Two Indie Horror Flicks Take Unconventional Path To Topple ‘Star Wars’ At The Box Office

Movie fans are going completely wild over two low-budget horror films, “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” which took an unusual path to surpass the latest “Star Wars” release at the box office over the weekend.

The new A24 release “Backrooms” brought in a record-breaking $81 million from 3,442 North American theaters during its opening weekend, as Variety reported. “Obsession,” which premiered May 15, is still going strong in its third weekend and collected $26.4 million from 2,781 screens. Overall, the film made more than $100 million on what was effectively a shoestring budget.

“The Mandalorian and Grogu,” meanwhile, dropped 70% during its second weekend in theaters. So far, it has earned just over $246 million worldwide and finished third place last weekend behind both “Obsession” and “Backrooms.”

This is notable not only because of the massive brand recognition and budget behind “Star Wars,” but also because both horror films were created by young filmmakers who built audiences on YouTube. Some industry experts predict this will mark a shift towards more indie, creator-driven projects in the future.

Kane Parsons, now 20, directed “Backrooms.” It was inspired by a 2019 4chan post that became an active subculture and, eventually, a series of popular YouTube videos. Per The Wall Street Journal, about 86% of ticket buyers were under 35.

“Obsession” has a similar backstory. It was written, directed, and edited by 26-year-old film school dropout Curry Baker, who also boasts a huge social presence. It cost $750,000 to make and has earned more than $104 million while drawing an audience that’s almost 75% between 18 and 35.

“We’re really seeing the tide shift from these more conventional Hollywood narratives to something that feels more organic,” Kori Adelson, lead executive for “Backrooms” financial backing company Chernin Entertainment, said of the change.

Another industry insider had a similar take.

“Whether or not this is ushering in a new era or a paradigm shift for the business remains to be seen, but this YouTube creator-to-big screen pathway should be viewed as complementary,” Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, told Variety of the surprising box office numbers. “It’s a production pipeline that has not existed until now.”

Social media users also chimed in, saying it’s all proof that making original content for a younger demographic is the key to success. 

“From ‘Paranormal Activity’ to ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession,’ horror keeps proving that unconventional creators can become Hollywood’s next big filmmakers. Earlier it was indie outsiders, now it’s YouTubers & internet creators bringing fresh storytelling and massive box office returns,” one commenter observed. 

“When you make movies that young people–the demographic who most often frequent the movies–actually want to see, they show up to see it! What a phenomenon,” another X user agreed.

“Omg who would have thought people wanna see movies that are original and creative without any identity politics vs the soulless cash grab slop from IPs,” a third person wrote. “…These companies have milked dry all the goodwill the fans once had for something like Star Wars.”