{"id":932,"date":"2026-05-31T16:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932"},"modified":"2026-05-31T16:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:10:20","slug":"youtuber-box-office-boom-backrooms-and-obsession-draw-gen-z-to-theaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932","title":{"rendered":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn\u2019t for the big-budget \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie, \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu,\u201d which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small-budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.<\/p>\n

Read more Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner created suggestive profile on hookup app KiK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBackrooms,\u201d released by A24 in 3,442 locations in the U.S. and Canada, made an astonishing $81.4 million in its first three days in theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That\u2019s just a few hundred thousand dollars shy of what \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d earned in its first three days last weekend. And \u201cBackrooms,\u201d which was directed and co-written by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, cost only $10 million to produce.<\/p>\n

The wild success of \u201cBackrooms\u201d didn\u2019t even hurt \u201cObsession,\u201d which is also the directorial debut of a YouTuber, Curry Barker, who is only 26. Three weekends in, \u201cObsession,\u201d a movie that cost less than $1 million to make, still hasn\u2019t dropped below its opening weekend earnings. This weekend, it was up 10% with another $26.4 million for a second-place finish, leaving Star Wars, the legacy franchise movie from the veteran filmmaker and the Walt Disney Studios, in third with $25 million.<\/p>\n

YouTube might not be the death of movie theaters after all. If this weekend is any indication, it could be the industry\u2019s new great hope.<\/p>\n

This is a weekend where theaters also hosted the debuts of \u201cThe Breadwinner,\u201d a PG-rated family comedy starring the popular comedian Nate Bargatze, and \u201cPressure,\u201d a solid World War II drama about the tense 72 hours before D-Day with Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser. But it was the 20-something YouTubers that drew the most crowds.<\/p>\n

\u201cBackrooms\u201d started as a creepypasta \u2014 an internet-generated urban legend \u2014 before Parsons turned the concept, about a never-ending expanse of dull, depressing rooms and hallways, into a viral web series, which he made with the help of the open-source 3D graphics software Blender. It caught the attention of James Wan and Shawn Levy\u2019s production companies who were interested in taking it to the next level; Soon a movie was in development with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve starring.<\/p>\n

Read more WHO chief reports 5 Ebola recoveries as a new treatment center opens in eastern Congo<\/a><\/p>\n\n

PHOTOS: YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It wasn\u2019t just a domestic hit either; Including international showings, \u201cBackrooms\u201d has already made $118 million globally. A24 said Parsons is now the youngest director to have a No. 1 film globally. It\u2019s also a record opening for the studio, whose previous high-water mark was \u201cCivil War,\u201d which opened to $25.5 million in 2024.<\/p>\n

The R-rated film was well-reviewed by critics and drew a young and diverse crowd to theaters. According to exit polls, 86% of the audience was under 35, more than half were under 25 and 44% were under 21. Many attended in groups and there were reports of sold-out shows, packed theaters and repeat viewings. Audiences gave it a less-than-stellar B- CinemaScore, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cObsession,\u201d which has now made $104.7 million in North America, is now Focus Features\u2019 highest grossing domestic release. \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu,\u201d meanwhile, fell around 69% from its opening last weekend. The movie has now made $246.6 million globally.<\/p>\n

Read more Wave of voter discontent carries Republican Spencer Pratt into striking distance of L.A. Mayor Bass<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn’t for the big-budget “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small-budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\nYouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn't for the big-budget "Star Wars" movie, "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small-budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Entertainment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932\",\"name\":\"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=932#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"Young audiences turned out in droves to movie theaters around the country this weekend. It wasn't for the big-budget \"Star Wars\" movie, \"The Mandalorian and Grogu,\" which fell sharply in its second weekend, however, but for a small-budget horror from a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker that began on the internet.","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters","datePublished":"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932"},"wordCount":571,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp","articleSection":["Culture","Entertainment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932","name":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-31T16:10:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1a0916867e9e566232672de60677caa5.webp","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=932#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"YouTuber box office boom: \u2018Backrooms\u2019 and \u2018Obsession\u2019 draw Gen Z to theaters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}