Backrooms is coming in hot as A24’s highest-grossing film this year — and one of the studio’s biggest successes ever. The film is gaining serious traction for its innovative story. While horror is experiencing a golden age right now, Backrooms goes deeper than the genre itself, blending internet folklore, psychological terror and nostalgia into a uniquely unsettling experience. It’s a global box office phenomenon. Unsurprisingly, it’s a global box office phenomenon.
Despite its successes, Backrooms‘ origins are surprisingly humble. The phenomenon began in May 2019, when a photo of an empty room with yellow wallpaper was posted to 4chan. Accompanied by a comment about “noclipping” out of reality and becoming trapped in the mysterious Backrooms, the image quickly took on a life of its own, inspiring thousands of stories, theories and videos online. The room itself was reportedly located inside a former HobbyTown store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, before the space was renovated.
Among those captivated by the image was a young Kane Parsons, who would go on to transform the internet myth into a viral YouTube series and, eventually, a major Hollywood production. It’s become so successful that Parsons has made it loud and clear during the press tour that Backrooms will be getting either a sequel or perhaps even a prequel.
And if you’re now looking to see the film in cinemas – or rewatch it; there’s no shame in that – or stream it from the comfort and safety of your own home, we’ve got you covered with all the details below.
There’s new bonus footage, called Backrooms – Everything Must Go
What is this bonus film you might ask? Well, Parsons has released a 16-minute post-credit scene, to YouTube of course. This bonus found footage takes us back to 18 June 1990, and is a glimpse into another perspective of the backrooms. Do we have more answers about the film? Well, perhaps. The Reddit community have done some deep diving into what this footage means, and this is my favourite theory:. “The extra 16min is literally a tiny prequel to the movie’s intro, and therefore to the movie itself. It’s the exact same POV,” one redditor wrote. “You can hear the camera dude’s name out loud in both parts (movie intro and extra 16 minutes), same name in both cases of course. The extra 16 minutes could literally be watched before the movie and this would actually make perfect sense.”
They added, “My theory is that the yellow suits crew actually releases Pirate Clark and allows him to navigate the regular complex. I’m pretty sure if they didn’t break that wall and aggro him, he would just be hanging around that super dark part of the complex.”
When and where can I rent and stream Backrooms?
As of 15 July 2026, you can rent and purchase Backrooms on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. As for when to catch it streaming, we can expect it to come on platforms around September or October 2026. Perfect timing for Halloween.
Where can I see Backrooms in cinemas?
A24 usually have a theatrical release window of 45 to 60 days. However, with Backrooms global success, there is no official closing day. So while it has been out for a few weeks now, if you haven’t seen it, there is no need to fret. It should be in cinemas until late July or early August 2026. However, there are now limited cinemas playing the film. You can find local session times and book tickets at Flicks to find the closest cinema near you.
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