Two horror films made by twenty-somethings beat Star Wars
Something quiet has shifted in the story of who gets to make culture and who shows up to receive it. Two young filmmakers — one twenty, one twenty-six — carried audiences they had already earned on YouTube into darkened theaters, and the numbers that followed have unsettled an industry long accustomed to the gravitational pull of franchise and spectacle. In the summer of 2026, horror films born from internet mythology and a novelty-toy nightmare outgrossed a Star Wars film that cost sixteen times more to make, suggesting that trust, built slowly through a screen and a subscriber count, may now be the most bankable currency in entertainment.
- Kane Parsons, at twenty years old, became the youngest director ever to open a film at number one, with 'Backrooms' earning $81M on a $10M budget — numbers that kept climbing past every projection.
- Curry Barker's 'Obsession' did something almost no wide-release film has done since the 1980s: it grew in its second weekend, jumping 39%, a trajectory last seen in the era of E.T. and Superman II.
- Both films drew audiences that were 85% under 35, a demographic that largely bypassed the new Star Wars film — a $165M production now tracking as the worst-performing entry in franchise history.
- Jason Blum's Blumhouse bet on creator-native storytelling over IP machinery, and the combined box office of these two films has surpassed The Mandalorian and Grogu, sending a visible tremor through Disney's executive ranks.
- The industry now faces an uncomfortable question: whether to treat these results as a lesson or an anomaly, knowing that the next generation of filmmakers is already building audiences one upload at a time.
Kane Parsons was twenty years old when he directed a horror film that opened at number one. 'Backrooms,' made for ten million dollars, earned eighty-one million in its opening weekend — a result that had stunned even the optimists who had revised their projections upward multiple times in the weeks before release. Parsons had spent years building his audience on YouTube, where his found-footage web series about scientists lost in an impossible dimension of endless, empty rooms had accumulated over eighty-one million views. When A24 greenlit the feature, they were betting on that trust. The film starred Oscar-nominated actors and became the highest-grossing release in A24's history. Nearly eighty-five percent of its audience was under thirty-five.
But the more startling story belonged to Curry Barker. The twenty-six-year-old co-creator of sketch comedy duo 'That's a Bad Idea' released 'Obsession,' a horror film made for under a million dollars, about a young man whose wish for requited love spirals into catastrophe. It opened to seventeen million — already past projections — and then did something almost no wide release has done since the 1980s: it grew. Its second weekend earned twenty-four million, a thirty-nine percent increase. It outpaced a Devil Wears Prada sequel, a Michael Jackson biopic, and the new Star Wars film. By the time the dust settled, 'Obsession' had crossed one hundred fifty million worldwide, cast almost entirely with unknowns.
Both films were financed by Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, whose low-budget model has long understood that fear doesn't require spectacle. Together, they have outgrossed 'The Mandalorian and Grogu,' a $165 million production that has since dropped sixty-nine percent and is now tracking as the worst-performing Star Wars film in box office history. Disney executives are reportedly uneasy, with another franchise entry already scheduled.
What the summer of 2026 has made visible is a transfer of cultural authority — from the machinery of IP and franchise to the quieter, more durable bond between a creator and the audience they built one video at a time. Whether Hollywood absorbs that lesson or waits for the moment to pass remains the open question.
Two young filmmakers who built their audiences on YouTube have just upended the summer box office, a shift so stark that it's forcing the entertainment industry to reckon with where audiences actually want to spend their money.
Kane Parsons, twenty years old, directed "Backrooms," a horror film that opened at number one with eighty-one million dollars. The movie cost ten million to make. Parsons had built an audience of more than three million subscribers on his YouTube channel, Kane Pixels, where his original "Backrooms" web series—a found-footage adaptation of a creepy 4chan image from 2019—had accumulated over eighty-one million views. The series follows scientists who stumble into an impossible dimension of endless, vacant indoor spaces. When the studio greenlit the feature film, early projections suggested it might gross twenty million its opening weekend. As the release date approached, those numbers kept climbing: forty million, then fifty million, then higher still. The final tally shocked even optimistic forecasters. The film starred Oscar-nominated actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, and it became the highest-grossing release ever for A24, the independent production company behind it.
