Two YouTubers’ horror films take over box office

Young moviegoers turned out in large numbers this weekend, but it wasn’t the latest Star Wars film that became the biggest attraction. Instead, two low-budget horror movies created by YouTubers dominated the box office and surprised the film industry.

Leading the charts was ‘Backrooms’, directed by 20-year-old YouTube creator Kane Parsons. The film earned an impressive $81.5 million during its opening weekend in the US and Canada, despite being made on a budget of just $10 million, as per reports.

According to industry reports, it is now the biggest opening ever for an original horror film and the highest domestic debut in A24’s history.

Based on Parsons’ popular online horror series, Backrooms stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. The story follows a furniture store owner who discovers a mysterious maze-like world hidden beneath his shop. When he disappears, his therapist enters the strange space in an attempt to find him. The film is inspired by the internet phenomenon known as “creepypasta,” a genre of horror stories that spread online.

Another major success was ‘Obsession’, directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker. The horror film earned $26.4 million in its third weekend and has now collected nearly $150 million worldwide, as per reports. Remarkably, the movie was produced for less than $1 million.

Meanwhile, ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ reportedly slipped to third place, earning $25 million in its second weekend. The film has made $246.6 million globally so far.

Industry experts say the strong performance of Backrooms and Obsession highlights the growing influence of digital creators in mainstream cinema. Their success could encourage more online creators to make the jump from YouTube to the big screen.