Young YouTubers dominate the box office with 'Backrooms,' 'Obsession'

Young YouTubers are making big waves at the box office.

Twenty-year-old Kane Parsons became the youngest director to have the No. 1 film at the box office with his new horror flick "Backrooms," which earned a whopping $81 million.

"Backrooms" is a big screen adaptation of Parsons' 2022 found footage-style web series inspired from a 2019 image posted on the social platform 4chan. The series follows a group of scientists who discover an eerie dimension that comes in the form of seemingly-never-ending vacant indoor spaces.

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His YouTube account, dubbed Kane Pixels, has more than 3 million subscribers. And the first installment in his "Backrooms" series has over 81 million views.

Parsons' feature film, which stars Oscar-nominated actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, reportedly had a $10 million budget and had early projections of grossing $20 million its opening weekend. However, as the release date steadily approached, projections began to explode, shooting towards $40-50 million and only crept upward.

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Variety reported "nearly 85% of audiences" were under 35 years old, according to PostTrak data, and "more than 50% were 25 or younger." It would quickly become the highest-grossing film for the independent entertainment company A24.

"This is an extraordinary achievement that is putting butts in seats in a measure that could not have been anticipated," Rotten Tomatoes box office columnist Erick Childress reacted.

Parsons isn't the only content creator to defy the odds at the box office. Twenty-six-year-old writer/director Curry Barker first made a splash last month with his low-budget horror film "Obsession." It made $17 million its opening weekend, upsetting box office projections that had it making less than $10 million.

Barker is part of the sketch comedy duo "That's a Bad Idea," which has over 1 million followers on YouTube and TikTok.

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"Obsession" went on to do the nearly-impossible; it made more money the following weekend, earning roughly $24 million - $30 million when including Memorial Day - a whopping 39% increase from its opening weekend, outpacing much bigger films like "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael." It even outpaced the new Star Wars movie "The Mandalorian and Grogu" last Wednesday.

And in its third weekend, "Obsession" made even more money, grossing $26 million this past weekend.

"It has done something that no film since 2000 has done," Childress wrote. "You can go back to the '80s to find summer films like 'E.T.' and 'Superman II' that did it. Even R-rated films like 'Risky Business,' 'The Untouchables,' 'No Way Out' and 'Ruthless People.' But not in modern times, and not among films that began as wide releases."

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"Obsession" follows a young man who uses a novelty toy to make a wish that a friend he has a crush on falls in love with him - only to realize that his wish quickly backfires.

The film, featuring a cast of mostly unknowns and cost less than $1 million to make, has now grossed over $100 million domestically and $150 million worldwide.

"Backrooms" and "Obsession," both of which were produced by prolific horror financier Jason Blum of BlumHouse Productions, outgrossed "The Mandalorian and Grogu," placing third at the box office and suffering a staggering 69% from its already-underwhelming opening weekend.

"It won't be as big of a financial loser as 'Solo' was, but ultimately grossing less than that film across the globe may call for a course correction for the [Star Wars] franchise," Childress said.

"The Mandalorian and Grogu" trailed the two horror films last weekend, making shy of $25 million domestically. While the Jon Favreau-directed film likely won't be considered a box office bomb due to its $165 million budget (it has so far grossed $250 million worldwide), it is likely going to be the worst-performing Star Wars movie at the box office ever.

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The disappointing numbers from the last Star Wars installment may leave Disney executives nervious, especially since another Star Wars film starring Ryan Gosling is slated for next year.

Meanwhile, "Backrooms" and "Obsession" will be considered two of the most profitable movies of the year.