411 Box Office Report: Backrooms Soars To Record Take For A24, Obsession Continues To Rise

Horror reigned at the box office this weekend as Backrooms set a record for A24 while Obsession continued to gain ground. The Kane Parson-directed liminal horror film claimed the top spot in its opening weekend with a massive $81.5 million opening weekend. That is way, way ahead of even the most optimistic estimates, which were as high as $50 million heading into the frame.

Backrooms scored the highest opening weekend with ease for A24, more than tripling the $25.5 million that Civil War launched with. In just three days, it’s only $15 million away from becoming the indie studio’s biggest domestic gross of all time (currently Marty Supreme with $96 million).

Needless to say, this is an unqualified blockbuster hit for the studio, which smartly bought in on Parsons early on. The 20-year-old director adapted the film from his YouTube series that built up the online mythology around liminal spaces. The film already had huge awareness from younger audiences, and the positive critical assessment (an 83% aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes) extended interest to older moviegoers as well.

Backrooms is proving slightly more divisive with audiences, at a merely “okay” 74% RT audience rating and a B- CinemaScore. Neither of those are bad, especially for what is essentially a slow-burn horror film, though the huge overperformance means that this film should have somewhat larger than average drops. Still, it seems like $200 million should be a piece of cake for it to do domestically. It has added $36.5 million overseas for a $118 million worldwide start, and this is a huge success against a budget of just $10 million.

Obsession held onto the #2 spot as it did something almost unprecedented; it jumped again in its third weekend. The Curry Barker-directed horror sensation brought in $26.4 million in its third frame. That’s a rise of 10% from last weekend’s stunning 30% leap.

It’s rare for wide-release films — particularly horror — to rise in its second weekend. It’s almost unheard of for it to happen in weekend three. The last time it happened for a film that didn’t have a platform release strategy appears to be E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial in 1982, which rose 9% in its third frame. So at this point, Barker’s film Is truly in rarified air.

Obsession now has $104.8 million domestically — a record for Focus Features — and $148 million worldwide. Remember, this is in a budget of $1 million. Like Backroom’s Parsons, Barker made his name on YouTube, and they followed in the success of Iron Lung, which came from YouTuber Mark “Markplier” Fischbach. Obsession could easily top $150 million at this point and maybe even higher if it continues to hold on well.

There was less good news at #3, where The Mandalorian & Grogu was off 69% from its opening weekend start. The Star Wars film took in $25 million, a stark drop from its solid opening weekend. For perspective, that’s a bigger drop than Solo: A Star Wars Story, which fell 65% in its second weekend and Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi, which dropped 67%.

Mandalorian and Grogu is now up to $137.4 million domestically, a disappointing number, and $246.6 million worldwide. It is yet to be seen if that overseas strength will help it reach success on a $165 million budget, but the domestic fall will make that a challenge. It will probably close out at around $180 million in the US.

Michael was down to #4 in its sixth weekend, slipping 43% to $11.7 million. The music biopic is, of course, a blockbuster performer for Lionsgate with $339.9 million in the US and $846.3 million worldwide against a $155 million production budget. It is aiming for around $365 million in its final US numbers.

Sony Pictures offered counterprogramming with the comedy The Breadwinner, which underperformed a bit with a $7.5 million start. The Nate Bargatze family comedy was aiming for a low teens launch, but it missed the mark as audiences were more interested in screaming than chuckling.

The Breadwinner didn’t have incredible awareness around it and less buzz; critics disliked it at a 28% RT audience score, though audiences were solid on it. It has an 87% RT audience score and an A- CinemaScore, which should help word of mouth. The film cost $25 million, and with the marketing budget low, the hope is that it can make enough that it doesn’t have far to go in home viewing revenue to make its money back. Domestically, it should finish off somewhere around $20 million to $25 million.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is finally fading, down 54% in its fourth weekend with $5.9 million. The comedy sequel is a big hit for 20th Century Studios at $209.4 million stateside and $642.7 million worldwide against a $100 million budget. We’re looking at around $225 million as a domestic final.

Focus Features opened the World War II drama Pressure in theaters this weekend, and audiences shrugged it off. The ensemble war drama took in just $5.9 million as it made a play for older audiences. The film has great metrics — 87% RT critic rating, 95% audience rating, and an A CinemaScore — but it was a low-profile play by both Focus and StudioCanal. This one may find an audience on home viewing, but it’s probably falling off the map fairly soon and won’t get much past $12 million to $15 million.

The Sheep Detectives fell off a bit in its fourth weekend, down 50% from last weekend’s numbers. Amazon MGM’s CGI/live action comedy added $4.6 million to reach $54.5 million stateside and $94.2 million worldwide. Again, this one has a high $75 million budget, but it will blunt some of that sting through Prime Video revenue. It should now end its US run at around $65 million.

Passenger drove off a cliff, down 70% to $2.6 million in its second weekend. Blame the one-two punch of Backrooms and Obsession, which stole all the horror fans between them. The André Øvredal-directed film is now at $15.3 million in the US and $25 million worldwide — decent enough, given the $15 million budget, but not exactly a hit. It’s probably closing out around $20 million domestically.
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Mortal Kombat II closed out the top 10 with $2 million, 67% in its fourth frame. The film is not making back its $80 million budget when it’s all said and done, with $77.7 million domestically and $128 million worldwide. It will finish out in the US around $80 million.

Next weekend will see a new #1 with a new horror film — or one spoofing the genre — arrive with Scary Movie. The franchise revival is hoping for around $45 million. Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe is aiming for around $35 million.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Backrooms – $81.5 million ($81.5 million total, $118 million WW)
2. Obsession – $26.4 million ($104.8 million total, $148 million WW)
3. The Mandalorian & Grogu – $25 million ($137.4 million total, $246.6 million WW)
4. Michael – $11.7 million ($339.9 million total, $846.3 million WW)
5. The Breadwinner – $7.5 million ($7.5 million total, $7.5 million WW)
6. The Devil Wears Prada 2 – $5.9 million ($209.4 million total, $642.7 million WW)
7. Pressure – $5.8 million ($5.8 million total, $5.8 million WW)
8. The Sheep Detectives – $4.6 million ($54.5 million total, $94.2 million WW)
9. Passenger – $2.6 million ($15.3 million total, $25 million WW)
10. Mortal Kombat II – $2 million ($77.7 million total, $128 million WW)