Indie horror is set to enjoy a historic weekend at the box office.

With Backrooms now tracking to debut to a staggering figure around $80 million (a number shared by blockbuster Project Hail Mary), Kane Parsons’ big-screen adaptation of his YouTube series will secure the biggest ever opening weekend for an indie horror film.

Initial predictions sat around $20 million, underestimating the mobilising appeal of a film adapted from a viral internet IP. The prestige of A24, promising trailers, and positive critical reactions have coupled with the enduring popularity of Parsons’ found footage videos and resulted in a remarkable urgency to get to the cinema, with younger audiences showing up in droves.

In a phenomenon comparable to “Barbenheimer”, Backrooms and Obsession will draw massive crowds to the theatres this weekend. What is even more impressive is that the titles hail from the same genre, and Backrooms will not dampen the success of horror sensation Obsession.

Despite some initial lowball estimates, word-of-mouth and internet virality should fuel Obsession to a third weekend (estimated $25 million gross) that outperforms its second ($22 million excluding Memorial Day) in another extraordinarily rare feat. Together with Backrooms, expect indie horror to gross over $100 million at the domestic box office.

Granted, while still an indie film studio, A24 has grown into a juggernaut and is releasing Backrooms in over 3000 theatres in the States. Nevertheless, Backrooms is still a $10 million independent horror film, and its colossal success will ensure that Hollywood invests in more low-budget horror.