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“Backrooms” and “Obsession” Break Horror Records: How Two YouTubers Are Conquering the Box Office
It was an incredible weekend for horror at the box office.
Not just because audiences showed up, but because the biggest winners at the box office weren’t veteran Hollywood filmmakers, but two 20-year-old YouTubers Curry Barker (left) and Kane Parsons (right), who have created stories that people want to see.
Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, based on YouTube content he created that went viral, opened to a stunning $81 million domestically, and $118 million worldwide.
That’s already a record for A24, as the film will quickly become their highest grossing film ever as early as next week.
And not to be outdone, the romantic-horror film Obsession (from Curry Barker) earned another $27.4 million in its 3rd weekend, already the highest-grossing film in the studio Focus Features’ history.
This box office performance is crazy!
Most movies decline after opening weekend, but Obsession is doing the opposite. It’s basically becoming a phenomenon. Not only are new fans finding it, but many are going back to see it again and again.
The film opened to $17 million (already a great debut), but then increased +39% in weekend 2, and then went up ANOTHER +14% in weekend 3!
3 weeks into release, and Obsession is still gaining momentum. That almost never happens.
In fact, it’s so rare that people are comparing it to E.T. from 1982, one of the few major releases ever to consistently grow in wide release after opening.
The dual success of Backrooms and Obsession reminds me of Barbenheimer (can we call this Backsessions?), where both films are seemingly feeding into other’s popularity, as many horror fans aren’t making a choice: they’re seeing both.
But, why are Backrooms and Obsession doing so well, and what 3 lessons can be taken from their breakout successes?
LESSON #1: THERE’S LOTS OF YOUNGER FILMMAKERS OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD (ESPECIALLY ON YOUTUBE)
Both directors (Kane Parsons for Backrooms, and Curry Barker for Obsession) started as YouTubers in their teens, and built their millions of viewers online before Hollywood even noticed them.
And now, both are dominating the box office.
This tracks. For decades, horror has been THE genre where young filmmakers can easily break through.
- Steven Spielberg (Duel and Jaws)
- Sam Raimi (Evil Dead)
- James Wan (Saw)
- Jordan Peele (Get Out)
Now, we can add Curry Barker and Kane Parsons to that list of emerging talent.
Plus by starting on YouTube, both Kane Parsons and Curry Barker could hone their skills and are now younger, self-trained talents finally getting their turn at bat within Hollywood.
If Steven Spielberg were a teenager today, he probably would’ve started making movies on YouTube.
Looking at these results, that doesn’t seem far-fetched.
LESSON #2: YOUNGER AUDIENCES (GEN-Z & GEN-ALPHA) WANT NEW STORIES AND VOICES
78% of Obsession‘s audience is under 35, while 88% of Backrooms‘ audience is under 35.
That’s really young for both films, showing that younger moviegoers aren’t just casually watching these movies, they’re embracing them. But why?
Because both Curry Barker and Kane Parsons grew up consuming the same internet culture that their audiences did.
It helps too that these movies don’t at all feel manufactured, they feel genuine.
LESSON #3: GREAT HORROR STARTS WITH A GREAT HOOK
Horror doesn’t really need big budgets or stars. They usually just need buckets of blood, or a strong hook, or both.
With Obsession the film has an original premise, around Bear, a socially awkward young man, who wishes his crush Nikki would love him.
It’s a classic “be careful what you wish for” premise, executed with a surprising amount of emotional intelligence.
The script shows compassion with its two leads, without letting its male lead Bear off the hook for taking advantage of the situation with Nikki.
Actress Inde Navarrette (who plays the possessed Nikki) has been universally praised for her performance, largely because you’ll occasionally see the “real Nikki” stuck inside trying to escape, in ways you might not even notice on a first viewing.
With Backrooms, the premise is simple:
What if you became trapped inside an endless maze of empty rooms, forgotten hallways, abandoned offices, and places that feel vaguely familiar?
That’s the Backrooms.
The rooms are often referred to as a “memory of a memory,” with how eerie and nightmarish they are.
It’s one of the best horror concepts of the last decade, because almost everyone instinctively understands why it’s terrifying.
Have you ever been stuck in the back exit of an office building, or inside an abandoned mall? If so, you’ll understand why these places are so unsettling.
You don’t need monsters. The setting itself becomes the monster.
If you’re an aspiring horror filmmaker, pay attention.
Both the “wish gone wrong” from Obsession, and the “Backrooms” setting, are fresh interesting concepts, that lend themselves very easily with horror and audiences.
SO… WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Starting with Backrooms, the word of mouth isn’t amazing (it earned a “decent-for-horror” B- grade from CinemaScore), suggesting it’ll be pretty front-loaded.
