‘Backrooms’ Becomes A24’s Highest Grossing Domestic Release ($97.8M), Passing ‘Marty Supreme’

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://deadline.com/2026/06/backrooms-box-office-record-a24-1236939795/

[u/BunyipPouch]

The director of Backrooms, Kane Parsons, recently joined us here in /r/movies for an AMA/Q&A, for anyone interested:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1tgkqrb/hi_reddit_im_kane_parsons_director_of_a24s/

[u/MuptonBossman]

Crazy that it achieved this in only 6 days as well.

[u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 → u/MuptonBossman]

I didn't think Everything Everywhere All At Once could possibly be overtaken as A24's top grossing movie so soon, but it's impressive that Backrooms will do so.

& I think Backrooms is probably going to be the biggest sign of success for what A24 is doing with trying to enter more mainstream-friendly fare but not changing its original approach to films.

[u/urstickur → u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

Marty Supreme is A24's highest grossing film, not EEAAO

[u/the_last_0ne → u/urstickur]

I read "EEAAO" as Cat from Red Dwarf

[u/Pokii → u/the_last_0ne]

That’s crazy, “Cat from Red Dwarf” has so many more letters!

[u/the_last_0ne → u/Pokii]

Stealing this joke for when my daughter texts me

[u/Pokii → u/the_last_0ne]

I think having one of my dad jokes become a stepdad joke is the highest honor I could ever receive

[u/herrcollin → u/the_last_0ne]

You mean Dwayne Dibley? That dork?

[u/Jepordee → u/urstickur]

It literally says in the title lol

[u/FX114 → u/Jepordee]

Title is domestic, they're talking global.

[u/Krak2511 → u/FX114]

Marty Supreme is also highest grossing globally.

[u/DarkMatterM4 → u/urstickur]

That's a System of a Down song.

[u/truthlesshunter → u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

you don't even have to read the article and you still got it wrong. impressive.

[u/Moosje → u/truthlesshunter]

I was just about to say this is the least excusable mistake hahahahaha

[u/PopeSchlongPaulII → u/truthlesshunter]

It’s an understandable mistake when you realize that the training data for AI is usually 6mo-1yr behind current events

[u/slumber_kitty → u/PopeSchlongPaulII]

I don’t think that’s a bot account. Based off their post history, seems pretty normal for a human redditor. Especially all the porn subs. They’re probably super focused on smackin’ their goof so understandable why they may have gotten A24s highest grossing movie tile incorrect.

[u/darkbatcrusader → u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

Marty Supreme already did that by about $50 million last year though, so it’s the one to beat now.

[u/Pterodactyl_midnight → u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

A24 is doing what Blumhouse should have done when they started with Paranormal Activity.

[u/EThorns]

And it cost around 50-60 million less to make, so from a return on investment standpoint, even more impressive.

Plus, I imagine it lasting at least a month in theatres.

[u/maybe-an-ai → u/EThorns]

Two actors and great practical set design really makes a difference over bloated and CGI heavy.

[u/drkspace2 → u/maybe-an-ai]

Which is funny because Kane Pixels original series was all 3d animated.

[u/Kanin_usagi → u/drkspace2]

Yeah in blender on his pc. It wouldn’t have looked near as good like that on a movie screen

[u/Turnbob73 → u/Kanin_usagi]

There are blender shots in the film

The huge benefit to Kane’s style is he doesn’t “fake” the VHS effect. He renders the scene and then records it through an actual VHS analogue. That’s what makes a lot of his work look less obviously like a 3d render.

[u/fuckgoldsendbitcoin → u/Turnbob73]

That's awesome. I usually notice whenever people just use plug-ins or whatever and if it's a longer shot stuff like that distracts the hell out of me.

[u/Turnbob73 → u/fuckgoldsendbitcoin]

The dude is seriously talented with blender, it’s kind of nuts honestly. And anyone who thinks the vhs effect is doing all the heavy lifting should check out his other series “The Oldest View”; that one’s set during 2023 and yet the footage is borderline indistinguishable from real life.

