Backrooms projected – A24/Chernin’s “Backrooms” is on track for a $90 million opening weekend after a $38.4 million opening day, while Focus Features’ “Obsession” adds another $28 million this weekend. Together, the two non-franchise horror hits are pushing “Star Wars: The Mandalor
For the third straight day, the marquee name at the top didn’t come from a galaxy far, far away—it came from a door you never wanted to open.
“Backrooms. ” the A24/Chernin horror film. launched with an $38.4 million opening day from 3. 442 locations and is now projected by industry estimates to land a $90 million opening weekend. If that number holds. it would rank as the third highest domestic opening ever for a horror film. behind “It” (2017) at $117 million and “It: Chapter Two” (2019) at $91 million.
The movie’s momentum isn’t just strong—it’s record-breaking. “Backrooms” is more than triple the highest opening weekend ever for A24. wiping past the previous record of $25.5 million set by “Civil War” in 2024. Presales and interest reportedly spiked over the past week, especially after critics handed it a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Still, the audience response isn’t matching the critical cheers. The film scored a B- on CinemaScore, and its audience Rotten Tomatoes mark sits at 74%. Even with that slight stumble—an outcome that could make it more frontloaded than “Obsession”—the opening weekend on the table is big enough to feel like a win with consequences.
“Backrooms” is produced by Peter Chernin’s North Road Films, Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps, and James Wan’s Atomic Monster, which has now merged with “Obsession” co-producer Blumhouse. And that connection matters right now, because “Obsession” is proving it can keep pace.
Curry Barker’s “Obsession” is in its own groove. increasing its weekend grosses yet again by 19% to $28 million this weekend while pushing past $100 million in domestic grosses. With a strong hold against a direct horror competitor—one that could easily be marketed as a double feature for genre fans—there may be room for even bigger numbers. The outlook described for the film is simple: nothing appears to be stopping it from passing $200 million domestic and moving beyond recent horror hits like “Weapons” and “Final Destination: Bloodlines.”.
That same marketplace pressure is showing up in the leaderboard below.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is sitting in the No. 3 spot with an industry estimated $24 million second weekend, a staggering 70% drop from its $81.7 3-day Memorial Day weekend opening. The follow-up to the hit Disney+ series had been expected to be a strong family play in theaters. and theatrical sources say that has been the case. But the general audience turnout—especially among the under-30 crowd—is sagging as the two horror films take over more of the attention and ticket demand.
Farther down the charts, Sony/TriStar’s “The Breadwinner” is opening in fifth with a $7.3 million launch from 3,252 locations. It sits behind Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael,” which is in its sixth weekend and has reached $12.6 million. “The Breadwinner” features Nate Bargatze. and critics gave it a 29% Rotten Tomatoes score. while its audience response is warmer: it earned an A- on CinemaScore and a 87% audience Rotten Tomatoes score. Sony is counting on word-of-mouth to help the film leg out in the weeks ahead. with families in the central and southern U.S. seen as especially receptive to Bargatze’s family-oriented comedy.
Also opening, Focus Features’ “Pressure,” a WWII drama starring Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser. It is opening to $5.4 million from 1,829 locations. Targeted at seniors and cinephiles, the film’s Rotten Tomatoes scores sit at 86% for critics and 94% for audiences.
One story is clear across the top of the chart: when two non-franchise horrors are moving in sync, a franchise built for broad audiences can feel the hit within days—fast enough to turn opening projections into a real-life scoreboard.
Backrooms box office Obsession box office Star Wars The Mandalorian and Grogu drop horror movies A24 Focus Features Rotten Tomatoes CinemaScore