This Weekend’s Leading Films Were Directed by YouTube Sensations

The transition from YouTube to elite horror cinema is thriving this weekend.

Leading the box office is “Backrooms,” a film based on Kane Parsons’ YouTube series that showcases eerie found footage of a bizarre office space (drawing inspiration from a 4chan thread) that defies the laws of physics.

Directed by Parsons, “Backrooms” is expected to generate approximately $81 million at the domestic box office this weekend alone. This sets a new record for indie studio A24, eclipsing the previous best of $25.7 million from “Civil War” during its opening weekend.

In the runner-up position, “Obsession” is accomplishing something arguably even more impressive. With an estimated weekend total of $26.4 million, the film (which follows a romantic wish spiraling into chaos) has already surpassed its first-weekend earnings in its second week, and a further 10 percent increase is projected for its third weekend.

For context, most wide-release films commonly experience a drop of 50 to 70 percent in their second weekend. Last year’s “Sinners” was celebrated as a remarkable success for only dropping less than 5 percent. Excluding Christmas releases— which typically perform better due to the holiday— experiencing growth from one weekend to the next is quite unusual. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Obsession” is the first film since 1982 to exhibit growth in its second and third weekends.

Much like “Backrooms,” “Obsession” is another horror entry from a director who gained fame on YouTube — Curry Barker. His YouTube journey culminated (for now) in the hour-long found footage horror piece “Milk & Serial,” released in 2024. Barker has already wrapped filming on his next venture and is set to direct a new version of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

The two films follow the unforeseen success of “Iron Lung,” a video game adaptation that debuted earlier this year. Directed by Mark Fischbach — better known as Markiplier on YouTube — “Iron Lung” garnered nearly $41 million in domestic earnings.

In a New York Times piece discussing the recent “YouTube-to-filmmaker boom,” Rutgers Cinema general manager Mark DelVecchio noted that “many YouTubers who have tried to shift to mainstream film have not succeeded.” What sets Parsons, Barker, and Fischbach apart? DelVecchio highlights their “longevity,” despite their youth (Parsons is 20, Barker is 26).

“Some of them have been producing videos for a significant amount of time, which aids in building a loyal audience willing to follow them,” he added.

Both films surpassed the first Star Wars release in seven years, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which is estimated to earn $24 million this weekend.

By the way, while I haven’t had the opportunity to see “Backrooms” yet (fingers crossed for tomorrow), I have seen “Obsession.” I can assure you that it certainly does not disappoint — I watched most of the latter half with my hands covering my eyes and might have even let out a few screams.

This article was originally published on May 30 and has been updated with the latest box office figures.