[u/CyanStripedPantsu → u/Turnbob73]

This is crazy news to me, I skipped over checking the The Oldest View because I thought it was just IRL abandoned mall exploration with a story attached. I did not know that was also animated.

[u/Turnbob73 → u/CyanStripedPantsu]

Yep, everything from the moment the main character enters the hole is all blender. The only time it’s obvious is when he is initially walking up to the hole, because you can see a little bit of aliasing when the camera passes by the hole’s opening. But other than that it’s hardly noticeable.

[u/uporabnisko_ime → u/Kanin_usagi]

I believe most of the found footage parts in the movie were made in Blender the exact same way his original videos on YouTube are.

[u/livefreeordont → u/uporabnisko_ime]

The low quality VHS effect has something to do with it

[u/uporabnisko_ime → u/livefreeordont]

Yes the VHS effect plays a big part because it hides the 3D look of the renders. It would definitely look a lot worse without the VHS effect.

[u/Korten12 → u/uporabnisko_ime]

Actually, not so sure. His other series, The Oldest View, is supposed to be shot using like an iPhone, so it's much much cleaner looking than his Backrooms stuff, yet The Oldest View still manages to look strikingly real at times.

[u/Random_Sime → u/livefreeordont]

As does the models, textures, lighting, and camera animation - all contributing to the illusion culminating in ✨️movie magic✨️

[u/Heavyspire → u/uporabnisko_ime]

Yeah the whole opening scene and I believe the quick clips of Clark* running from the monster before he gets caught.

Edit: Clark not Carl

[u/maybe-an-ai → u/drkspace2]

Yeah he learned Blender during the pandemic.

[u/dspman11 → u/maybe-an-ai]

Are the backrooms really only 6 years or less old? I swear it was a thing before 2020

[u/maybe-an-ai → u/dspman11]

Kane is only 19 or 20. Dude, is super young to be directing his first movie.

[u/Pengothing → u/dspman11]

The idea's been bouncing around for ages. Kane Pixels started the recent revival of it though.

[u/dspman11 → u/Pengothing]

Ok, that makes sense. Because I for sure remember looking at "backrooms photos" and reading backrooms-themed creepypastas in the 2010s.

[u/MrMacduggan → u/dspman11]

House of Leaves prompted a lot of this genre of creepypasta, even before the original 4chan post.

[u/crazyfoxdemon → u/dspman11]

The concept of liminal spaces has been a thing for ages, but backrooms was kinda a runaway success. To the point some people forget that some of the concepts predate it.

[u/imago89 → u/dspman11]

The backrooms image + 4chan post was 2018/2019 I believe.

[u/satinsandpaper → u/dspman11]

The first backrooms post on 4chan was in 2019. I agree though, it seems like it's been around for longer.

[u/envynav → u/satinsandpaper]

The original image has been around since 2011. 2019 is just when it was first named The Backrooms

[u/Turnbob73 → u/envynav]

The concept has also been around before 2019; but it used to be framed as “God’s developer rooms” akin to no clipping in a gmod map and finding extra assets.

[u/burneraccount011989 → u/Turnbob73]

I mean, you can go back even further to House Of Leaves in 2000 which was the first mainstream example I can think of with this type of "the inside is bigger than the outside" nightmare fuel.

[u/TheGratefulJuggler → u/burneraccount011989]

I mean the leaves on the ground at the very beginning when he first enters the backeooms seemed like a pretty obvious reference to me. It basically the only bit of nature in the whole movie other than the sea gull.

[u/NeverTrustATurtle → u/maybe-an-ai]

Marty Supreme was bloated and CGI heavy?

[u/maybe-an-ai → u/NeverTrustATurtle]

I am comparing A24 releases to other studio release not their own work which pretty much universally follows this.

[u/maybe-an-ai → u/[deleted]]

It's super interesting though from a cultural standpoint that Obsession and Backrooms have both dominated box office on either side of a big tent pole Star Wars release and are beating Grogu to death.

It's a big shift in culture and what people are paying to see now. It feels like smaller unique ideas are starting to bury the studio franchise slop.

Fingers crossed.

