Backrooms into a feature anthology, and that’s the sort of move studios fret over and sometimes cheer. Anthologies let filmmakers extend a world without a single, franchise-killing sequel.
For A24, a continued run of hits gives bargaining power—more leeway in deals, more leverage when courting talent like Chiwetel Ejiofor, and more room to weather PR storms connected to corporate tech partners such as Google. The film has become a golden goose for the label, shifting the optics away from controversy and toward profit.
Why is Backrooms so popular?
It’s part craft, part network. Parsons knows short-form storytelling and then stretched it into a feature that keeps tension tight. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok act as accelerants: clips, essays, and reaction videos create curiosity loops that drive ticket sales. Add a lead like Ejiofor and the film gets respect from critics and mainstream audiences alike.
A friend at the premiere asked if this is the last time we’ll see those hallways: What comes next
There’s no confirmed slate for Parsons right now, although Curry Barker—whose Obsession coasts on its own momentum—already has a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre project lined up. The industry will watch Parsons’ next steps closely; a sequel, anthology, or even a series adaptation would be logical extensions.
Will there be a Backrooms sequel?
Industry chatter suggests expansion is likely. Deadline’s reporting hinted at an anthology approach, which keeps options open: more filmmakers, more tonal shifts, and more theaters selling out on curiosity alone.
If you’re tracking horror as a market signal or just love a film that haunts your weekend conversations, Backrooms is both a case study and a communal experience. I’ll keep watching the numbers and the feeds—will you be surprised by the next twist?
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