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Obsession and Backrooms are breaking records and making history at the box office, and producers Jason Blum and James Wan say the films are reminiscent of the 1970s era of young filmmakers breaking into the horror genre.
The horror leaders opened the Produced By Conference at Universal Studios lot Saturday, where they sat down with PGA President Stephanie Allain to discuss the state of cinema, movie theaters’ recovery from COVID and their future goals for Blumhouse–Atomic Monster.
“Since COVID, there’s been this lethargic feeling around theatrical, and is it relevant anymore and is it going to survive?” Blum said. “And what I think is so incredible about Obsession and Backrooms is that they’re a new kind of movie. They’re made by non-traditional directors, directors who really honed their skills as creators online.”
Obsession, released May 15, was written and directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker and made for $750,000. Now in its third week, the Focus Features and Blumhouse release is making history as the first movie outside of Christmas since 1982 to increase in its second and third weekends.