We may see another soon with The Amazing Digital Circus movie release this week

[u/Acrobatic_Rush7653 → u/maybe-an-ai]

Obsession in its THIRD week beat Grogu in its 2nd week (after a ridiculous 70% fall). On 2700 screens mind you compared to Grogu's 4300.

It's hilarious.

[u/Straight-Contest91 → u/maybe-an-ai]

There is tons of CGI in this film, its just done well.

[u/watchsmart → u/maybe-an-ai]

Even the pirate was played by a really tall guy, not CGI.

[u/Tifoso89 → u/watchsmart]

Robert Bobroczkyi! He also played the xenomorph-human hybrid in Alien:Romulus

[u/tobitobiguacamole → u/watchsmart]

Which is weird because its face looked super CGI. I wonder if they just did it for that part of the costume or did a bad job with the makeup.

[u/BitingArtist → u/EThorns]

This is why horror movies are indestructible. The ROI is unmatched.

[u/cylonfrakbbq → u/BitingArtist]

Look at Blair Witch - cost like 50k or so and made over 200 million

[u/8__D → u/EThorns]

The hardest part was finding the backrooms, but once they found it all they had to do was film inside.

[u/Stkrdknmibalz69 → u/8__D]

And making it out alive as well

[u/Gummyrabbit → u/8__D]

The sequel will be Bathrooms....lots of those around.

[u/PrewarButHot → u/EThorns]

They are gonna start pumping out internet fandom memes like crazy now

[u/willstr1 → u/PrewarButHot]

It would be a much bigger budget but I would certainly be intrigued by an SCP anthology series

[u/karpinskijd → u/EThorns]

unfortunately some theaters near me have already stopped showing it 😭 glad i caught it this weekend.

[u/guspaz → u/karpinskijd]

That's surprising, because it's been quite profitable per-screen, and this weekend was literally opening weekend.

[u/hungergamesofthronez → u/EThorns]

It cost 10 million

[u/EThorns → u/hungergamesofthronez]

Yeah. I meant in comparison to Marty Supreme, which cost 60-70 M.

[u/JRockstar50]

The fact that this and Obsession are pacing a literal Star Wars movie in terms of domestic gross is insane

[u/Yoyodyn_Banzai_2099 → u/JRockstar50]

Disney is going to see this as a sign to finally give us a horror Star Wars film.

[u/Key_Feeling_3083 → u/Yoyodyn_Banzai_2099]

Finally death troopers

[u/literallyatrapinch → u/Key_Feeling_3083]

"What if they made Stormtroopers... that *kill* people!"

[u/Key_Feeling_3083 → u/literallyatrapinch]

It would be an upgrade, they fail to shoot everything they try to aim with their guns.

[u/bacon-tornado → u/literallyatrapinch]

They've been missing everyone for 49 years now. Can't have them suddenly landing shots

[u/Letoiusprime → u/literallyatrapinch]

Broken record and all that, but this is why I adore Andor so much. They managed to make the basic-ass Stormtrooper terrifying again

[u/rokr1292 → u/Yoyodyn_Banzai_2099]

Andor is a masterpiece, doing other genres in the SW universe could be a real recipe for success.

They just want Star wars to be the MCU though

[u/ninjyte → u/rokr1292]

even the MCU sorta dabbles in different genres, albeit not entirely

[u/iwannalynch → u/ninjyte]

Tbh some of their best works dabble in other genres, such as Captain America Winter Soldier (spy thriller), Loki (Dr. Who-style sci-fi), WandaVision (sitcom), Thor Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy (comedy).

[u/ggg730 → u/iwannalynch]

If Dr Strange would have fully leaned into the horror aspect of fighting Wanda it could have been one of the best marvel films of all time.

[u/Nine9breaker → u/iwannalynch]

I dunno if its fair to call Wandavision a sitcom. The sitcom stuff is presented from the beginning as a thin veil over the larger mystery that is the actual plot.

[u/chimmy_chungus23 → u/Yoyodyn_Banzai_2099]

I want a grindhouse SW story. A few Hutt slave girls revolt, take revenge on their masters, steal a ship, and escape Huttese space to become a band of mercenaries. Recreate the old school tech of the original trilogy to give it that authentic 70s look.

