{"id":452983,"date":"2026-05-30T17:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T17:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/452983\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T17:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T17:27:09","slug":"backrooms-heads-for-90-million-opening-as-horror-beats-star-wars-at-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/452983\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Backrooms’ Heads For $90 Million Opening as Horror Beats ‘Star Wars’ at Box Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are looking for a paradigm shift in Hollywood, this weekend\u2019s box office may be it. A24\/Chernin\u2019s \u201cBackrooms\u201d and Focus Features\u2019 \u201cObsession,\u201d two buzzy non-franchise horror films directed by YouTube-trained Gen Z filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, are reigning atop the box office while the former box office titan \u201cStar Wars\u201d is seeing a steep 69% second weekend drop for its latest film \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBackrooms\u201d earned an excellent $38.4 million opening day from 3,442 locations, and is now projected by industry estimates for a stunning $90 million opening weekend that ranks as the third highest domestic opening ever for a horror film behind the $117 million opening of \u201cIt\u201d in 2017 and the $91 million of \u201cIt: Chapter Two\u201d in 2019. <\/p>\n

It is also more than triple the highest opening weekend ever for A24, blasting past the previous record of $25.5 million set by \u201cCivil War\u201d in 2024. Presales and interest in the film skyrocketed over the past week, especially after critics gave the film strong reviews with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score. <\/p>\n

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The only slight blemish against \u201cBackrooms\u201d is that audiences weren\u2019t quite as enthusiastic as critics, giving the film a B- on CinemaScore and a 74% audience RT score. But even if that means \u201cBackrooms\u201d ends up being more frontloaded than \u201cObsession,\u201d this opening weekend is enough to make this a massive win for A24 and its producers, which include Peter Chernin\u2019s North Road Films, Shawn Levy\u2019s 21 Laps and James Wan\u2019s Atomic Monster, the latter of which is now merged with \u201cObsession\u201d co-producer Blumhouse. <\/p>\n

And speaking of \u201cObsession,\u201d the arrival of \u201cBackrooms\u201d has done absolutely nothing to halt its historic box office run as it has increased its weekend grosses yet again by 19% to $28 million this weekend, blasting past $100 million in domestic grosses. With this strong of a hold against a direct horror competitor \u2014 possibly with fans of the genre seeing both \u201cObsession\u201d and \u201cBackrooms\u201d as a double feature \u2014 there is nothing stopping Curry Barker\u2019s film from passing $200 million domestic and passing recent horror hits like \u201cWeapons\u201d and \u201cFinal Destination: Bloodlines.\u201d <\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s \u201cMandalorian and Grogu\u201d in the No. 3 spot with an industry estimated $24 million second weekend, a staggering 70% drop from its $81.7 3-day Memorial Day weekend opening. It was expected that the feature follow-up to the hit Disney+ series could be a strong family play, and theatrical sources say that has been the case. But general audience turnout, particularly among the under-30 crowd, is sagging due to the competition from the two horror films conquering the marketplace. <\/p>\n

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Farther down the charts, Sony\/TriStar\u2019s \u201cThe Breadwinner\u201d is opening in fifth with a $7.3 million launch from 3,252 locations, sitting behind the $12.6 million sixth weekend of Lionsgate\/Universal\u2019s \u201cMichael,\u201d which has passed $800 million worldwide. <\/p>\n

Starring Nate Bargatze, \u201cThe Breadwinner\u201d got panned by critics with a 29% RT score but has won over a family-heavy audience with an A- on CinemaScore and u 87% audience score. Sony is hoping that word-of-mouth will allow the film to leg out in the weeks ahead, particularly with families in the central and southern U.S. where Bargatze\u2019s brand of family-oriented comedy has especially taken root. <\/p>\n

Also opening is Focus Features\u2019 \u201cPressure,\u201d a WWII drama starring Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser which is opening to $5.4 million from 1,829 locations. Aimed at seniors and cinephiles, the film has Rotten Tomatoes scores of 86% critics and 94% audience.<\/p>\n

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