Still, with an $81 million opening, it doesn’t matter.
I’m expecting Backrooms to end with $160-180+ million domestic, and $250-300+ million worldwide.
And the film only has a budget of $10 million! What an incredible result.
Then, for Obsession, at this point? With how much positive word of mouth it has, the sky is the limit.
Not since The Blair Witch Project in 1999 have we seen this level of indie-horror success.
My guess is the film will continue to stick around, and play in theaters all summer long.
With these legs and word of mouth, Obsession will likely end with $200-250+ million domestic, and $325-400+ million worldwide.
And this is on a budget of just $750,000. That’s the kind of performance studios DREAM about.
FINAL TAKEAWAY
Horror is at an all-time high right now, and the fact that these two horror films are performing so well alongside each other, is very encouraging.
The successes of Backrooms and Obsession proves that Hollywood’s next generation of filmmakers isn’t waiting for permission anymore.
They’re building audiences online, developing their own voices on YouTube, and are now delivering movies audiences actually want to see.
And judging by these results, this is only the beginning.
And that’s it for this weekend’s box office! Have you seen Backrooms or Obsession yet? If so, what did you think of them, and why do you think they’re doing so well at the box office?
I’m looking forward to writing in this blog again when Disclosure Day opens later in June.
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ANALYSIS – with similar tonal comedy issues, is Marvel’s Thor 4 equivalent to 1997’s Batman and Robin? Hear me out…
I do enjoy hearing the notion of Thor 4 being compared to Batman 4: Batman & Robin. It’s not an exact comparison, but hear me out…
With each franchise, the 2nd film is disappointingly received, and a new director was brought in to “fix” the franchise (Taika Waititi and Joel Schumacher respectively) for the 3rd film.
They were then acclaimed for “saving” the franchise, by making a lighter, more comical 3rd film (Thor: Ragnarok and Batman Forever). Both were successful enough for the studio to allow the filmmaker to do WHATEVER they wanted with the next film, albeit with a time constraint. “Get the fourth film out fast”…
And then with the 4th film, it wasn’t just the studio to blame; the writer/director was seen as going “TOO FAR” in the comedy and jovial tone, even for general moviegoers. The comedy just didn’t mix as well with the material, undercutting the story, disappointing fans, and weak legs at the box office.
Hell both Thor 4 and Batman 4 have a bald monochromatic tragic villain, weird jealousies from the sidekicks, a terminal-illness subplot, gay subtext, a campy secondary villain [Zeus / Poison Ivy] who makes uncomfortable sex jokes… the comparisons goes on.
To me it’s an interesting comparison as far as superhero downgrades from the 3rd-to-4th movie, but also shows there’s light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve gone down this path before. There’s room to improve with the next movie, hopefully by adding a new director.
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Weekend Box Office (7/10/22) Thor opens with Solid opening weekend, but Lackluster Word of Mouth – Cause for Concern?
Most franchises would be thrilled to have a comedy-sequel earn mixed-positive reviews, and open 17% bigger than it’s predecessor. But with mixed critical and audience reactions, why did the film not earn the positivity that was expected?
This new Thor movie was my most anticipated sequel of the summer, given how much the last film Thor: Ragnarok was such a fun comic book blockbuster, and showed there was still life to find in this franchise. That film opened with $123 million in 2017, with fans loving it in context of how its story took place in preparation before the new Avengers.
Now it’s 2022, and Thor 4 Love and Thunder opened to $143 million this past weekend, a bit below the optimistic projections from Disney (expecting $150-170 million), but still, a 17% higher debut than Ragnarok is fine.
It’s the third biggest opening of the year, and for what is considered ”just” a Thor sequel, with little feeling of “you gotta see this immediately”, Love and Thunder opened about in line with what it expected to this weekend.
However, there are possible signs of peril going on. The film pulled lousy reviews for a Marvel comedy (69% Rotten Tomatoes) but it’s the weak audience reactions (B+ CinemaScore) that scare me.
That’s one of the worst audience reactions for a MCU movie. It’s one thing when a polarizing space odyssey like Eternals earns a B, or a horror fantasy like Doctor Strange 2 earns a B+, as those genres were seen as somewhat “experiments” for Marvel. But Thor is a “generic” crowd pleasing superhero comedy, so its weak reaction is a bad sign.
It’s been years after the “Infinity Saga” of Marvel ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019, where we used to grade each film on a curve as part of a grander achievement in storytelling. Now in 2022 as the MCU begins to lack focus or direction with each project in an ongoing narrative, are audiences beginning to become harsher and more discerning?
Is it due to the director Taika Waititi’s absurdist sense of humor? Maybe not every joke is landing.
