“Backrooms” has now taken $400.07 million at the worldwide box office, nearly four months after it opened. That is $197.5 million in the United States and Canada and $202.57 million abroad, on a $10 million budget. It is the biggest film A24 has ever released.
The studio’s previous record holder was “Marty Supreme,” which reached $192 million. “Backrooms” is well past double that.
From YouTube shorts to a feature
Kane Parsons directed. He is around 20 or 21 and built his following on YouTube with found-footage-style shorts about “liminal spaces,” the eerie, endless-room idea that began as internet creepypasta on 4chan. The web series became the basis for his feature debut, and he is now part of a wave of online creators who have crossed over from YouTube into feature filmmaking.
The opening set its own records. “Backrooms” pulled in $81 million domestically and $118 million worldwide in its first weekend, more than triple A24’s earlier debut record of $25.5 million, set by Alex Garland’s “Civil War” in 2024.
A record for age
Parsons was 20 when the film opened at No. 1 in North America, which makes him the youngest filmmaker to do so. The old mark dated from 2012. Josh Trank was 27 when his found-footage film “Chronicle” debuted in the top spot with about $22 million.
