Backrooms Opens to $118 Million Globally, Fueling New Interest in Chris Ferguson's $10 Million Horror Bet
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jun 1
Backrooms Opens to $118 Million Globally, Fueling New Interest in Chris Ferguson's $10 Million Horror Bet
3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jun 1
$118 million in global opening-weekend ticket sales turned "Backrooms" into a breakout hit for producer Chris Ferguson, who said Hollywood interest in his company surged immediately after the debut.
The result is especially striking because the Vancouver-shot horror film cost about $10 million and marked the theatrical feature debut of 20-year-old director Kane Parsons, adapted from his viral YouTube shorts.
Ferguson said he embedded Parsons within the tight crew he has built with producing partner Osgood Perkins, arguing the young filmmaker already had the longform storytelling instincts needed to scale up from web work.
He also warned studios against rushing to option every social-media horror clip, saying creators like Parsons succeeded because they were already effectively making longform video rather than short TikTok-style content.
The opening extends a strong Vancouver indie-horror run for Ferguson and Perkins after 2024's "Longlegs" grossed $128 million worldwide on a budget of less than $10 million.
What is Vancouver’s secret formula for becoming the world's capital of independent horror filmmaking?
Is the success of teen director Kane Parsons a replicable model or a rare Hollywood unicorn?
As YouTubers build their own movie empires, are traditional Hollywood studios losing their power?