{"id":701483,"date":"2026-05-29T04:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T04:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/701483\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T04:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T04:50:17","slug":"box-office-a24s-backrooms-set-to-shatter-studio-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/701483\/","title":{"rendered":"Box Office: A24’s Backrooms set to shatter studio record"},"content":{"rendered":"

A24<\/a> is entering a new dimension at the box office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The atmospheric horror-thriller Backrooms<\/a> is set to blow the doors off the domestic box office this weekend with a projected opening in the $50 million\u2013$60 million range \u2014 shattering the studio’s all-time opening record of $25.5 million, set by Civil War in 2024. Directed by 20-year-old YouTube phenom Kane Parsons, the film debuts in over 3,000 theaters and follows a therapist (Renate Reinsve) who ventures into a terrifying alternate dimension to rescue her vanished patient (Chiwetel Ejiofor). With pre-sales rivaling the likes of Scream 7 and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, this one is tracking like a genuine phenomenon \u2014 and at a reported $10 million production budget, it’s already a massive win for A24.<\/p>\n

\"Chiwetel<\/a> \"The<\/a> <\/p>\n

Backrooms is the latest proof that Hollywood’s next wave of auteurs might be coming from YouTube. Parsons follows in the footsteps of 26-year-old Curry Barker, whose Obsession<\/a> \u2014 also born from the social video platform \u2014 has become one of the year’s most stunning success stories, crossing $62 million domestically after just two weekends on a reported budget of under $1 million. Earlier this year, Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach directed and self-financed Iron Lung, which quietly earned $50 million worldwide against a $3 million budget. Three films, three hits \u2014 and a new pipeline that studios are going to be paying very close attention to.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Obsession: audiences are still obsessed. Focus Features’ unstoppable horror indie is expected to hold well in its third weekend, with projections landing in the $18 million\u2013$21 million range \u2014 meaning it could once again outperform its $17.2 million opening weekend haul.<\/p>\n

Star Wars<\/a>: The Mandalorian & Grogu slides to second in its sophomore frame after a solid $98 million Memorial Day weekend debut, projecting around $29 million\u2013$35 million as it leans into the family audience not exactly rushing to either horror film this weekend. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s Michael<\/a> holds steady in fourth with $12 million-$15 million, quietly marching toward the $350 million mark domestically.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the top five is Sony’s The Breadwinner<\/a> \u2014 a PG family comedy starring Nate Bargatze as a stay-at-home dad whose wife strikes a deal on Shark Tank \u2014 with a projected $8\u2013$10 million opening from 3,300 theaters.<\/p>\n

Among the other newcomers, Focus Features’ Pressure \u2014 a WWII drama starring Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower in the tense 72 hours before D-Day \u2014 opens in around 1,800 venues and should serve as counterprogramming for older audiences, projecting around $6 million for the weekend. Timely subject matter as the country heads into its Semiquincentennial summer. Also going wide this weekend is Tuner, Daniel Roher’s crime thriller about a piano tuner with hyperacusis who discovers an unlikely gift for cracking safes. The Black Bear release opened quietly in limited release last weekend and now gets its shot at a broader audience.<\/p>\n

New releases<\/p>\n

Backrooms
Director: Kane Parsons
Distributor: A24
After a therapist’s patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him. The horror-thriller has a running time of one hour, 50 minutes, and is rated R. Backrooms\u00a0is certified “fresh”<\/a> with a 88% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic<\/a> resulted in an overall score of 76%.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Breadwinner
Director: Eric Appel
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
A supermom lands a Shark Tank deal, switching roles with her breadwinner husband. He struggles to adapt as a stay-at-home dad to their three daughters. The family comedy has a running time of one hour, 35 minutes, and is rated PG. The Breadwinner\u00a0is certified “rotten”<\/a> with a 40% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally unfavorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic<\/a> resulted in an overall score of 32%.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Pressure
Director: Anthony Maras
Distributor: Focus Features
In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice–launch the most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether. The historical war drama has a running time of one hour, 40 minutes, and is rated PG-13. Pressure\u00a0is certified “fresh”<\/a> with a 84% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic<\/a> resulted in an overall score of 68%.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Tuner
Director: Daniel Roher
Distributor: Black Bear
A talented piano tuner who suffers from hyperacusis discovers an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down. The crime thriller has a running time of one hour, 49 minutes, and is rated R. Tuner\u00a0is certified “fresh”<\/a> with a 94% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic<\/a> resulted in an overall score of 73%.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Here are Gold Derby’s predicted box-office rankings for the top five over the May 29-31 weekend:<\/p>\n

1. Backrooms \u2014 $55 million
2. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu<\/a> \u2014 $30 million
3. Obsession \u2014 $20 million
4. Michael \u2014 $14 million
5. The Breadwinner \u2014 $10 million<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)<\/p>\n

2026 box-office hits: Every movie that made more than $100 million<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A24 is entering a new dimension at the box office. The atmospheric horror-thriller Backrooms is set to blow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[29193,64,63,283466,5604,66752,134,19927,344,85719,31331,92113,106875],"class_list":["post-701483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-a24","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-backrooms","tag-box-office","tag-box-office-predictions","tag-entertainment","tag-michael","tag-movies","tag-obsession","tag-star-wars","tag-the-breadwinner","tag-the-mandalorian-and-grogu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}