Endless rooms and records: Backrooms is A24's highest

Endless rooms and records: Backrooms is A24's highest-grossing movie ever

The horror hit is officially A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release

In a world of reboots, remakes and sequels, an original story said, "Hold my popcorn."

Backrooms is officially A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release, as well as the studio’s first movie to surpass $200 million US in ticket sales.

In less than two weeks, the breakout horror phenom from YouTuber Kane Parsons generated $212 million globally, including $135 million in the U.S. and Canada.

It took the box-office crown from last year’s Timothy Chalamet-led ping pong awards contender Marty Supreme, which previously held the studio’s top spot, making $191 million.

But wait, that’s not all. Backrooms set all kinds of records for A24, the studio behind prestige films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Moonlight and The Drama.

All this on a tight $10-million budget.

Before it became a box-office heavy hitter, Backrooms was a laptop passion project using 3D animation software.

It began as a viral 22-video found-footage YouTube series that Parsons started posting in 2022. It has since amassed more than 25 million views and developed a cult following.

The 20-year-old director told The Independent that his "world on YouTube, the whole landscape that I've grown up with, has necessitated an extreme attention to detail since the beginning."

That attention to detail didn't go unnoticed, clearly. The YouTube series caught the attention of A24, who hired Parsons to take his concept further and direct the film about liminal spaces.

Chris Ferguson, a Vancouver-based producer on Backrooms, says he knew Parsons's audience would transition to the big screen with him because "we were always being true to the series."

"I think the lesson is to stop underestimating the audience."

In case you haven't already seen it, it follows a furniture story owner, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who finds a secret door in his shop that leads into an endless stretch of empty rooms. After he disappears, his therapist, played by Renate Reinsve, heads into the unknown to try and rescue him.

Alongside A24, the film was produced by Chernin Entertainment, Canadian Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps, and James Wan, who's behind haunting horrors like The Conjuring and Insidious.

Griffin Jaeger is a reporter and producer with CBC's entertainment unit. He also formerly hosted and produced content for The National’s digital platforms. You can reach him at griffin.jaeger@cbc.ca