By box office standards this is going to be a weekend to remember. That alone could have been the only sentence to this opening because there is so much to expand upon about the success stories. It is great for theaters. It is great for cinematic discussion. It is great for numbers nerds like me. No sense in burying the lede. Just read on to see why 2026 is shaping up to be a year to remember for the movies.
King of the Crop: Backrooms Shatters Expectations with $81.5 Million Debut
If it’s not one YouTuber, it’s another, and this week it’s Kane Parsons’ turn to get the headlines. Backrooms, based on Parsons’ web series, opened to $81.4 million, which is the best start ever for a film released by A24; beating the previous leader (Civil War), which began with $25.5 million. Yes, that is over three times Civil War’s opening. One weekend and it is already the secnd-highest domestic grosser in the company’s history with less than $10 million to go before overtaking Marty Supreme’s $96 million. It is also already at $118 million globally, which is A24’s fifth best behind Marty Supreme ($191.3 million), Everything Everywhere All At Once ($138.7 million, not counting re-releases), The Drama ($126.1 million), and Civil War ($127.2 million). Note that Backrooms only cost $10 million to make as well. Not bad for a filmmaker all of 20 years old.
Speaking of which, Parsons’ age is certainly what many are focusing on, and when you do some digging, you realize just how incredible this accomplishment is. (A lot of unprecedented things are happening around the box office recently.) Obviously we can go through history to highlight some very notable film debuts by young filmmakers. Orson Welles was only 26 when he made Citizen Kane; the same age Steven Spielberg was when shooting The Sugarland Express, his first theatrical feature (he was just 24 when he made Duel for television). Sam Raimi was also only 20 when principal photography began on The Evil Dead.
In the ‘90s we had 23-year-olds John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), Kevin Smith (Clerks), and Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi). There were also unknown 25-year-olds Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight), David Gordon Green (George Washington, released in 2000), and Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, 2013). Christopher Nolan was 27 when Following premiered in 1998. In other words, this is a noteworthy, and only time will tell if Kane Parsons will live up to some of these resumes, but one thing he will be able to always take with him, even if he never makes another film, is the sheer success of this debut.
(Photo by A24)
For example, consider this list of opening weekends for filmmakers under the age of 30:
Backrooms ($87.5 million), Creed II ($35.5 million), Saw III ($33.6 million), Rush Hour ($33.0 million), Saw II ($31.7 million), Saw IV ($31.7 million), Unbreakable ($30.3 million), Dodgeball ($30.0 million), Creed ($29.6 million), Nacho Libre ($28.3 million), The Sixth Sense ($26.6 million), Mortal Kombat ($23.2 million), Chronicle ($22.0 million), Underworld ($21.7 million), Legally Blonde ($20.3 million)
Only four of the above actually made it all the way to $100 million. Clearly we can never discount how Steven Spielberg (27) and George Lucas (28) began filming two classics in the early ‘70s. Jaws would go on to gross over $260 million in 1975 and American Graffiti made $115 million back in 1973. That would roughly account to $1.61 billion and $862 million, respectively, with inflation. But from 1980 on, gargantuan success with filmmakers beginning their films before reaching the age of 30 is still a very rare thing, as evidenced here:
M. Night Shyamalan (28) – The Sixth Sense ($293.5 million)
Jason Reitman (29) – Juno ($143.4 million)
Brett Ratner (28) – Rush Hour ($141.1 million)
Eduardo Sanchez (27) (alongside Daniel Myrick, who was 34) – The Blair Witch Project ($140.5 million)
Steven Caple Jr. (29) – Creed II ($115.67 million)
Neill Blomkamp (29) – District 9 ($115.64 million)
Rawson Marshall Thurber (28 or 29) – DodgeBall ($114.3 million)
Ryan Coogler (28) – Creed ($109.7 million)
Alejandro Amenabar (28 or 29) – The Others ($96.522 million)
Robert Luketic (26) – Legally Blonde ($96.520 million)
Backrooms’ Tomatometer score isn’t quite as high as Obsession’s 96%, but it’s not far away at 89%. (The Popcornmeter tells a different story at 74% compared to Obsession’s 95%.) So the question will be whether or not audiences find this one as much fun, and whether this is a one-and-done hyped curiosity (with the potential for making the all-timer drop list next week) or it will become the next must-see horror film of the summer. Only seven films have ever opened to over $80 million and missed out on making $200 million. (This summer could have potential for two more if the drop is heavy next week.) Let’s not end on the negative, though. This is an extraordinary achievement that is putting butts in seats in a measure that could not have been anticipated. The film itself will inspire extreme reactions in both ways, like a lot of greats have done, and will produce some great writing, great discussion, and feverish arguments. It is a weekend to celebrate, and we’re going to keep it going right now.