Is Marvel overextending itself in pumping out too many movies and Disney+ series? Do we blame the pandemic feature production rush here? 2022 alone has 4 Marvel movies and 5 Disney+ shows.
Thor: Love and Thunder is another wake-up call to the MCU development department. If films become too cookie-cutter, ticket sales will decline.
PostTrak, which tracks general audiences seeing the film, has Thor at 3 1/2 stars with a 77% positive, not far from Eternals’ 75%. Kids are ONLY making up 4% of the audience, which is terribly small, given the film’s narrative about saving Asgard’s children.
See the proportion of ages and genders as % of the audience:
Men Over age 25 Women Over age 25 Men Under age 25 Women Under age 25 33% 25% 25% 17% The most encouraging score for Thor: Love and Thunder is coming from women over 25 at 82% positive, who could be really connecting to Jane Foster’s Cancer storyline and arc in this movie.
On the bright side, 53% of those who saw Thor: Love and Thunder bought their tickets the day they saw the movie. To me that indicates a lot of people are seeing the movie when they can, with high “walk-up” business and legs for the rest of summer. The film also earned stellar business overseas, earning $302 million Worldwide.
I’m still expecting a BIG significant 2nd-weekend-drop next week (-65% or more), than it should level out throughout July and August, given the lack of *big* family friendly competition besides DC’s Super Pets until Black Adam in October.
Either way, theater owners aren’t complaining, as the Box Office overall has reached pre-pandemic levels! The overall marketplace is around $236 Million, above the same post-4th-of-July weekend in 2019 with $183 million where SpiderMan far From Home was #1. But it’s not just superhero movies helping theaters, thanks to 3 other movies also grossing above $10 million this weekend.
Minions: Rise of Gru earned another $45.5 million (-57%), with $210 million so far, and the potential to end with $325-335 million in the U.S. On an $80 million budget, this Minions sequel / Despicable Me prequel is already a hit at $400 million Worldwide, even it’s still performing better in America than overseas.
The #GentleMinions trend likely helped last weekend, and is still assisting the generational nostalgia present here. Expecting Despicable Me 4 in 2024.
Top Gun: Maverick is nearing $1.2 billion worldwide, as the $170-million-budgeted legacy Sequel, earned another $15.5 million in its 7th weekend, -40%, the first “normal” drop in its entire run.
Still with another $15 million, that’s the third biggest 7th weekend ever behind Titanic ($26 million) and Avatar ($31 million). Still expecting to end with over $700 million in the U.S. Wow!
Elvis earned another $11 million (-40%) in weekend three for a $91.122 million 17-day cume. With word that the Baz Luhrmann-directed rock-n-roll biopic will NOT be heading to HBO Max after 45 days, it should continue to hold along Top Gun for the rest of summer as “event movies for older adults”.
This is a great win for Warner Brothers, whose Elvis could end with around $130-140 million domestic, and maybe some Oscar nominations.
Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion earned $8.41 million (-49%) with a $350 million 31-day U.S. cume. The $185-million-budgeted Dino finale will arrive on “rent it for $20” PVOD this coming Thursday. Still, history shows that shouldn’t hurt the theatrical run much.
We’re still looking at an over/under $370 million domestic end, and a global total of over/under $925 million.
Universal and Blumhouse’s The Black Phone earned $7.66 million (-37%) for a terrific $62 million domestic and $99 million worldwide so far. This one might drop on PVOD this coming Thursday, but the $19-million-budgeted crowd-pleaser has had solid legs for an original, R-rated thriller.
Walt Disney’s Lightyear earned $2.9 million (-55%) in weekend four for a miserable $112.2 million domestic and $202 million global cume. Those who blame its LGBT content should look at those Thor 4 and Jurassic World 3 grosses. The sci-fi actioner/Toy Story spinoff should remain the lowest Pixar grosser ever.
At this point, Disney is now becoming even more financially reliant on Marvel / Avatar / Star Wars projects, but that’s a conversation for another day.
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Weekend Box Office (7/4/22) It’s Official! COVID may no longer be a problem for moviegoers
Hollywood has been worried and biting their lip since COVID about if older adults (55+), and especially kids and families, will return to theaters with the pandemic, especially given the availability of streaming. And now, we’ve just had Top Gun 2, and Minions 2 of all movies, break box office records over Memorial Day and Independence Day, and will likely become the two BIGGEST movies of the summer. Take that, streaming!
Minions 2: A lesson in social media marketing
Starting with the raw numbers, #1 was Minions: Rise of Gru, earning $107 million over the 3-Day weekend. Again, the biggest Independence Day opening weekend ever. (beating Transformers 3’s $97 million opening in 2011) And Hollywood was worried this franchise might be getting stale… Throw in positive reviews (71% Rotten Tomatoes) and solid word of mouth (“A” grade from CinemaScore), the film may likely cross a billion after this.
