*Courtesy of Amanda Edwards / Getty Images.*

Kane Parsons has taken the box office crown with ‘Backrooms.’

The 20-year-old filmmaker’s $10 million adaptation of his viral YouTube sensation has delivered the biggest opening weekend in A24 history, earning just under $82 million, and $118 million worldwide.

That debut also makes Parsons the youngest filmmaker ever to top the domestic box office. He breaks the record previously held by Josh Trank, who was 27 when his found-footage superhero film ‘Chronicle’ opened at No. 1 in 2012.

Co-financed and produced by Chernin Entertainment, ‘Backrooms’ follows a failed architect, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who discovers an endless maze of rooms inside the furniture store he manages. The film has drawn a notably young crowd: about 86% of ticket buyers are under 35, and more than half are under 25. Parsons was supported by experienced production partners, including Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and 21 Laps.

Parsons’ rapid rise comes only two weeks after another YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, Curry Barker, became one of Hollywood’s hottest young directors thanks to the surprise success of ‘Obsession.’

Made for just $750,000, Obsession is now in its third weekend and is making box office history. It is the first film outside the Christmas season since ‘E.T.: The Extraterrestrial’ in 1982 to have both its second and third weekends outperform its opening weekend.

The film is up 10% from last weekend, with an estimated $26.4 million. That follows an extraordinary second weekend in which it earned 39% more than its debut. ‘Obsession’ had now reached $104.7 million domestically, making it Focus Features’ highest-grossing film ever in North America. Worldwide, it has climbed to $148 million.

Barker’s success has sparked major interest across Hollywood for his next original project. He is currently editing his already-shot film ‘Anything But Ghosts’ and is also considering a ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ reboot for A24. ‘Obsession’ was produced by indie company Tea Shop, with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster joining the project a few months after Focus acquired it out of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Together, the success of Parsons and Barker feels like a generational shift, with films from young internet-born creators overshadowing one of Hollywood’s most established franchises: ‘Star Wars.’

‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ is expected to earn around $24 million in its second weekend, falling about 70% and landing in third place. The film has already made $171 million globally against a comparatively restrained $165 million net budget for a Star Wars title. Disney insiders have argued that the movie’s broader impact on merchandise, theme parks and Disney+ is also part of its overall value beyond theatrical grosses.

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