Backrooms and Obsession: How two low-budget horror films caused a Hollywood earthquake

The last few weeks have been an extraordinary time for cinema – with a pair of indie horrors by Gen Z directors making massive profits, while traditional blockbusters have flopped. It could be the start of a new era.

Which film would you expect to be a summer hit – a family-friendly action-adventure which is based on tried-and-tested IP (intellectual property)? Or a creepy low-budget horror film dreamt up by a first-time director? Until very recently, most of us would have put our money on the first option. 

But this summer, it's looking as if low-budget horror will be triumphant, with two indie films, Backrooms and Obsession, vanquishing two megabudget extravaganzas, Masters of the Universe and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.

You can feel the foundations of Hollywood shaking. "This is a pivotal moment for the entertainment industry," Kayla Cobb, Senior Reporter for The Wrap, tells the BBC. "The traditional film industry has focused on reheating the same tired IP, but audiences – particularly Gen-Z audiences – are craving more original movies."

The difference between the appeal of tired IP and original movies is illustrated by this weekend's US box office figures. Masters of the Universe, which derives from a 1980s Mattel toy range and cartoon about a loincloth-sporting, perma-tanned warrior prince, is a new release which made just $29m (£21.7m). The Mandalorian and Grogu, which came out in May, is faring poorly for a Star Wars film: this weekend it made $10m (£7.5m).

In contrast, we have Backrooms and Obsession. Both are dark, nasty little films that were shot on a shoestring. And yet both have been momentous hits. Backrooms, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, is a nightmarish and deliberately puzzling peek into a labyrinth of murkily lit rooms and corridors. It doesn't exactly scream big box-office. But the film, released by hipster indie studio A24, took $81m (£61m) in the US on its opening weekend. It's total in the US is now $135m (£101m).

Obsession, released by Focus Features, is an even less likely summer hit. Featuring no famous actors at all, it's the gory cautionary tale of a shy man who wishes that his beautiful friend will love him more than anyone in the world. Not only did it have a healthy opening weekend, but it's also the first film since ET the Extra Terrestrial in 1982 to have its takings go up rather than down in its second and third weekends in cinemas. Its total take is now $152m (£114m) in the US and $225m (£169m) globally. This weekend, both Backrooms and Obsession made around $25m at the US box office – not far behind Masters of the Universe and well ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu, even though they were both released in May. Obsession is now predicted to end up with a total worldwide box office beyond that of both of the conventional sci-fi blockbusters.

But it's not just the box-office tallies that will have prompted emergency meetings all over Hollywood. What's even more striking is the difference between the money spent and the money made in each case. The budget of The Mandalorian and Grogu is reported to be $165m (£124m), and the budget of Masters of the Universe is reported to be........

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