The audience that showed up was almost entirely young. Nearly eighty-five percent of viewers were under thirty-five; more than half were twenty-five or younger. A box office analyst called it "an extraordinary achievement that is putting butts in seats in a measure that could not have been anticipated."
But Parsons is not alone. Curry Barker, twenty-six, co-runs a sketch comedy duo called "That's a Bad Idea" with over a million followers across YouTube and TikTok. Last month, he released "Obsession," a low-budget horror film made for less than a million dollars. It opened to seventeen million dollars—already exceeding projections that had it making less than ten million. The film follows a young man who uses a novelty toy to wish that a friend he loves will fall in love with him back, only to watch the wish spiral into catastrophe.
What happened next was nearly unprecedented. In its second weekend, "Obsession" didn't drop. It climbed. It earned twenty-four million dollars, or thirty million when including the Memorial Day weekend, a thirty-nine percent increase from its opening. It outpaced "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and a Michael Jackson biopic. It beat the new Star Wars film, "The Mandalorian and Grogu." By its third weekend, "Obsession" had grossed twenty-six million more. The film, cast mostly with unknowns, has now crossed one hundred million domestically and one hundred fifty million worldwide.
A box office analyst noted that no film since 2000 has achieved what "Obsession" did—growing stronger in its second weekend as a wide release. You have to go back to the 1980s, to films like "E.T." and "Superman II," to find comparable trajectories. Even R-rated films like "Risky Business" and "The Untouchables" didn't manage it in their era.
Both "Backrooms" and "Obsession" were financed by Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, a company that has built its reputation on low-budget horror. Together, these two films have outgrossed "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which opened to underwhelming numbers and has since dropped sixty-nine percent. The Star Wars film, directed by Jon Favreau with a budget of one hundred sixty-five million, has grossed two hundred fifty million worldwide—respectable on paper, but it's tracking to become the worst-performing Star Wars movie at the box office in history. It made shy of twenty-five million domestically last weekend, trailing both horror films.
The implications are rattling through the industry. Disney executives are reportedly nervous, especially with another Star Wars film starring Ryan Gosling scheduled for next year. The question now is whether the studio system can adapt to a reality where young creators with existing audiences and proven storytelling instincts can move audiences more effectively than franchises with nine-figure budgets. "Backrooms" and "Obsession" will likely rank among the year's most profitable films. The question is whether Hollywood will learn from them, or whether this moment will be treated as an anomaly.
Citações Notáveis
An extraordinary achievement that is putting butts in seats in a measure that could not have been anticipated— Rotten Tomatoes box office columnist Erick Childress, on 'Backrooms'
It has done something that no film since 2000 has done. You can go back to the '80s to find summer films like 'E.T.' and 'Superman II' that did it.— Erick Childress, on 'Obsession's second-weekend growth
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made these two films so different from what studios were already making?
They came from creators who already had audiences. Kane Parsons had three million YouTube subscribers who'd watched his "Backrooms" series grow over years. Curry Barker had a comedy following. The studios were making films for audiences they hoped to find. These filmmakers were making films for audiences that already existed.
But plenty of YouTube creators have tried to make movies. Why did these work?
The budgets were tiny relative to the returns. "Obsession" cost less than a million dollars and made one hundred fifty million worldwide. "Backrooms" cost ten million and made eighty-one million in its opening weekend alone. The studios were spending one hundred sixty-five million on Star Wars and getting beaten by both of them.
The audiences were young—85 percent under 35. Does that matter?
It matters enormously. Those are the viewers the studios have been struggling to reach for years. They're the ones who grew up on YouTube, who follow creators, who don't necessarily care about franchise names. They care about stories that feel authentic to them.
"Obsession" grew in its second weekend. That's almost unheard of.
It is. Most films drop. This one went up 39 percent. That suggests word-of-mouth was genuinely strong, that people were telling their friends to see it. That doesn't happen with films audiences feel obligated to watch because of the brand name.
What does this mean for Star Wars?
It means the franchise is in trouble. "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is likely to be the worst-performing Star Wars film ever. Two horror films made by twenty-something creators beat it. That's a signal the audience isn't interested in what the studio is offering anymore, no matter how much money they spend.
Will studios actually change?
That's the real question. They could hire more creators, give them smaller budgets, trust their instincts. Or they could treat this as an anomaly and keep making the same films the same way. The box office is telling them something. Whether they listen is another matter.