Blumhouse Chief Jason Blum thinks horror is having quite the moment at the box office saying it feels like the 1970s all over again.
“’Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ are edgy and weird and f–king nuts, and to me, there’s almost this feeling of the ’70s, of this new generation of young people who are making edgy movies that are connecting in theaters in a crazy way,” Blum said Saturday at the Produced By Conference.
Blum added: “And what I think is so incredible about ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ is that they’re a new kind of movie. They’re made by non-traditional directors, directors who really honed their skills as creators online.”
A24/Chernin’s “Backrooms” and Focus Features’ “Obsession,” two buzzy non-franchise horror films directed by YouTube-trained Gen Z filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, are reigning atop the box office.
“Backrooms” earned an excellent $38.4 million opening day from 3,442 locations, and is now projected by industry estimates for a stunning $90 million opening weekend that ranks as the third highest domestic opening ever for a horror film behind the $117 million opening of “It” in 2017 and the $91 million of “It: Chapter Two” in 2019.
Meanwhile “Obsession” has increased its weekend grosses yet again by 20% to $28 million this weekend, blasting past $100 million in domestic grosses.
“’Obsession’ this weekend went up 20 percent from last weekend,” Blum said. “Last weekend it went 30 percent up from the opening weekend. No movie has done that, has gone up two weekends in a row since ‘E.T.’ It is unbelievable.”
The post Jason Blum on ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ Box Office: ‘There’s Almost This Feeling of the ’70s’ appeared first on TheWrap.
