The YouTube generation has officially arrived. With the release of Backrooms, Kane Parsons becomes the third consecutive YouTube creator to score a major theatrical hit, following Iron Lung and Obsession. Parsons, who is only 20 years old, shattered expectations this weekend and delivered A24 its biggest opening ever. The studio’s previous record holder was Civil War, which debuted with $25.7 million.
Backrooms opened to an incredible $81 million domestically—roughly double what I predicted earlier this week (oops!). The film appears to have finally given A24 the blockbuster horror franchise it has been chasing for years. Don’t be surprised if Backrooms 2 is fast-tracked into production. With numbers like these, the studio will want to strike while the iron is hot.
How Much Did Obsession Make in Its Third Weekend?
Meanwhile, Curry Barker’s Obsession continued its unprecedented run. The horror hit actually increased by 10% in its third weekend—an almost unheard-of feat for a mainstream release. Its $26.4 million weekend pushed its domestic total to $104 million, making it the highest-grossing film in Focus Features history.
Is The Mandalorian and Grogu a Box Office Flop?
The news was far less encouraging for Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Grogu plunged 69% in its second weekend, earning just $25 million and bringing its domestic total to $137 million. While some hoped the film would build momentum through positive word-of-mouth, that now seems unlikely.
At this point, the movie appears destined for a relatively short theatrical run before landing on Disney+. Unless international grosses significantly improve the picture, it risks being remembered as one of the franchise’s biggest disappointments. The pressure is now firmly on Star Wars: Starfighter, due next year, to revitalize a series that has struggled to regain its former box office dominance.
Can Michael Reach $1 Billion Worldwide?
Lionsgate’s Michael continued its impressive run, earning another $11.7 million this weekend for a massive $339 million domestic total. Worldwide, the film has already reached $850 million and is rapidly closing in on the billion-dollar mark.
If it maintains its momentum, it could soon overtake Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing music biopic of all time.
Why Did The Breadwinner Underperform?
Nate Bargatze’s The Breadwinner failed to connect with moviegoers. Despite Bargatze’s popularity as a stand-up comedian, the film earned poor reviews—including our own—and opened to just $7.5 million.
Meanwhile, The Devil Wears Prada 2 crossed the $200 million domestic milestone this weekend, adding another $5.9 million to its total.
How Did Pressure Perform at the Box Office?
Focus Features also gave its D-Day drama Pressure a semi-wide release, where it earned a respectable $5.7 million. Some have compared the opening to Conclave’s $6.6 million debut, but the situations are quite different. Conclave had major awards buzz and near-universal acclaim behind it.
While Pressure has been well reviewed, few see it as a major Oscar contender. Even so, credit to Focus for releasing a serious adult-oriented drama in the middle of the summer movie season. Hopefully, it develops strong word-of-mouth and finds its audience.
The Rest of the Top 10
Amazon/MGM’s The Sheep Detectives is beginning to wind down its theatrical run, earning $4.6 million for a $54 million domestic total. It’s currently on pace for a finish in the $65 million range and could become a significant streaming hit once it arrives on Prime Video.
Paramount’s horror thriller Passenger lost 70% of its audience in its second weekend, grossing $2.6 million and bringing its domestic total to $15.3 million. It appears the film was overwhelmed by the enormous buzz surrounding both Obsession and Backrooms. There’s only so much room in the marketplace for horror films at any given time.
Finally, Mortal Kombat II continued wrapping up its run with another $2 million, bringing its domestic total to $77 million. It could still cross the $80 million mark before leaving theaters. However, with an $80 million production budget and a surprisingly weak overseas performance of just $47 million, the prospects for a third film appear slim unless it becomes a major streaming success on HBO Max.
What did you see this weekend?
Let us know in the comments below!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backrooms | $81.4 M | $81.4 M |
| 2 | Obsession | $26.4 M | $104.7 M |
| 3 | The Mandalorian and Grogu | $25 M | $137.4 M |
| 4 | Michael | $11.7 M | $339.9 M |
| 5 | The Breadwinner | $7.5 M | $7.5 M |
| 6 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | $5.9 M | $5.9 M |
| 7 | Pressure | $5.75 M | $5.75 M |
| 8 | The Sheep Detectives | $4.6 M | $54.5 M |
| 9 | Passenger | $2.6 M | $15.3 M |
| 10 | Mortal Kombat II | $2 M | $77.7 M |
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