Backrooms, a low-key horror picture born from internet lore, arrives in theaters at the end of the month with industry forecasts suggesting it could be a breakout hit. If Box Office Pro’s estimate holds, the film’s opening weekend could land between $20 million and $30 million — a notable test for studio A24 and a teenage director making his leap to features.
The film centers on Clark, a furniture-store owner played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who vanishes into an endless, eerily mundane maze of office corridors and fluorescent-lit rooms. Renate Reinsve appears as the therapist who goes looking for him, and the story leans into the unsettling mood associated with so-called liminal-space horror rather than explicit gore.
From online creepypasta to a theatrical release
Writer-director Kane Parsons first adapted the Backrooms concept — a piece of internet creepypasta that circulated in 2019 — into a string of viral YouTube shorts in 2022. Those clips attracted A24’s attention and led to a feature film opportunity; Parsons, still a teenager during production, will rank among the youngest filmmakers to release a movie under the studio’s banner.
Production took place in Vancouver with a crew many involved filmmakers knew well. Parsons has credited producer Osgood Perkins and his collaborators with providing hands-on guidance and a steady production environment, describing the shoot as relatively calm and collaborative despite the increased attention around the project.
Why the box office estimate matters
For A24, a $20–$30 million opening would be significant: it would outpace several of the studio’s prior horror debuts and mark commercial validation of a film rooted in internet culture. For Parsons, commercial success could mean more opportunities to expand the Backrooms material beyond a single picture.
- Talk to Me (2023) — $10.4 million opening weekend
- Heretic (2024) — $10.8 million opening weekend
- Hereditary (2018) — $13.5 million opening weekend
- Midsommar (2019) — $6.5 million opening weekend
Placed against those figures, the forecast for Backrooms suggests a markedly stronger commercial start than many of A24’s celebrated horror titles — an indicator of both the property’s built-in audience and the continuing box-office draw of genre films that offer fresh, mood-driven scares.
The movie’s specific brand of unease — focused on empty, transitional spaces and creeping dread — tends to attract viewers who appreciate atmosphere and concept-driven scares rather than overt violence. That stylistic choice could limit appeal among traditional gore-seekers but plays directly to younger viewers familiar with the Backrooms mythos online.
Franchise potential and what comes next
Parsons has signaled he’s open to exploring more stories in this world. Industry watchers see a clear path to franchise-building if the film reaches or exceeds expectations, especially given the property’s origin as a modular online myth that easily lends itself to spin-offs.
Backrooms opens nationwide on May 29. Its opening performance will be closely watched as a barometer for how internet-born horror translates to mainstream cinema and whether A24 can continue to turn niche online phenomena into box-office successes.
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