The Force met something far scarier than a Sith Lord this weekend: independent horror. In one of the most unexpected box office shakeups in recent memory, A24’s viral horror phenomenon Backrooms stormed into theaters with an impressive $81.5 million domestic debut, knocking Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu out of the top spot after just one weekend.
Meanwhile, Focus Features’ Obsession continued its remarkable theatrical run, earning $26.4 million in its third weekend and finishing ahead of the Star Wars sequel, which slipped to third place with $25 million.
Combined, Backrooms and Obsession generated nearly $108 million over the weekend, helping push overall box office revenue to $179 million and giving the industry a much-needed boost following a sluggish Memorial Day frame.
The bigger story, however, may be where these hits came from.
Both films were directed by young creators who built massive audiences online long before they stepped behind a Hollywood camera. Backrooms was helmed by 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons, better known online as Kane Pixels, whose original Backrooms YouTube series became a viral sensation viewed tens of millions of times. The feature adaptation capitalized on that existing fanbase and delivered one of the strongest horror openings in recent memory.
Obsession followed a similar path. Made for just $1 million, the film was directed by former YouTube creator Curry Barker and has become one of the year’s biggest success stories. Through just 17 days of release, the film has amassed $104.8 million domestically and $148 million worldwide while earning a stellar 96% critics score and 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film’s momentum has been particularly unusual. After opening to $17.2 million, Obsession grew 39% in its second weekend and another 10% in its third, a virtually unheard-of trajectory in modern theatrical distribution.
The success of both films suggests a changing marketplace where online communities can rival traditional studio marketing campaigns. Rather than relying on expensive television advertising, both releases leaned heavily into social media engagement, creator-driven promotion, fan theories and digital word of mouth. Backrooms, in particular, embraced its internet origins, encouraging fans to participate in the mythology and helping turn viewers into marketers.
The contrast with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu could not be more striking.
Despite opening over the Memorial Day holiday, the Disney blockbuster fell 69% in its second weekend and has grossed $137.6 million domestically after 10 days. Industry observers are increasingly questioning whether years of Star Wars streaming content have diminished the urgency surrounding theatrical releases. The film’s opening weekend was the lowest for a Star Wars movie since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.
For Hollywood, the lesson may be impossible to ignore.
Audiences are still showing up to theaters. They are simply becoming more selective about what qualifies as an event. Increasingly, that event can be a $1 million horror film from a YouTube creator rather than a $165 million franchise installment.
If Backrooms and Obsession are any indication, the next generation of blockbuster filmmakers may already have millions of followers before they ever make their first studio movie. And this weekend, they proved that even the Force isn’t enough to stop them.
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