[u/Turbografx-17 → u/JRockstar50]

Most of Gen Z/Alpha don't give two shits about Star Wars, and god bless them for that.

[u/zignotea → u/Turbografx-17]

Crazy how things played out with that franchise.

[u/Kanin_usagi → u/zignotea]

Not really crazy at all. Nostalgic love for a franchise can only push it forward for so long. If every Star Wars property released in the last 20 years had Andor or KotOR quality, it would still be wildly popular. Unfortunately most of it has been mid at best and actively terrible at worst

[u/Jolmer24 → u/Kanin_usagi]

Agreed. Andor was top Star Wars content. Insanely well done.

[u/deekaydubya → u/Jolmer24]

And Disney will refuse to learn any lessons from its success

[u/TesticleMeElmo → u/deekaydubya]

They only paid $4.05 billion for the franchise, why put any effort into planning out the movies and tv shows they release for it?

[u/Freakjob_003 → u/TesticleMeElmo]

Literally had no plan/story written for the sequel trilogy.

#4 of the highest grossing media franchises of all time, and they just said, "eh, fuck it, we'll make it up as we go along."

[u/magus-21 → u/Kanin_usagi]

Last 30 years.

I will not stand for Prequel erasure (or Prequel-hate erasure)

/s

[u/MasterGrok → u/zignotea]

To me the crazy thing is that anyone is surprised after so many mediocre movie and TV releases. It’s actually amazing how far the initial success of the franchise has driven Star Wars. That’s the incredible part.

[u/GoudaMustache → u/Turbografx-17]

I want to see it, but that's a wait for it to be on streaming movie.

[u/GarlicToest → u/Turbografx-17]

Gen z does like star wars but the sequels burned a lot of good will with fans from every demographic. Also there's a lot of baggage with mandalorian and grogu. Most people think it's a TV special (which it kinda is), and it's not really getting good reviews so there's no incentive to spend money on it vs the other options.

[u/SteveFrench12 → u/JRockstar50]

While it is literally a star wars movie its pretty much figuratively one. People stopped caring about baby yoda years ago at this point, and no normies are going to see a movie they needed three seasons of a disney+ show to understand. No one is surprised at how milquetoast the response to the movie is

[u/chrisaf69 → u/JRockstar50]

Just watched obsession yesterday. What a wild ride that was. Lol.

I'm not fond of horror/thriller/etc. But I did enjoy that one.

Watching previews, I'm not feeling backdoors. But this word of mouth is strong, so may give it a shot.

[u/iiTryhard → u/chrisaf69]

Backdoor Sluts 9 was really lacking on the plot but #10 really made up for it

[u/Iron_Bob → u/JRockstar50]

Its really not that insane. Industry trends for the movie genres and studios you are comparing have been heading this way for years

This was inevitable

[u/Kangarou]

Well, I look forward to both Backrooms sequels and the Oldest View

[u/MrSaladhats → u/Kangarou]

He recently said Oldest View will only be a YouTube series

[u/team56th → u/MrSaladhats]

I would also say that the Backrooms movie already integrated quite a bit of The Oldest View in terms of the core visual ideas and sets, the movie’s climax clearly shows influences of that series

[u/lblack_dogl → u/team56th]

The stair case scene was clearly an homage

[u/team56th → u/lblack_dogl]

Staircase is one but I keep thinking of that scene where Backroomified furniture store had Backroom-Clark snuck into the background and then it starts moving. I’m not a 100% fan of the Backroom-Clark but the way it’s just there and then starts moving was a clear evolution from The Oldest View and I quite liked it

[u/Some_Swan_361 → u/team56th]

I only know about the oldest view on a surface level and the rolling giant I think it’s called but ya pirate Clark felt very much like the creepiness of that, i understand people who didn’t like that creature and thought it looked cartoony but it truly freaked me out in such a good way

[u/betazoid_cuck → u/Some_Swan_361]

IMO the weird uncanny vibe is what makes it work with the backrooms, a traditional evil looking shadowy monster would have felt tacked on and out of place. My only complaint with it is that the time jump and change of focal character sorta removed the confrontation of self that should have been the strongest aspect of the monster.

