“Backrooms” becomes biggest original horror film debut in box office history

A24’s “Backrooms,” the big screen adaptation of a viral YouTube horror series, smashed several box office records with an $81.5 million North American debut, US media reported Sunday.

Directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, who created the “Backrooms” web series as a teenager, the movie’s massive opening weekend haul is the largest ever for an original horror film and more than doubles A24’s previous best domestic opening, according to Variety.

Parsons also becomes the youngest director ever to debut at number one with a feature film, the entertainment trade publication said.

Starring Oscar nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, the movie follows a furniture shop owner (Ejiofor) who discovers a mysterious, labyrinthine complex underneath his store.

When the man goes missing, his therapist (Reinsve) steps inside the liminal space to try and find him.

The online series, which began in 2022, became part of a phenomenon known as “creepypasta” — a short horror story reposted and modified around the web, to which other users added details such as monsters and undiscovered dimensions.

Second place went to another horror film, Focus Features’ “Obsession,” whose strong critic and audience reviews have seen it steadily notch higher earnings in its three weeks out.

Directed by 26-year-old Curry Baker, the film took in another $26.4 million at the domestic box office, Exhibitor Relations reported, and now has a global estimated haul of nearly $150 million on a budget of less than $1 million.

Inde Navarrette has earned particular plaudits for her role as a young woman who becomes dangerously infatuated with a man, played by Michael Johnston, after he makes a magical wish for her affection.

“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Disney’s latest entry in the blockbuster sci-fi franchise, plummeted nearly 70 percent in its second weekend in theaters, taking in $25 million and finishing in third place.

The film is a jump to the big screen for the hit streaming series, and the first Star Wars film to be released in theaters since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.”

Maintaining its place in the top five for a sixth weekend was Lionsgate’s “Michael,” the biopic about king of pop Michael Jackson, which added $11.7 million.

The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring the late popstar’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, has now taken in $340 million at the domestic box office and over $845 million globally, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Fifth place went to Sony’s comedy “The Breadwinner,” which took in $7.5 million in its debut weekend.

Comedian Nate Bergatze — one of the highest-grossing American stand-ups with a deadpan act focusing on family life — stars in the movie as a dad who must take care of the kids while his wife is away on business.