I feel like every year I find myself saying, “This is a great year for new horror movies,” but the 2026 movie schedule may take the cake. There are so many wonderful horror flicks already in theaters, and it’s only June. However, none of those titles have been quite as headline-making as Blumhouse’s Backrooms and Obsession. After both movies went 1 and 2 in ticket sales at the box office last weekend, the film company had a perfect one-word response for horror fans.
Blumhouse shared the milestone on its official Instagram account, posting a graphic celebrating Backrooms as the No. 1 movie in the world and the biggest (and latest) A24 movie opening ever. At the same time, Obsession was listed as the No. 2 movie in America and the biggest Focus Features movie in history. The caption below says it all:
The word "Unprecedented" pretty much covers it. Horror fans turned the weekend into a full-on genre takeover, with Backrooms leading the global box office and Obsession continuing to hang around like the cursed little nightmare machine it is. Blumhouse also thanked horror fans for showing up in theaters “this weekend and every weekend” and, honestly, after these numbers, a little victory-lap gratitude feels more than earned.
Backrooms opened with $118 million worldwide, including $81.4 million domestically, giving A24 its biggest opening weekend ever. The film also made 20-year-old Kane Parsons the youngest director to have a No. 1 movie at the box office. Parsons, who wasn’t even alive in the ’90s, somehow nailed the decade’s look. The furniture store setting, faux wood textures, CD stands, costumes and production design all helped make the movie feel weirdly authentic to the era.
Obsession, meanwhile, has become the horror movie people can’t stop debating. A major discussion that's circulated revolves around whether Bear ever had a real shot with Nikki before the One Wish Willow wrecked everything. The cast weighed in, and Michael Johnston suggested Bear might have had a chance if he had found the confidence, while Inde Navarrette said she and Curry Barker played some takes as if Nikki were interested and others as if she wasn’t, preserving the ambiguity in the edit.
That ambiguity is arguably a big reason Obsession has legs. People are not just watching it and moving on. They’re arguing about Bear, Nikki and free will, which is all good horror glue and conversation starters.
So, yes, “unprecedented” works. But I’d add another word: deserved. Backrooms and Obsession are very different beasts but, together, they show how hungry audiences are for authentic new stories told by fresh voices. As a major horror fan, it would be easy to say the genre itself is fueling the box office right now, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. I think audiences are craving specific, well-told movies worth leaving the house for, and right now, horror is delivering.
Backrooms and Obsession are playing in theaters. Be sure to check your local listings for show times.