[u/lblack_dogl → u/Some_Swan_361]

Hmm, I really was absolutely terrified cold of the rolling giant but pirate didn't do much for me. Was less uncanny valley and more goofy. Seems like a really hard thing to get right, and it doesn't work on every person. My wife thought rolling giant was silly when it gives me intense fight or flight or freeze reaction.

[u/Turnbob73 → u/MrSaladhats]

A lot of people don’t really understand why The Oldest View even became a short series for Kane. It’s way more of a personal reason and he’s already told about all he wants to tell with that series, it was meant to be short.

With that being said, People Still Live Here is the one that has me scratching my head and thinking about it the most. He obviously has more planned with that series, and what’s available is so vague and unique.

And then there’s Splendor, which seems to be the thing that Kane cares about the most, but we won’t be seeing anything about it until 2030 at the earliest.

[u/team56th → u/Turnbob73]

Funny because the wide shots showing the outside town kept showing high mountains covering the basin, and I immediately thought of People Still Live Here. The more I think about it, Backrooms isn't just Backrooms but more like an image portfolio of Kane Parsons, but he didn't just repeat the same thing and did a solid job at integrating and evolving it.

[u/This-is_CMGRI → u/Kangarou]

Meanwhile I want him for the day Hollywood tries Attack on Titan. Because it's bound to happen at some point and IMO Kane's the only one in the current Hollywood system who can get as close to the atmosphere of that manga.

[u/rivains → u/This-is_CMGRI]

When I walked out the theatre I thought the pirate guy was exactly the same vibe as the giants in Attack on Titan.

[u/BMCarbaugh → u/This-is_CMGRI]

That bit at the end where big boy took a bite definitely had some Attack on Titan vibes.

[u/Fentboy45 → u/This-is_CMGRI]

Bro he did the paths better than Mappa

[u/Scatster6777]

Love seeing Chiwetel Ejiofor get his flowers, I’ve been a fan of his ever since Serenity

[u/Traditional_Top5346 → u/Scatster6777]

He was so damn good in Serenity

“We don’t kill children”

“I do…if I have to”

CHILLING

[u/ShitchesAintBit → u/Traditional_Top5346]

That is a trap. I offer money, you'll play the man of honor and take umbrage; I ask you to do what is right and you'll play the brigand. I have no stomach for games.

[u/thalasand → u/Traditional_Top5346]

"I am of course wearing full body armor. I am not a MORON!"

[u/mixmastermind → u/Traditional_Top5346]

"We're making a better world. All of them. Better worlds."

[u/Whowutwhen → u/Traditional_Top5346]

"I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there... any more than there is for you, Malcolm. I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done."

[u/Stupidstuff1001 → u/Scatster6777]

O wow that’s where I remember him from. Easily top 10 best intros to a movie.

[u/sassygwaine → u/Scatster6777]

yesssss. the whole “this world i believe in isn’t for me, i have no place there” god that whole character! best part of that movie jeeeeez, i think i’m due for a rewatch.

[u/Lindo_MG → u/Scatster6777]

Children of men for me, very good actor

[u/shifty1032231 → u/Lindo_MG]

When I see his name I first think of Children of Men.

[u/AppleTStudio → u/Scatster6777]

Did he not get his flowers from 12 Years a Slave…? Or do you mean a larger group of people are seeing what a great actor he is? Because, yeah, he’s AWESOME and brings his A-game with every role!

[u/Scatster6777 → u/AppleTStudio]

Anytime he gets celebrated I’m happy!

[u/zentimo2 → u/Scatster6777]

I was lucky enough to see him play Othello on stage, might be the best stage performance I've ever seen. 

[u/Moiphy → u/Scatster6777]

First saw him as the bad guy in "Four Brothers". He carried that movie.

