Box Office: ‘Backrooms’ Stuns With $81 Million Debut, ‘Obsession’ Has Another Unprecedented Jump, ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Suffers 70% Drop

This weekend was one for the box office history books.

Movie theaters across the nation were jamming with Gen Z crowds, who showed up en masse for not one but two buzzy horror films. A24’s “Backrooms” collected a jaw-dropping, record-breaking $81 million from 3,442 North American theaters in its opening weekend. That’s as ticket sales for the Focus Features breakout “Obsession” jumped again in its third frame with $26.4 million from 2,781 cinemas — and crossed the $100 million mark domestically. Both movies were directed by YouTube stars and cost nearly nothing to produce, upending conventional wisdom about the necessary components for a hit.

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That original fare is ruling is especially striking at the start of summer movie season, a period that’s usually dominated by major franchises. Yet Disney’s “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian and Grogu” suffered a catastrophic 70% drop in its second weekend, signaling the property isn’t catering beyond an aging group of core fans. It landed in third place on weekend charts behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.”

“Blumhouse-Atomic Monster has the No. 1 and No. 2 movies in the country this weekend, both made for almost no money. Theaters are packed,” Jason Blum, who produced both films through his company Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, wrote on Twitter. “What a time to be making scary movies.”

Directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, “Backrooms” has earned $118 million globally so far. The psychological thriller has obliterated projections, with early tracking suggesting a $40 million to $50 million domestic debut. With a production budget of roughly $10 million, it’s already one of the most profitable movies of the year.

“Backrooms” also set several box office benchmarks: It delivered the largest opening weekend ever for A24, crushing the record set by Alex Garland’s 2024 thriller “Civil War” with $25.5 million. It also ranked as the biggest debut in history for original horror, as well as the best start for a first-time filmmaker on a non-franchise film. Parsons is the youngest director, by far, to have the No. 1 film at the box office. The benchmark was previously held by Josh Trank who was 27 when 2012’s “Chronicle” opened in first place with $22 million.

Based on Parsons’ hit web series, “Backrooms” follows a therapist’s patient, who shares his discovery of a dimension beyond reality. When the patient (Chiwetel Ejiofor) disappears, his therapist (Renate Reinsve) ventures into the unknown to rescue him. Nearly 85% of audiences were under the age of 35, and more than 50% were 25 or younger, according to PostTrak data.

Parsons and Barker are part of a wave of YouTubers who have turned their talents to the big screen — and brought their enormous, youthful fanbases along with them. Earlier this year, YouTube creator Mark Fischback directed, self-financed and distributed the horror film “Iron Lung,” which earned a stellar $50 million against a $3 million budget.

What’s all the more impressive is “Backrooms” and “Obsession” aren’t cannibalizing each other at the box office. In fact, “Obsession” rose 10% from the prior weekend, which was already up a stunning 39% from its solid $17 million debut. It’s the first film since 1982 to see ticket sales increase in its second and third weekends outside of the holiday season, according to Focus. After three weekends of release, “Obsession” has grossed $106 million domestically and $148 million worldwide against a mere $1 million production budget. It’s the highest-grossing domestic release for Focus, besting the tally of 2019’s “Downton Abbey” with $96.8 million in North America.

As “Backrooms” and “Obsession” generated the lion’s share of attention, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” tumbled to third place with just $25 million from 4,300 venues in its sophomore outing. Such a catastrophic decline signals the Force didn’t remain strong during the franchise’s seven-year absense from the big screen, though insiders at the company were aware “The Mandalorian and Grogu” could pose a challenge as the continuation of a Disney+ series. So far, the movie has generated $137.4 million domestically and $246.6 million globally. It’s found money in the eyes of cinema operators, who knew Disney could have dropped “The Mandalorian and Grogu” directed on its streaming service. For the studio, which produced the space opera spinoff for $165 million, movie theaters represent another revenue stream before the movie lands on Disney+ — not to mention all the Grogu toy sales.

With much of the attention on “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” two other new releases — Sony’s PG family comedy “The Breadwinner” and Focus Features’ war drama “Pressure — fell short of expectations.

“The Breadwinner” rounded out the top five on North American charts with $7.5 million from 2,352 theaters. The movie landed behind Lionsgate’s musical biopic “Michael,” which is in its sixth weekend of release. “The Breadwinner” stars Nate Bargatze, one of the world’s top-touring comedians, as a husband who agrees to become a stay-at-home dad when his wife lands a deal on “Shark Tank.” Audiences were much fonder of the film compared to critics, as evidenced by the “A-” grade on CinemaScore and the 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Sony produced the film for $25 million.

“The movie is over-performing in the middle states of the country,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. However, he notes, “these [comedies] generally do not travel overseas.”

“Pressure” debuted at No. 7 with a soft $5.4 million from 1,829 venues. Although the film, a World War II drama, was set as counter-programming against the family-oriented tentpoles and horror hits, older crowds weren’t as eager to leave the home. Ticket buyers who ventured out seemed pleased, awarding the movie an “A” grade on CinemaScore. Brendan Fraser portrays Dwight D. Eisenhower in “Pressure,” which takes place in the tense 72 hours leading up to D-Day.

“Michael,” which has demonstrated exceptional staying power since April, brought in $11.7 million over the weekend. So far, the Michael Jackson biopic has earned $339.9 million in North America and a mighty $851.3 million globally. It should soon outpace 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($911 million) as the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time.

Next weekend could produce a horror trifecta with Paramount’s parody sequel “Scary Movie.” Then summer should be sizzling with Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi adventure “Disclosure Day” (June 12), Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” (June 19) and DC’s “Supergirl” (June 26). Then July brings Universal’s “Minions and Monsters” (July 1), Disney’s “Moana” remake (July 10), Christopher Nolan’s historical epic “The Odyssey” (July 17) and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (July 31). Box office watchers believe the four-month stretch, the most profitable period for the business, could hit $4 billion for only the second time since the pandemic.

“Moviegoing is hot. ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ are electrifying the market, and it’s sensational,” says Gross. “But industry also needs the big summer productions and franchises to deliver.”

Woody, Odysseus and Peter Parker — the industry is looking to you.