Terrifying audiences and smashing box office records worldwide, Obsession and Backrooms have become two of the most successful indie horror films of the year, rewriting record books for their respective studios.
Released weeks apart in May, Obsession and Backrooms have become unstoppable. Both movies have officially passed the $200 million mark, setting records for their respective studios.
Curry Barker, a 26-year-old American filmmaker, actor, and YouTuber, recently released his new indie horror movie Obsession on May 15. Obsession has globally crossed the $224 million mark to become Focus Features’ highest-grossing film of all time.
Obsession has obsessed the world with its charm. It already became the studio’s biggest domestic movie of all time, where it stands tall at $151 million. Now internationally as well, ticket sales are thriving at the box office, driven not only by strong reviews but also by enthusiastic word of mouth.
Obsession “dropped just 7 percent in its fourth weekend, with its $25.6 million setting a record for the best fourth weekend hold ever for a horror film, as well as the top fourth weekend ever for horror. The previous record holder on both counts was The Blair Witch Project, which was down 9 percent in 1999 and earned $24.2 million in its fourth weekend,” THR writes.
Obsession is also the first movie since 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to increase its box office collections in both its second and third weekends.
In similar fashion in theaters next door, Kane Parsons, also known as Kane Pixels, a 20-year-old filmmaker, YouTuber, and composer, has achieved similar success. His movie Backrooms has surpassed $212 million, making it A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release ever and the studio’s first film to surpass $200 million in ticket sales.
What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that both filmmakers built their followings online before reaching the big screen. Barker developed an audience through YouTube and independent digital content, while Parsons became widely known for his viral Backrooms videos, which turned a niche internet horror concept into a global phenomenon. Their success demonstrates how digital creators are increasingly finding a pathway into mainstream filmmaking.
Backrooms was released on May 29. According to Variety, Kane Parsons’ film, made for $10 million, is now “officially A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release.” Backrooms has also held strongly overseas. Variety notes that it earned $77 million from 57 territories and broke opening records for A24 in 41 countries. Among its many achievements, it is also the studio’s highest-grossing title ever in Latin America.
The Gen Z phenomenon Backrooms has set all kinds of records for A24, the specialty company behind arthouse favorites such as Lady Bird, Moonlight, and Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film, based on Kane Parsons’ popular web series about eerie and seemingly endless rooms and structures known as liminal spaces, secured the studio’s largest-ever debut with $81 million domestically, more than tripling the previous record held by Alex Garland’s 2024 thriller Civil War ($25.5 million). In its second weekend, ticket sales declined by 70%, which still amounted to a stellar $25.8 million from 3,565 theaters between Friday and Sunday. A24 and Chernin Entertainment co-financed Backrooms for roughly $10 million, making it hugely profitable.
What makes the success of Obsession and Backrooms particularly remarkable is that neither film arrived with the backing of a major franchise. Obsession grew into a phenomenon through exceptional word of mouth, delivering one of the strongest theatrical runs seen for a horror film in decades. Backrooms, meanwhile, transformed a viral internet concept into a mainstream box office event, proving that online-born storytelling can attract mass audiences when executed effectively. While their paths to success were different, both films demonstrated that original horror remains one of the most powerful commercial forces in modern cinema.
Both Obsession and Backrooms became internet sensations, broke records, and proved hugely profitable for their respective studios. Their success demonstrates the power of original horror storytelling and has established them as two of the biggest independent horror success stories in recent years.
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