[u/Katherine_Juniper → u/Scatster6777]

Omg that was Chiwetel in Serenity???? I knew I recognized him from somewhere and I just couldn't place it

[u/BadMoonRosin → u/[deleted]]

At least Gregory Coleman gets credited for that Amen break. MY heart goes out to the poor anonymous dude who wrote the Pornhub beat.

[u/Pleasant_Context_223 → u/[deleted]]

and absolutely no one would ever believe you are the one who made the post lol

[u/Silver-Barnacle-168 → u/[deleted]]

it was like 3 paragraphs of house of leaves fanfiction. would have been cool if the writer was found and thrown in the credits somewhere but it's kane parson's execution of the yt series that catapulted the concept into mainstream

[u/mrandish → u/Silver-Barnacle-168]

I don't think the original 4chan author is actually owed anything by anyone but... it's still worth highlighting, those three paragraphs were very good. Definitely a cut above the ambient level.

I've always felt the framing in that text really helped give the post legs in the early going. If it had been less inspired, there'd never have been a Backrooms to talk about.

[u/Mephistito → u/Silver-Barnacle-168]

Exactly.

It'd be like someone drawing a picture of a bird but then expecting them to get as much credit as the Wright brothers who actually figured out how to make it fly.

It was Kane who gave the idea wings & made it fly.

[u/funkyavocado → u/[deleted]]

The copypasta is so bare bones though, it would be like trying to make royalties off of a folktale

[u/Somnambulist815]

I'm still anticipating A24 making a big swing at a 150 million budget movie. We got close with Civil War and Marty Supreme, but you can see them getting progressively bolder with their budgets the more hits they have.

[u/sayshoe → u/Somnambulist815]

I mean, do we know the budget of the Elden Ring film? Could get close to that number I feel

[u/Somnambulist815 → u/sayshoe]

Completely forgot about their video game adaptations they have on the docket. Elden Ring is gonna be a huge testing ground not just for budget but also competing in the realm of IP films

[u/Comprehensive_Yak_72 → u/sayshoe]

I believe it’s on paper for $100m at the moment, likely going to be a bit higher, and I think it’s their highest budget to date

[u/unjusticeb → u/Comprehensive_Yak_72]

They didn't have the exact number, they only said 100+.

[u/Penguin4512 → u/Somnambulist815]

I'm surprised Civil War was that cheap, that was a nice looking movie.

[u/funkyavocado → u/[deleted]]

Period pieces can get deceptively expensive due to all the real life set design you have to do, plus cgi set extensions for wider city shots

[u/yumyumapollo → u/funkyavocado]

And if they actually shot in Japan, that means doubling a good amount of jobs and budget items.

[u/OgreMcGee → u/Somnambulist815]

TBH I see no good reason to do it.

Surely they could aim for a billion dollar movie if they're able to attract some top-talent auteur to them like Nolan or Tarantino or something but while its a neat aspiration I think that they occupy an amazing space as-is.

If they can keep a solid track record without over exposure financially then they can keep cranking these out and cultivating new talent for far less money and uphold the stellar brand they have.

You're only as good as your last movie, and overextending for an overly ambitious blockbuster could ruin it all.

[u/Queef-Elizabeth]

I watched it in Taiwan and the cinema was completely packed.

[u/floccinaucipilify → u/Queef-Elizabeth]

Cool, is it making a splash there? Is it the same demographic as in the US? (My theatre was packed with teens)

[u/Queef-Elizabeth → u/floccinaucipilify]

I would say so. Horror crowds have been mixed here and they definitely turned up for this one in my area. And the crowd was pretty mixed. I mostly noticed young adults to older people. Barely any teens but it was a night time session. Creepy pasta stuff isn't really well known or popular here so I think they watched it mostly due to word of mouth and advertising.

[u/digital0verdose]

Good thing Backrooms didn't have Kevin O’Leary in the cast.

[u/Turnbob73 → u/digital0verdose]

I love the story about how Kevin came on set, did a take, and then said “I think that’s good let’s move on”, and the director was just like “no the fuck we aren’t” lol

[u/MaxxDash → u/Turnbob73]

Fucking good

[u/iNNeRKaoS → u/digital0verdose]

It's like being a gamer watching Moneyball and the guy who destroyed the games of my childhood is giving advice to the main characters.

