A24 has crossed into blockbuster territory. The horror film "Backrooms," now in its second week in theaters, has earned $213 million worldwide and become the studio's highest-grossing release ever, signaling a potential shift in the independent distributor's business model.
For two decades, A24 built its reputation releasing mid-budget art films and prestige dramas. The studio backed directors like Ari Aster, the Safdie brothers, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Its films won festival prizes and critical acclaim. They rarely approached $200 million at the global box office.
"Backrooms" changes that calculation entirely. The film, based on the internet horror mythology of labyrinthine non-Euclidean spaces, tapped into viral internet culture and proved that A24 could distribute tentpole entertainment alongside its indie credentials. The second-week momentum suggests the film retained audience interest, a rarity for horror pictures.
This performance raises questions about A24's future strategy. The studio had already begun testing larger releases in recent years. The recent "MaXXXine" earned modest returns. But "Backrooms" demonstrates genuine mainstream appeal, not just prestige crossover success.
The $200 million threshold matters. It places A24 alongside major studios in raw commercial power while the distributor maintains its visual identity and artistic sensibility. Competitors like Blumhouse Productions have built hybrid models for years, balancing horror franchises with awards contenders. A24 now operates in that space.
Whether "Backrooms" becomes a franchise launching point or simply an outlier remains unclear. The distributor faces a choice: pursue more blockbusters and risk diluting its brand identity, or treat this success as a one-off validation that gives its releases extra marketing muscle. Either way, A24's second act has begun. The independent studio that once celebrated artistic risk now understands that artistic risk can generate studio-scale returns.