A24 and Chernin Entertainment’s Backrooms is surging toward a blockbuster opening, with studio estimates pointing to a domestic debut of roughly $76 million to $79 million after a strong Friday and $10.4 million in Thursday-night previews. The Kane Parsons-directed horror film, based on digital IP that began as an online concept and expanded into games and a YouTube series, is drawing especially strong interest from younger audiences. Early audience exits showed heavy turnout from moviegoers under 25, and the film is now on track to deliver the biggest opening ever for A24, easily surpassing the company’s previous record set by Civil War. The movie stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass, and follows a therapist searching for a patient who disappears into a strange alternate reality hidden inside a furniture store.
The debut of Backrooms is arriving alongside unexpected momentum for Obsession, Focus Features and Blumhouse/Atomic Monster’s romance-horror title from YouTube creator Curry Barker. Rather than weakening each other, the two genre films are both performing well, with Obsession heading toward more than $100 million in its third weekend. The movie is showing particular strength with audiences in key urban theaters and has posted solid weekday holds, demonstrating broad appeal beyond the typical horror crowd.
Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is still holding a major position at the box office, but its second weekend is expected to fall sharply to around $24 million after a Friday of about $6.5 million. That would represent a steep drop from its opening frame, though the film has already reached a strong cumulative total. The movie continues to benefit from premium formats such as IMAX, but the weekend competition from the two breakout genre titles is pressuring its hold.
Elsewhere, Lionsgate’s Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic, continues to post impressive late-run numbers and is expected to add another $13 million to $16 million in its sixth weekend, pushing its domestic total well past the studio’s previous major franchise entries. Sony’s comedy The Breadwinner, led by Nate Bargatze, is also performing respectably in middle America despite weak critical reception, while Focus Features and StudioCanal’s WWII drama Pressure is aiming for a modest opening with strong reviews from critics.
Taken together, the weekend is shaping up as a notable showcase for fan-driven and creator-originated projects, with Backrooms leading the way and signaling that digitally born properties can still translate into major theatrical business when audience demand is strong.