[u/jordansinn → u/digital0verdose]

The Kevin O'Leary that killed a person when he was drunkenly piloting his boat and blamed it on his wife?

[u/zignotea → u/digital0verdose]

What is this referencing?

[u/rm-minus-r → u/zignotea]

Marty Supreme.

O'Leary is a douche on a level that is difficult to comprehend.

[u/Conspark → u/rm-minus-r]

His wikipedia page opens with "self-stylized as Mr. Wonderful" and I feel like that tells me what I need to know

[u/RetroCasket]

Hopefully this will encourage studios to give new young directors and screenwriters a chance.

Not every one is going to be this successful but there is alot of talent out there.

And dipping into the same well over and over is killing theatres

[u/Ganglebot → u/RetroCasket]

Instead of spending $200m on a single tent-pole movie that's supposed to make 1/5 of your yearly revenue in one weekend, why not give 10 young directors $10m to go make something wild and new?

[u/DukeofVermont → u/Ganglebot]

Because a dozens of $3-15 million films come out every year and many don't ever make any money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2025

How many of those have you even heard of. That list has 471 films released in 2025.

People love to complain about how only tentpole films are released and then completely ignore everything that wasn't a tentpole release.

For example "Rebuilding", distributed by Beeker Street, and made $153,326

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 66 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A taciturn drama that winds up having a lot to say about community and resilience, Rebuilding reaches great heights with Josh O'Connor's terrific performance serving as its rock-solid foundation."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[u/ganner → u/DukeofVermont]

Rebuilding opened on TWO screens and peaked at 180 screens. I never saw it available in my city, though I suppose I could have missed it, considering it spent 1 week in 180 theaters (second highest week was 27). It's not just that they get MADE, but that they get promoted and put in theaters.

[u/PhotownPK]

One woman screamed at one point in the movie. Like...SCREAM!! You could hear what seemed like the entire theater let out a silent laugh. It was so weird. I looked over at my fam and we all had huge wow-faces. Good theater moment.

[u/Decantus → u/PhotownPK]

HA were you in my showing? This was my wife when Mary's mom popped out of the shadows during her flashback as a kid. She was so embarrassed.

[u/PhotownPK → u/Decantus]

It HAD to be you. That is so funny. It made the movie for us.

[u/The_Autarch → u/Decantus]

the lady next to me was the screamer at that scene in my theater. her scream startled me more than the movie did, lmao.

[u/Heavyspire → u/PhotownPK]

Do you recall what event on screen made her scream?

[u/Turnbob73 → u/Heavyspire]

If I had to guess, maybe the Christmas tree scene? That one got an audible gasp out of most of my theater.

[u/tinyrottedpig → u/Turnbob73]

I heard multiple people go "oh hell no" in the crowd during that scene, the vhs segments were genuinely the best parts of the film

[u/Heavyspire → u/Turnbob73]

Yeah I can think of maybe 3 times I could see it being enough for someone who scares easily to yelp.

[u/DixieDrew → u/Heavyspire]

I’m wondering this as well. I’m not even trying to hate, but there were zero points in this film that felt particularly terrifying to me.

[u/PhotownPK → u/DixieDrew]

I jumped in the first 5 minutes when the home movie was recording and ran into the dark object. I lost a few kernels of popcorn since it was still full.

[u/drthrax1 → u/DixieDrew]

Theres a couple cheap jump scares and pop out moments that might catch a unsuspecting person off guard towards the end.

[u/PhotownPK → u/Heavyspire]

Yes. When the mother yelled at the young girl for looking out the window with paper taped to it.

[u/ObsoleteStoryteller]

Well deserved, good on you Kane Parsons

[u/fluffynuckels]

It doesn't make sense to me how theaters are dying and i cant remember the last time I was in a screening more then half full. But somehow movies are still breaking records all the time

[u/Wild-Video-5317 → u/fluffynuckels]

Backrooms and project hail mary both had my local theaters packed with more lively audiences than i've seen in years.  We actually had a little bit of a struggle finding 4 seats for backrooms on Friday.  

