'Backrooms' becomes A24’s highest opening with $38m Friday box office debut

Backrooms has become A24’s strongest box office debut, earning $38.4 million on its opening day from 3,442 North American theatres and positioning itself for a projected weekend total of around $85 million to $90 million.

The figure places the film ahead of all previous A24 wide releases, surpassing the 2024 record set by Civil War, which opened with $25.5 million.

Industry estimates suggest that if projections hold, Backrooms will also rank among the biggest horror openings in domestic box office history, behind only It and It: Chapter Two.

Directed by Kane Parsons, the film is adapted from his viral YouTube series The Backrooms (Found Footage), which originated from online horror lore centred on so-called liminal spaces.

Parsons, who gained attention as a young creator online, transitioned from digital filmmaking into a studio production with the feature adaptation.

The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell and Avan Jogia, and is produced by James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins.

Initial tracking for the film suggested an opening of around $45 million to $50 million, later revised upward following strong preview performance and presales.

The film earned $10.4 million from Thursday previews before its Friday surge, which exceeded earlier expectations.

Reports indicate that Parsons’ rapid move from online creator to studio director has made him one of the youngest filmmakers to lead a major theatrical release under A24.

The project was developed from a concept rooted in internet culture, where viewers explored unsettling narratives involving empty, distorted environments.

The storyline expands the original premise into a feature film centred on a discovery in a furniture showroom that leads into an alternate dimension.