Kane Parsons' ‘Backrooms' Has Made History In Only Six Days
Kane Parsons' Backrooms has become A24's highest-grossing movie domestically. This is the first A24 film to cross the $100 million mark at the domestic box office.
After its May 29 premiere, Backrooms quickly overtook Civil War as A24's best opening weekend, grossing $38 million on Friday alone. In a matter of days, Backrooms crossed an even larger benchmark: less than a week into its theatrical run, the film has grossed $100 million domestically. For comparison, A24's previous record-holder, the Timothée Chalametping-pong drama Marty Supreme, took 10 weeks to earn just shy of $100 million. Backrooms has surpassed this in record time and is expected to climb further as its run continues.
Not only is Backrooms breaking records domestically, but globally as well; the film has already exceeded $136 million and is still climbing. The film has a ways to go to beat A24's worldwide records, with Everything Everywhere All at Once and Marty Supreme at $148 million and $191 million, respectively. Should Backrooms maintain its current momentum, it could soon challenge those records, especially since the film has a long theatrical run ahead of it.
Adding to the film's string of firsts, Parsons, 20, is now the youngest filmmaker ever to open at No. 1 at the box office. This achievement is particularly striking given that Backrooms was initially projected to make about $20 million in North America, yet the film grossed four times that amount in its first weekend. Notably, Backrooms was produced with a $10 million budget.
Backrooms is an adaptation of Parsons' YouTube short film and subsequent series, expanding on the lore of an internet legend. The original story, which targeted teens and young adults and garnered millions of views online, played a significant role in the film's strong performance. Given that A24 relies on the under-35 demographic, it is not surprising that this audience made up 70% of viewers, according to Deadline.
With the success of Backrooms, Parsons has announced that a sequel is in the works. Sources say the director is seeking a screenwriter to collaborate on the new script.
Even with a profitable week behind it, Backrooms faces new competition next week. To remain at the top of the box office, the film will face competition from Masters of the Universe and Scary Movie 6, each projected to gross around $35 million and both aiming to capitalize on existing IP.
Next: Kane Parsons' ‘Backrooms' Has Already Broken A24's Opening Weekend Record
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 12:36 PM.