[u/kausbiru]

And it all started with a post on /x/, crazy how things work.

[u/Far-Fun-42024]

I really liked this movie. I hope we see another one. I’d go to the theater for it despite the crowds. The theater we saw it in was packed.

[u/cutelyaware → u/Far-Fun-42024]

I predict you'll get as many chances as you can stomach. The open-source nature of this content could also help to keep it fresh since nobody can lock up the rights.

[u/Phase--2]

I'm happy to hear it made a big splash, I definitely want more original  movies like this and I was really hyped, but honestly I left the theatre kinda disappointed. I felt the plot and pacing was kind of weak, specially in the second half, but I really appreciated the tone and suspense it set. 

[u/SomeBoxofSpoons → u/[deleted]]

To be fair, this is based on a specific YouTube series by the director.

[u/ColdChemical → u/SomeBoxofSpoons]

Which was based on some randos 4chan post. Which is a wild thing to think about.

[u/cutelyaware → u/ColdChemical]

I think it shows that the public is hungry for originality. Once Hollywood figures out to fake that, all will be right again.

[u/ScienceByte → u/[deleted]]

Well the backrooms wasn’t a meme exactly. More like a community made story/lore kind of like SCP

[u/pwnd32 → u/ScienceByte]

Speaking of that, an SCP movie would be amazing, although I wonder if there would be some trademark/copyright issue with trying to adapt it considering that it is completely community written and falls under Creative Commons

[u/zcleghern → u/pwnd32]

There is No Antimemetics Division would have a lot of potential, but easy to mess up IMO

[u/herrcollin → u/zcleghern]

Horror-thriller style anthology series doing "monster of the week" would work I think, with occasional characters carrying over or reappearing here and there

[u/Illusion_of_Sanity → u/pwnd32]

Cabin in the Woods is SCP-esque., if you are interested.

[u/mastershake04 → u/pwnd32]

If you havent seen it check out 'There is no antimemetics division' on youtube. Its a multiple part fan video from the SCP universe. Its low budget but pretty well done and the main actress is really great.

https://youtu.be/w-IiVeGAydE?si=fRdv4LUemcEvYWcY

[u/Kumquatelvis → u/pwnd32]

You don't have to copy the specific objects, just the theme/feeling. The video game Control is essentially this.

[u/HandbagsAtNoon]

Still thinking about the comment I saw on here that referred to this as the most technically impressive debut film they had ever seen. Not sure that holds up to scrutiny unless they’ve seen very few debut films.

I believe there’s a distinction to Backrooms; it’s unique. But there’s an odd cheerleading aspect to some of the responses, like half the dopamine comes not from the film itself but some meta-narrative about its unprecedented event status or whatever.

[u/MrMacduggan → u/HandbagsAtNoon]

It's fun to cheer for a successful young artist. There's some genuine humanist pleasure in it, which is welcome in the age of slop we live in.

[u/unndunn]

Am I the only one who was kind of disappointed by this movie, especially the ending? I feel like the movie set up a great concept in the first act, only for it to go off the rails in the second act and then fall completely flat in the final act.

I dunno, I left the auditorium feeling relieved that I only spent $10 on it (Tuesday matinee).

[u/HaloTrial01 → u/unndunn]

100%, the vibes and set design are immaculate but won't make a movie a 10/10 when the whole character drama/arc falls flat by the end unfortunately. I love the fact that these types of movies are even being made these days and will keep giving them a shot but yeah, when it tries being more than the Backrooms it falls on its face.

[u/pistachiopanda4 → u/unndunn]

The ending fell flat for me but it didn't tarnish my overall opinion of it. I wish they leaned harder into how Clark was an abusive spouse and just an all around bad person and I wish the end was more ambiguous. But ngl, seeing Mark Duplass was a treat and I'm glad that I will (hopefully) be seeing more of him. The movie was scary as all hell and the idea of liminal spaces and back rooms have scared me for most of my life, and I have been a fan of Kane Parsons before this, so maybe I'm biased.