Directed by Kane Parsons
A furniture-store owner finds a basement door into an endless maze of yellow rooms. Kane Parsons adapted his own viral web series for $10 million, and it became A24's biggest film at about $402.5 million worldwide.
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2026's No. 2 horror film · A24's biggest ever
A YouTube series about empty yellow rooms became A24's biggest film ever.
Clark, a failed architect running a cut-rate furniture showroom, finds a door in the basement that opens onto an endless maze of yellow rooms. When he is swallowed by the place, his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline, goes in after him.
Kane Parsons starts posting the Backrooms series on his YouTube channel, Kane Pixels. Wikipedia
A feature adaptation is announced, with Parsons directing. Wikipedia
Shot in Vancouver from July 7 to August 14 under the working title Effigy, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve leading the cast. Wikipedia
World premiere at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Wikipedia
Opens with $38.4 million on day one and $81.5 million for the weekend, $118 million worldwide. Tracking had pointed to $40 to $50 million. It triples A24's previous opening record, Civil War's $25.5 million. Wikipedia, USA Today
Passes $100 million in the U.S. and Canada after six days in theaters. Los Angeles Times
Passes Marty Supreme to become A24's highest-grossing film worldwide, at $213 million. Wikipedia, CBC
The Everything Must Go Edition adds a 15-minute prequel sequence in theaters on July 3. Digital rental and purchase follow July 14. Wikipedia
Crosses $400 million worldwide and starts streaming exclusively on HBO Max on September 25. The Express Tribune, Variety
Directed by Kane Parsons from a screenplay by Will Soodik, based on Parsons' Kane Pixels web series. Producers include James Wan, Shawn Levy, Osgood Perkins and Peter Chernin. Co-financed by A24 and Chernin Entertainment, with Atomic Monster and 21 Laps. Released by A24.
Backrooms is 2026's second-biggest horror film, behind Obsession and ahead of Resident Evil. Like Obsession, it comes from a YouTube creator, in a year that also brought Iron Lung to theaters. It draws on the same liminal dread as Exit 8. See horror in 2026.
Sources: Wikipedia, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, CBC, Metro, The Straits Times, Variety, The Express Tribune, Mashable. Figures as reported through November 3, 2026.
Modern dread, endless spaces.
Liminal-space horror born from games and the internet.
Creator-led, internet-born horror reaches theaters.
About $402.5 million worldwide, including $197.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, on a $10 million budget. It is A24's highest-grossing film ever and the second-biggest horror film of 2026, behind Obsession.
Backrooms streams exclusively on HBO Max in the U.S., starting September 25, 2026. It has been available to rent or buy on digital since July 14, 2026.
Kane Parsons, the creator behind the Kane Pixels YouTube channel, where he began the Backrooms series in January 2022. At 20, he became the youngest filmmaker ever to have a No. 1 film at the box office. Will Soodik wrote the screenplay.
In September 2026, Parsons was reported to have signed with A24 to direct a sequel. No title or release date has been announced.
Horror is the box office. The internet is the campfire.