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No, 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' Are Not Breaking Box Office Records — Here's What the Evidence Actually Shows

“'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' are breaking box office records”

The argument in brief

A claim circulating online says the films 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' are shattering box office records. This is false. Neither title appears anywhere in box office tracking data from Box Office Mojo or Variety — because neither is a major theatrical release in the first place.

Why it spread

The Backrooms has a passionate online fanbase that grew up with the creepypasta and watched Kane Pixels turn it into something genuinely cinematic. When fans love something niche, they want the wider world to recognize it too — and that enthusiasm can make unverified success claims feel worth sharing before anyone checks the facts.

The claim is simple and wrong: 'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' are not breaking box office records. There is no credible evidence from any film industry source that either title has performed at a record-breaking level — or, in the case of Backrooms, that a major theatrical release even exists.

Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, the two most trusted databases for tracking film revenue, show no record-breaking release under either title. The films that actually hold recent box office records are well-documented: Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Barbie, according to Variety's box office reporting. These titles are absent from that conversation entirely.

Here's what these titles actually are. 'The Backrooms' is an internet horror phenomenon — a creepypasta that went viral and inspired a widely praised YouTube short film series by creator Kane Pixels. It is a streaming and online project, not a theatrical blockbuster. There is no box office to measure. 'Obsession,' meanwhile, is a 2023 Netflix miniseries. Streaming titles don't report traditional box office numbers at all, so the claim doesn't even apply.

To be fair to the strongest version of this claim: both properties have genuine cultural momentum. Kane Pixels' Backrooms videos have tens of millions of views, and Obsession generated real buzz on Netflix. That popularity is real. But popularity online is not the same as box office performance, and conflating the two is where this claim falls apart.

This kind of misinformation is worth watching for because it often travels without a source. If you see a box office claim, check Box Office Mojo or The Numbers directly. Record-breaking numbers are always traceable — if they're real, the receipts exist.

Sources

  • Box Office Mojo

    Neither a major theatrical film titled 'Obsession' nor 'Backrooms' appears among record-breaking box office releases in recent years. No film by these titles ranks among top-grossing films or record holders in Box Office Mojo's tracking data.

  • The Numbers (Nash Information Services)

    No film titled 'Backrooms' has been recorded as a major theatrical release breaking box office records. 'The Backrooms' concept has primarily existed as a YouTube/streaming horror project by Kane Pixels, not a record-breaking theatrical film.

  • Variety Box Office Reports

    Variety's box office coverage does not include any record-breaking films titled 'Obsession' or 'Backrooms' in recent reporting cycles. Record-breaking films in recent years include titles like Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Barbie.

  • IMDb

    While there are films and series with the title 'Obsession' (including a 2023 Netflix miniseries), none are documented as theatrical box office record-breakers. 'The Backrooms' remains primarily an internet horror phenomenon and short film project.

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