Fresh Surprise: Obsession Rises Yet Again in Its Third Week
For the second week in a row we have to give the box office story of the year this distinction. Last week, Curry Barker’s Obsession rose 39.3% in its second weekend of release. Holiday or not, it was an unprecedented rise for the summer season. For its third weekend, it has done something that no film since 2000 has done and seen another increase in business during the summer months. It happens a bit over the Christmas holiday, and you can go back to the ‘80s to find summer films like E.T. and Superman II that did it. Even R-rated films like Risky Business, The Untouchables, No Way Out, and Ruthless People. But not in modern times, and not among films that began as wide releases.
There are three summer examples of this phenomenon occurring. In 2008, the animated Fly Me To The Moon (not the Channing Tatum/Scarlett Johansson comedy) rose from $1.42 million to $1.50 million, a 6.1% increase — not entirely impressive, considering it only opened to $1.9 million and didn’t exactly have far to climb. A better example in the same year occurred when The Hitman’s Bodyguard increased 2.7% in its third three-day weekend from $10.26 million to $10.53 million. That’s a bit closer to the enormity of Obsession’s numbers. A bit. Over Labor Day weekend. The year before, Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky rose 4% in its third weekend from $4.24 million to $4.41 million. The catch with all three of these films is that they found minimal increases in their third Friday-to-Sunday hauls over Labor Day weekend.
(Photo by ©Focus Features)
Obsession had its holiday weekend already, when it rose 39%. In weekend three, it pulled in another $26.4 million for an incredible 10% increase. In 17 days, the million-dollar-or-less production has made $104.7 million. In that time, it has become the highest-grossing domestic release in the history of Focus Features and the first to ever reach $100 million. It took their previous leader, Downton Abbey, 59 days to reach $95 million. It took Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu 43 days to hit that number, and it still came up a million shy of Downton Abbey’s crown. Now how high can Obsession climb?
It is almost impossible to predict, as there is no precedent for this climb from week to week, but we can offer some perspective if it begins to come back to Earth. Obsession’s third weekend is not far behind the top-grossing horror film of all time, Stephen King’s IT from 2017, which ended its third weekend with $29.7 million and over $266 million in the bank. Following that path, we could be talking a finish between $160-170 million domestic for Obsession. Summer releases with a third weekend between $25-27 million include Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Hangover, Jurassic World: Dominion, Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. If the crowds decide to keep Obsession on the path of The Hangover or Guardians, though, we could be looking at a $200 million grosser. It is at $148 million worldwide. This story is nowhere near over.
Tales of the Top 10: Mando and Grogu Suffer a Big Drop
If The Mandalorian and Grogu had dropped even 56% this weekend it would not have been a disastrous one. As we said last week, the numbers could turn out to be a shrug for anyone trying to label it an outright success or egregious failure financially. Neither would be true. Instead, it dropped 69%. That’s more than Solo’s 65.2%, which was precisely what it wanted to avoid. A $25 million second weekend gives the film a 10-day tally of $137.3 million. That is almost exactly what Bruce Almighty had at this point, after which it went on to gross over $241 million. Only, that Memorial Day release had a $37.3 million second weekend.
Mando and Grogu’s numbers are more along the lines of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which had a $24.3 million second weekend. Staying along that path could still get them over $200 million domestic. Even lining up alongside Solo, which had a $29.3 million holiday follow-up and $148.9 million in 10 days, that number is still a possibility. But the drops have to level off quickly, and these headlines are unlikely to help. Internationally the film is over $109 million, putting it at $246 million globally to date. $400 million is the target it needs to begin the debate over a small loss vs. a small profit. It will get to $300 million, probably even $350 million. That number wouldn’t even put it in the top 10 of losers in 2026 right now. It won’t be as big of a financial loser as Solo was, but ultimately grossing less than that film across the globe may call for a course correction for the franchise beyond a Shawn Levy-directed film in 2027. Then again, Ryan Gosling in space worked out well this year.
Michael just can’t be stopped. After making another $11.7 million this weekend, it stands in the top 40 of all time for sixth weekends. For the first time in weeks, Michael fell behind the weekend pace of Passion of the Christ but still remains $17 million ahead, as $339.9 million is the 60th best total of all time after 38 days of release. Passion is 74th. Michael is now looking at getting over $375 million domestic. Globally it is at $851 million and just $60 million away from becoming the highest-grossing music biopic of all-time.
Comedian Nate Bargatze made his big screen debut this weekend in The Breadwinner. He also co-wrote the Mr. Mom-esque tale of a stay-at-home dad, and Sony had so much faith in it they declined to show it to press in advance. Passenger did that last week and it wound up with a 46% on the Tomatometer from critics. The Breadwinner has a 28% and a PG rating; it’s just the third live-action narrative film to not have talking animals in it to receive the PG rating, along with Solo Mio (released by Angel Studios) and I Can Only Imagine 2 (about a faith-based rock group), which grossed $25.7 million and $18.5 million, respectively. The Breadwinner was co-produced by the Wonder Project, founded by Jon Erwin, who co-wrote and co-directed the first I Can Only Imagine. Bargatze’s film opened to just $7.5 million this weekend. That’s at least higher than Easter Sunday back in 2022. That Jo Koy starrer opened to $5.4 million that August and finished with just $13 million and a 43% from critics.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 was the third live-action film of 2026 to spend five weeks in the top five after Project Hail Mary and Michael. That run ended this week, but its theatrical run continues with $5.9 million in its sixth weekend. This film has been counting profits since its opening week, and it is now over $209 million domestic and $641 million worldwide; it’s approaching Hail Mary’s $675+ million take. Unlike Mando and Grogu, Prada 2 is right on path with Bruce Almighty, which had $210.5 million after a $6.1 million sixth weekend. That puts the sequel on a course to get around $240 million, while $700 million globally is also not out of the realm.
