Low-Budget Horror Films From YouTubers Conquer the Box Office

May 31, 2026, 4:27 PM UTC

Backrooms, a film based on 20-year-old Kane Parsons’s popular YouTube series of the same name, debuted to $81.4 million at the US and Canada box office this weekend, setting a record for independent distributor A24.

The performance of the $10 million science fiction horror movie — about the discovery of endless, interdimensional maze-like spaces — is roughly on par with the opening of the latest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, on Memorial Day weekend.

It’s also the third straight box office success this year from filmmakers who got their start on Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

See Breaking News in Context

Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.