Story perspectives

Low-Budget Indie Horrors Top Weekend Box Office

6/9/2026

Summary

Indie Horror Dominates

Indie horror films Backrooms and Obsession topped the U.S. weekend box office, outpacing major releases.
Backrooms earned $81 million domestically on a budget of just under $10 million.
Obsession generated $152 million in the United States and $225 million worldwide from a $1 million budget.
Directors Kane Parsons (21) and Curry Barker (26), who learned filmmaking on YouTube, illustrate a Gen-Z shift toward low-budget original horror.

Summary

Backrooms Critiques

Backrooms sets its story in fall-1990 Silicon Valley, using the ARPANET era to critique tech.
The promotion uses a South Bay phone number that routes callers to a fax line.
Although set in San Jose, the film was shot in British Columbia for tax incentives.
The film received an R rating and an “L” classification for gore, leading critics to cite liminal corridors linking it to Cube and The Shining.

Summary

A24 Soars

The film attracted an 81% audience under age 35 in its second weekend, showing strong youth appeal.
Financing was provided by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, 21 Laps, Phobos, A24, and Chernin.
A24 allocated a teen-million domestic P&A budget, a modest spend relative to the film’s earnings.
Studios toasted the surprise hit.
The movie opened at No. 1 in Spain with $2 million and set A24’s best openings in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Summary

Miramax Sequel

Miramax financed the Scary Movie sequel with a $30 million budget, grossing $55 million domestically and $50.5 million internationally for $105.5 million worldwide.
The film reunites the Wayans brothers—Marlon, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, and Craig—after more than twenty years, drawing 62 percent of ticket buyers under 30 and a 55/45 gender split.
Masters of the Universe earned a Metacritic score of 54 and a B CinemaScore, showing mixed reactions despite its nostalgic premise.

History

Historical Context

In January 1999, the found-footage horror film The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on a production budget of roughly $35,000–$60,000. Its $248.6 million worldwide gross—over 4,000 times its cost—sparked a wave of ultra-low-budget horror, influencing later successes such as Paranormal Activity (2007) and keeping the model alive in 2024 releases that echo the same approach.

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Indie Horror Dominates

Indie horror films Backrooms and Obsession topped the U.S. weekend box office, outpacing major releases.
Backrooms earned $81 million domestically on a budget of just under $10 million.
Obsession generated $152 million in the United States and $225 million worldwide from a $1 million budget.
Directors Kane Parsons (21) and Curry Barker (26), who learned filmmaking on YouTube, illustrate a Gen-Z shift toward low-budget original horror.

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