Focus likely didn’t know just what was in store for them with Obsession, but they still left a couple weeks on the schedule between releases. That left the WWII D-day film Pressure to open this weekend instead of over Memorial Day. Oh well. Focus had some success during aWARds time with the Churchill/Dunkirk tale Darkest Hour in 2017, which went on to gross over $56 million domestic and $150.8 million worldwide; it’s still their sixth-best global tally ever. Pressure opened to just $5.7 million in 1,829 theaters.
Obsession is getting the bulk of the sleeper headlines, but The Sheep Detectives has quietly done well each week without hitting a 40% drop to date. That changed this week with $4.6 million (a 50% drop), but the film has made a reasonably solid $54.5 million in 24 days. The $75 million production is now approaching $100 million globally, so it may not make its money back in theaters, but it should continue to find viewers in the next phase of its run.
André Øvredal’s Passenger unfortunately got sandwiched between Obsession and Backrooms and is becoming an afterthought with horror fans. Another $2.6 million in its second weekend has the horror film at $15.2 million. That puts the $15 million production with over $20 million worldwide to date. Paramount may have been better off delaying this one (and letting critics see it) instead of trying to move it up a week with a red flag attached.
Finally, Mortal Kombat II is having its swan song in the top 10 this week with $2 million in its fourth week. It has made $77.7 million to date, barely twice as much as its opening weekend, putting it on the low side of films opening in over 3,000 theaters this year. The lowest multiples of 2026 on that list include The Bride! (1.80), Scream 7 (1.91), 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2.008), Mortal Kombat II (2.01), and Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2.15). As if you needed another reason to understand how impressive those Obsession numbers are.
Beyond the Top 10: Tuner Expands, Power Ballad Gets Off to a Shaky Start
Black Bear’s fourth self-distributed theatrical release, Tuner, expanded this week into 452 theaters, and it made $1.7 million, a per-theater-average of $3,761. Just a few weeks ago, Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey opened in 2,018 theaters to just $2.92 million and has made less than $6 million to date. Their release of the Jason Statham film Shelter this past January grossed $12.8 million in theaters. Tuner is, by far, their most critically-lauded to date with a 96% on the Tomatometer. Audiences should make this their next indie discovery of the summer.
Lionsgate released the latest film from John Carney into 10 theaters this weekend and Power Ballad with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas grossed $170,000. Back in 2007, Carney’s debut, the Oscar-winning Once, opened to $61,901 in two theaters and finished with $9.4 million. His follow-up seven years later, Begin Again, made $134,064 in five theaters (going on to make over $16 million), and then Sing Street in 2016 began with $63,573 also in five theaters but made a disappointing $3.2 million. 2023’s Flora and Son only streamed on Apple. Power Ballad expands next weekend. Let’s see if audiences will catch up with this one and catch it up to Carney’s previous grosses.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie fell out of the top 10 after eight weeks and grossed $1.35 million. It is over $427 million domestic and just shy of hitting a billion right now with over $991 million worldwide. Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters fell 65% to $1.31 million this weekend in 1,300 theaters. The Neon release has made just $7.2 million to date.
On The Vine: Will Masters of the Universe Have the Power to Take Down Backrooms?
If tracking is any indication, there may be a battle for No. 1 next week. If it were the mid-’80s, the clear winner would be Masters of the Universe. Cannon’s 1987 interpretation aside, fans of the toy line and subsequent cartoon and animated series have wanted a true-blue big-screen adaptation, and the director of Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee has delivered. But has that fandom trickled down? He-Man will be doing battle with the Wayans Bros., as Scary Movie is rebooted; it’s the first film in the spoof series since 2013, and Paramount is not screening it for press. Also opening in limited release is IFC’s shark thriller Chum, with Alice Eve, and Magnolia has the latest from Dinner In America director Adam Rehmeier, Carolina Caroline, with Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner.
Full List of Box Office Results: May 29-31
Backrooms – $81.4 million ($81.4 million total)
Obsession – $26.4 million ($104.7 million total)
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu – $25.0 million ($137.3 million total)
Michael – $11.7 million ($339.9 million total)
The Breadwinner – $7.5 million ($7.5 million total)
The Devil Wears Prada 2 – $5.9 million ($209.3 million total)
Pressure – $5.7 million ($5.7 million total)
The Sheep Detectives – $4.6 million ($54.5 million total)
Passenger – $2.6 million ($15.2 million total)
Mortal Kombat II – $2.0 million ($77.7 million total)
Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail image by A24
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