Backrooms and Silent Hill Horror Films Drive Box‑Office and Streaming Growth

Low‑budget horror movies with gaming roots are achieving major commercial milestones. Curry Barker’s *Obsession* opened in the United States on 15 May 2026 with a production budget of about $750,000 and has already earned more than $234 million worldwide. Kane Parsons’s *Backrooms* debuted domestically with an $81 million opening, the biggest for A24, and has surpassed $212 million globally. Both filmmakers built audiences on YouTube before moving to cinema, demonstrating that internet‑native horror can scale to blockbuster‑level revenues.

A related gaming‑inspired horror sequel, *Return to Silent Hill*, has found a new audience on streaming. After its theatrical release in the United States on 23 January 2026, the film became the number‑one movie on Hulu in the United States by mid‑June, topping overall charts despite mixed critical reception and a modest $47 million worldwide gross against a $23 million budget. The success of these titles highlights a growing synergy between horror cinema, video‑game franchises, and digital platforms.