This weekend’s two biggest movies were both directed by YouTubers
This weekend, two films directed by YouTubers topped the box office. 'Backrooms,' directed by Kane Parsons, is projected to earn $81 million, marking a record for indie studio A24. Meanwhile, 'Obsession,' directed by Curry Barker, is experiencing unprecedented growth in its box office performance, making it the first film since 1982 to increase earnings in its second and third weekends.
- ▪'Backrooms' is a feature film based on a YouTube series and is expected to gross $81 million this weekend.
- ▪'Obsession' has seen its earnings grow by 10 percent in its third weekend, a rare occurrence for wide release films.
- ▪Both films are directed by YouTubers who have successfully transitioned to feature filmmaking.
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| Original publisher | TechCrunch |
| Canonical URL | https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/31/this-weekends-two-biggest-movies-were-both-directed-by-youtubers/ |
| Publication time | Sun, 31 May 2026 18:34:58 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-31T18:42:22.366Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The YouTube-to-prestige-horror pipeline is looking very strong this weekend. Taking the number one spot at the box office is “Backrooms,” a feature film expansion of Kane Parsons’ series of YouTube videos featuring eerie found footage of a mysterious office space (drawn from a 4chan thread) that defies physics. Directed by Parsons, “Backrooms” will bring in an estimated $81 million at the domestic box office this weekend alone. That’s the biggest opening by far for indie studio A24 — the previous record was held by “Civil War,” which made $25.7 in its first weekend of release. The number two film, “Obsession,” is pulling off something that’s arguably even more impressive.
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