Has the heart simply grown fonder for these little yellow minions? Or is there generational nostalgia for the Despicable Me franchise, for kids who grew up on it and now are adults? I’m willing to say that’s what happened, with young men dressing up in business suits and posting themselves on TikTok, while making memes and posting about how important the film is.
Social Media Trends and games like this will likely be discussed for years to come, compared to another memed about movie Morbius, also joked about earlier this year on social media as the beginning of “summer of Morbius.” Hell Sony even re-released the movie earlier in June in the hopes those jokes would translate to more ticket sales. It didn’t, as that film then bombed again.
The key difference here is the ironic Minions memes were joked about and made out of love, while it seemed Morbius was joked out of spite. Lessons learned from social media games…
Either way, this opening is a huge win for Universal’s marketing team, Illumination Animation’s brand, and is encouraging for upcoming animated films at the box office.
Top Gun 2: the film that just won’t stop flying in $
It’s impossible to predict the legs of Top Gun Maverick, as every optimistic prediction I’ve had for it at the box office just keeps getting topped. It may end up being the biggest movie of the YEAR (give or take Black Panther 2 or Avatar 2), but it’s become a cultural phenomenon, on par with a James Cameron movie, having remarkably small drops throughout the month of June and now July. It’s… just not stopping.
Another $25.8 million -14% from last week, with $570 million so far and $1.1 billion worldwide. A phenomenal drop over the 4th of July holiday, for what is easily Cruise’s biggest movie ever. What a win for the star/filmmaker/producer.
It should pass Titanic eventually ($659 million) to become Paramount’s biggest hit ever in the U.S. too, and might be nominated for a few Oscars when all is done. Who knows how high this Tom Cruise jet will keep flying…. Maybe $700?
#3 Elvis had a nice holiday hold, again encouraging for older audiences returning to movie theaters. The well reviewed (78% on Rotten Tomatoes) and received by audiences (A- CinemaScore) earned another $19 Million over the weekend, and may end around $110-120 million in the U.S.
It cost $85 Million to produce, and will likely earn above Rocketman’s $195 Million worldwide finish. It’s a hit for Warner Brothers, and may even earn Austin Butler an Oscar.
#4 Jurassic World: Dominion (the finale?) had a healthy drop, earning another $15.7 million (-41%) for $331 million so far. It’ll probably end under $1 Billion (blame the fact it earned less money in China, not the word of mouth, audiences thought this movie was sufficiently fine [A- CinemaScore]), so a finish in the $950~ million range is still pretty good, and over 4x it’s budget. Expect another Jurassic movie from Universal down the road, although probably disconnected from this trilogy.
#5 The crowd pleasing horror-chiller The Black Phone earned $12 over the holiday (-48%), for $50 million so far in the U.S. That’s a big win for Director Scott Derrickson and Universal Studios/BlumHouse, and a reminder how thrillers like this shouldn’t go straight to streaming.
#6 Speaking of lessons that should be learned from not going straight to streaming, Lightyear, the origin story around the toy who can’t fly, had another ugly fall this weekend, -64% for $6.6 million, with “only” $190 million worldwide. The worst theatrical bomb in Pixar Animation history.
Yeah, the anticipation of its Disney+ release, and the poor concept killed this. Disney+ received the better, more interesting Pixar flicks (Soul, Luca, Turning Red) to increase streaming subscriptions. But conditioning families to stream animated tentpoles for FREE was a massive long-term mistake, and leads me concerned for their upcoming Strange World sci-fi adventure this Thanksgiving.
It’s ironic how much Disney and Hollywood in general have emphasized streaming as a priority since COVID began. And now this Summer, the films that were instead delayed and did NOT go to streaming, are soaring to infinity and beyond at the box office. And save for Marvel and likely Avatar, Disney is the one studio that hasn’t yet recovered, partially because they’ve emphasized streaming releases first. -
Intro
Nice to meet everyone on here! My name is Zander Levy, and for the last decade or so I’ve enjoyed writing and the box office, films and their financial success, and what it takes for a studio to succeed! This is my Film Blog, attempting to be thought-provoking.
As I’m typing this it’s 2022, and over the summer we’ve had SEVERAL big blockbusters over-performing, meeting expectations, and working in saving movie theaters! I think we’re at the point where it’s safe to say COVID doesn’t have much of an effect anymore, at least for the big movies. Keep reading to hear my thoughts Essays, Reviews, Commentary, and original analysis!
Zan Hollywood Box Office – Analysis Site
Films, Hollywood Analysis, and the Box Office! A film blog trying to be seen…
Zan Hollywood Box Office - Analysis Site 