Backrooms’ Sequel Chances Addressed As 90%-Rated Horror Confirmed an Instant Success

Backrooms became a bigger hit than even its fans might have expected. When the movie was preparing for release, it was predicted to make about $25 million on its opening weekend, which would make it an instant success thanks to its $10 million budget. Then, as the Thursday screening numbers came in, projections rose to over $50 million, thanks to walk-up ticket sales exceeding all expectations. The opening weekend box office numbers blew that away. Backrooms made $81.4 million domestically and $118 million worldwide, making it one of A24’s most successful horror movie releases ever. It also opens things up for a sequel and a possible franchise.

Parsons told Polygon that he always had an idea for sequels when he got the chance to turn Backrooms into a movie. “This film is the first part in what I would desire to be several narrative steps, in terms of approaching what I consider to be the true heart of the idea. I just don’t think you could get to it in the time you have for a single movie.”

Backrooms Is Set Up Perfectly for a Franchise

Kane Parsons got started with Backrooms when he created the YouTube series and watched it become an instant sensation. The debut episode of Backrooms on YouTube has 79 million views, and Parsons has made a total of 24 videos. His channel has over 3.1 million subscribers. That led him to get the chance to make the movie based on his YouTube series, which itself was based on liminal space photos that showed up on 4chan. The creepypasta movie ended up proving that audiences wanted more of this, and Parsons is ready to give it to them.

“[Sequels are] more than an option. It’s been the intention since 2022,” Parsons told Polygon. “I went as far as I could with the YouTube series. [Making a feature film] became an option. I thought it’d be a much slower road to get to where things are now… A series would be my dream scenario, personally. I think that’s the most practical way to narratively get what you want. But obviously, a series is a whole thing. So it won’t be immediate, it won’t be ‘snap your fingers and it’s here.’”

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The end of Backrooms opened up a lot of information about the organization exploring the Backrooms, and Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve) knew she wasn’t getting out alive, so this led the mysterious Async Research Institute to become the possible villains of the franchise. That said, Parsons explained that one problem with the series is that there is a bit of a genre mashup here. On top of the horror elements, he also sees interpersonal drama and a supernatural techno-thriller, so how A24 can manage a sequel or franchise remains to be seen.

However, one thing that is known is that Backrooms is a smash hit, and Parsons, who is only 20, has a bright future ahead of him. On top of the massive box office totals, Backrooms is also Certified Fresh at 89% with a slightly lower 74% audience score. By the time its run ends, it will have surpassed Talk to Me ($92 million) as A24’s highest-grossing horror movie of all time.

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