YouTube-to-big screen hit 'Backrooms' to release extended cut after record-breaking box office success

A24's biggest box office success ever is heading back to theaters with an extended cut, after becoming one of 2026's biggest cultural phenomena.

“Backrooms” will return as “Backrooms: Everything Must Go,” featuring 16 minutes of brand-new footage, additional lore and new Easter eggs for fans. The extended version is expected to arrive as early as Friday, July 3.

The Kane Parsons-directed horror film has become one of the year's top hits, grossing $331 million worldwide and vastly exceeding expectations. Originally projected to open between $20 million and $30 million domestically, the film exploded to an $81.4 million debut before ultimately earning $184.1 million in North America. The film surpassed Disney's latest Star Wars release, The Mandalorian and Grogu, at the domestic box office.

Based on Parsons' viral YouTube series, Backrooms stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a furniture showroom owner who wanders through a mysterious doorway into an endless maze of eerie, empty rooms. This concept emerged from horror-focused internet forums before evolving into one of the defining aesthetics of Gen Z internet culture.

Oscar nominee Renate Reinsve plays the therapist attempting to rescue him. The “backrooms” aesthetic taps into nostalgia and unease through images of empty shopping malls, abandoned office buildings, school hallways, hotels and fluorescent-lit corridors that feel strangely familiar but unsettling. It has exploded across Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and YouTube.

Parsons himself became one of YouTube's youngest breakout filmmakers after his Backrooms short films amassed hundreds of millions of views. He told Deadline that he taught himself how to create VFX and edit the film. “It’s feasible, and even on a pretty sh*tty machine, you can still get the ball rolling,” he said. His franchise is already expanding, with a sequel reportedly in development.