The horror‑thriller Backrooms has stormed into cinemas with a bang, pulling in $38.4 million on its opening day and racing toward a projected $85‑$88 million weekend. Those figures smash A24’s previous records and even outpace the debut of Disney’s heavily‑promoted Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, which rang up $33.7 million on its first day and $81.6 million over three days. What makes the surge remarkable is the film’s modest marketing spend – a lean, internet‑native campaign that riffs on the original creepypasta and leverages a passionate online fanbase.
The buzz isn’t confined to South Africa; the picture is launching across 50 offshore territories this weekend, from the UK and Italy to South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Early overseas estimates point to $36 million in foreign earnings, pushing the worldwide tally to a tidy $121‑$124 million. In markets such as Brazil, Australia and the Netherlands, the film is already posted strong pre‑sales, suggesting it could outstrip Mandalorian for the global‑weekend crown.
While critics have been lukewarm – a CinemaScore of B‑ – audience enthusiasm is palpable. PostTrak data shows 53 % of viewers would definitely recommend the film, with a 68 % positive rating overall. Women under 25 dominate the demographic, accounting for 24 % of the audience and delivering the highest grade at 72 %. Repeat viewings are already a talking point; at the AERO Los Angeles premiere, one attendee claimed he’d seen Backrooms three times, underscoring the movie’s cult‑like appeal.
Backrooms box office versus other late‑summer releases
| Film | Theatres | Opening Fri (US$ M) | 3‑Day Total (US$ M) | Cumulative Gross (US$ M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backrooms (A24) | 3,442 | 38.4 | 85‑88 | — |
| Obsession (Focus) | 2,781 (+126) | 8.1 (+34 %) | 28.5 (+19 %) | 106.8 |
| Mandalorian & Grogu (Disney) | 4,300 | 6.5 (-81 %) | 25 (-69 %) | 137.3 |
| Michael (Lionsgate) | 3,118 (-188) | 3.3 (-34 %) | 12.75 (-38 %) | 340.9 |
The table highlights Backrooms leading the domestic opening weekend, while Obsession posts a rare third‑weekend surge and Disney’s Mandalorian suffers a steep second‑weekend drop.
The data shows a clear shift toward younger, internet‑savvy audiences. Backrooms leans heavily on the 18‑24 bracket (43 % of ticket sales), followed by 25‑34 (25 %) and 13‑17 (20 %). By contrast, traditional blockbuster fare often skews older, which explains why the film’s average viewer age sits at 25.2 years.
The film’s diversity breakdown is notable for a horror title: 38 % Caucasian, 33 % Latino/Hispanic, 13 % Black, 10 % Asian American and 6 % Native American/other. This broad appeal is reflected in the geographic spread of its earnings, with the AMC Burbank location in Los Angeles alone pulling $93 k on the opening day.
Beyond the numbers, the success story underscores a growing trend: low‑budget, internet‑originated IPs can rival legacy franchises when they harness fan enthusiasm and targeted digital advertising. A24’s spend on Backrooms is estimated to be just above that of Neon’s Longlegs (under $10 million), yet the return on investment dwarfs typical genre releases.
The film’s co‑financiers – Chernin Entertainment, 21 Laps, Odd Fellow and the Blumhouse‑Atomic Monster partnership – are reaping the rewards of a lean production budget that stays under $10 million. Early indicators suggest the picture could break even before the weekend ends, a rare feat for an R‑rated horror offering.
Industry observers are also pointing to the impressive third‑week performance of Curry Barker’s Obsession, which surged +19 % to $28.5 million and now sits at a cumulative $106.8 million. It’s the first wide release since 1982’s E.T. to climb in its third weekend, a testament to the power of YouTube‑creator‑driven content.
Below is a snapshot of the broader box‑office landscape as of Saturday morning:
| Rank | Title | Theatres | Fri (US$ M) | 3‑Day (US$ M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backrooms (A24) | 3,442 | 38.4 | 85‑88 |
| 2 | Obsession (Focus) | 2,781 | 8.1 | 28.5 |
| 3 | Mandalorian & Grogu (Disney) | 4,300 | 6.5 | 25 |
| 4 | Michael (Lionsgate) | 3,118 | 3.3 | 12.75 |
| 5 | The Breadwinner (Sony) | 3,252 | 2.75 | 7.5 |
| 6 | Devil Wears Prada 2 (20th) | 2,650 | 1.7 | 5.8 |
| 7 | Pressure (Focus) | 1,829 | 2.46 | 5.4 |
The table illustrates Backrooms sitting comfortably at the top, with Obsession and Mandalorian trailing but still delivering respectable numbers.
The Mandalorian franchise, despite its massive brand pull, is seeing a -69 % second‑weekend slide, the steepest drop for a Star Wars title since Solo underperformed by -65 %. Distribution insiders attribute the decline to a finite core fanbase rather than audience poaching by Backrooms or Obsession.
Family‑oriented releases are also making their mark. Sony’s The Breadwinner opened at $7.5 million across 3,252 screens, earning an A‑ CinemaScore and capturing a strong 59 % female audience. Meanwhile, Focus Features’ war drama Pressure debuted with $5.4 million, posting an A CinemaScore among older viewers (over 55 comprising 47 % of the audience).
In the South African context, the strong performance of internet‑born horror IPs mirrors the local appetite for genre films that blend global trends with home‑grown storytelling. The success of Backrooms could encourage South African distributors to scout similar digital‑first properties, potentially boosting the domestic market’s diversity of offerings.
Overall, the weekend underscores a shifting power balance in cinema: when a film taps into a devoted online community, it can out‑earn traditional studio tentpoles despite a fraction of the advertising budget. As the numbers continue to roll in, the industry will be watching closely to see just how far a low‑budget, internet‑sourced horror film can travel.