Years before Backrooms burst into theaters with its $118 million global box office debut, it was the focal point of fan debate, creativity and discussion on Reddit. The tech platform is built around “subreddits,” communities focused on specific topics, from the broad (r/sports, r/movies, etc.) to the hyper-niche. One of those communities was r/backrooms, which…
There’s a lot to unpack with the massive success of “Backrooms” and “Obsession”: how these two low-budget movies both soared past $100 million at the box office; the YouTube-to-cinema pipeline; and what these films say about the anxieties of a younger generation. Alissa Wilkinson, a Times movie critic, and Jason Zinoman, a Times critic at…
Over the past week, one conversation has dominated Hollywood executive lunches and studio staff meetings: What’s the next “Backrooms”? The industry is scrambling to figure out how to replicate the phenomenon of “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” low-budget psychological horror films directed by YouTube creators that have dominated the box office over the past two weeks. But…
