Low-budget horror is having a moment at the box office, with two films directed by YouTubers claiming the top spots this Memorial Day weekend and proving audiences have an appetite for frights that do not come with blockbuster price tags.
A24’s Backrooms took first place with an estimated $81.45 million domestically across 3,442 locations, plus $118 million worldwide. The creepy pasta-come-to-life concept, paired with strong critical reception, drew moviegoers as the summer season gets underway. The horror genre continues to find new life through unconventional creators, much like how Bungie’s new horror game expansion is generating buzz in the gaming space.
The film marks the directorial debut of Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old YouTuber known as Kpaxian. Any opening weekend this strong would be noteworthy, but the achievement carries extra weight given Parsons’ age and the film’s reported $10 million budget. A first-time filmmaker turning that investment into A24’s biggest opening ever is virtually unheard of.
While A24 toasts that record-breaking launch, Focus Features’ Obsession continues its own remarkable run. The monkey’s paw thriller held second place in its third weekend after going wide on May 15. Director Curry Barker, a 26-year-old YouTuber and comedian, made the film on a famously low $750,000 budget. It pulled in $26.4 million domestically this weekend alone.
That figure represents a 10% jump from the previous weekend, bringing its domestic total to $104.75 million. International receipts climbed 21% to $40.2 million, pushing the global haul to $148 million. Barker’s breakout, fueled partly by word-of-mouth and Inde Navarrette’s critically acclaimed turn as Nikki, has now done something no film has managed in over four decades. It is the first movie to grow its box office in both its second and third weekends since Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.
Moviegoers are showing up consistently, weekdays included, for horror made by relatively unknown directors. The current theatrical landscape suggests younger audiences in particular are seeking out fresh voices, even as younger cinema-goers remain less enthralled by Star Wars than older fans. Both Backrooms and Obsession earned 8/10 reviews from IGN. Of Obsession, the review stated it “should and will put Barker on the map as a horror filmmaker.” Backrooms was called a “terrifying and thrilling big-screen debut for the liminal horror classic.”
With those two films occupying the top positions, third place for Memorial Day weekend went to Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and Grogu with $18.2 million. Fourth place went to Universal’s Michael with $9.3 million, and fifth place went to A24’s The Breadwinner with $4.1 million.
