{"id":57020,"date":"2026-06-01T02:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=57020"},"modified":"2026-06-01T02:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:29:03","slug":"backrooms-and-obsession-secure-big-box-office-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=57020","title":{"rendered":"Backrooms and Obsession Secure Big Box Office Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Backrooms<\/u> and Obsession<\/u> are ushering in a new appreciation for low-budget horror movies after both YouTuber-directed projects managed to lead the box office race with strong numbers this weekend.<\/p>\n

A24’s Backrooms secured the top spot with an estimated weekend domestic gross of $81.45 million across 3,442 locations and $118 million worldwide. It’s a sign that its creepy pasta-come-to-life concept and strong reviews from critics helped lead audiences to theaters as the summer movie season kicks off.<\/p>\n

Backrooms also happens to have been directed by first-time filmmaker and YouTuber Kane Parsons a.k.a. Kane Pixels<\/u>. The film’s opening weekend performance at the box office would be considered a success for anyone, but its position as a debut feature from a 20-year-old director with a reported<\/u> $10 million budget only makes its number one spot more impressive.<\/p>\n

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While A24 celebrates Backrooms taking it to its biggest opening weekend of all time, Focus Features’ Obsession is running victory laps by claiming the number two spot after a third weekend in theaters following its wide May 15 release. The monkey’s paw horror movie, which was directed by 26-year-old YouTuber and comedian Curry Barker on a famously low $750,000 budget<\/u>, had a monumental $26.4 million domestic pull through the weekend.<\/p>\n

That’s a 10% increase from last weekend alone and puts its domestic total at $104.75 million. Obsession also saw a 21% increase internationally with $40.2 million, placing its global total at $148 million. Barker’s breakout hit \u2013 which attracted moviegoers with strong word-of-mouth thanks in part to a critically acclaimed performance from Inde Navarrette as Nikki \u2013 now stands as the first film to increase through its second and third weekends since Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.<\/p>\n

Audiences are making time to go to the movies, both on the weekends and even during the week, to see low-budget horror movies from relatively unknown directors. IGN felt both movies were worth checking out, too, with both Backrooms<\/u> and Obsession<\/u> earning 8\/10 reviews from our reviewers. For the latter, we said it “should and will put Barker on the map as a horror filmmaker,” while we called the former a “terrifying and thrilling big-screen debut for the liminal horror classic.”<\/p>\n

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With Backrooms in first and Obsession in second, third place for the box office’s final weekend in May 2026 fell to Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian and Grogu, while Michael and The Breadwinner rounded out the top five. For more, you can read our explanation of the Backrooms<\/u>, and you can see what some of the film’s cast had to say about those ghost director rumors<\/u>. You can also check out our thoughts on Markiplier’s recent feature film, Iron Lung.<\/p>\n

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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