Horror Report

Category: Box office

  • Movie review: We have been successfully disclosed to at Disclosure Day

    Movie review: We have been successfully disclosed to at Disclosure Day

    Spoilers Ahead ..


    This review is going to contain spoilers for the movie Disclosure Day. Read at your own peril.
    If there was ever a film you should see with your most intelligent friends,  the ones who can debate whether disclosure of alien life would help or hurt the planet,  this is the film.


    Some of the ads give away a few notable scenes that appear in the movie, and they make Disclosure Day look a little more frightening than it actually is. But those scenes are still effectively used in the film itself. But if you’re going to this movie thinking you’re seeing some sort of a horror you’re not, you’re more seeing a thriller chase movie with deep questions..


    Steven Spielberg is back, giving us the famous camera angles, wide shots, close-ups, and dramatic moments he’s known for.  Emily Blunt gives the kind of strong performance we’ve come to expect from her.  Couple that with the rest of the cast, a strange and somewhat bizarre CGI alien at the end, and we have Disclosure Day.


    And it’s arriving at a weird time.


    Disclosure seems to be slowly happening in the real world, as UFO files continue to be released by the government. At the same time, people are actively debating whether the whole thing is just a big fake distraction from “the real agenda” .. and you can choose whichever real agenda you think it’s distracting us from.


    But in this movie, the world is not distracted by something insignificant. World War III has begun, and the mass media in Disclosure Day is covering it 24/7.


    That is, until a rogue group of contracted government workers decides to sneak evidence from the UFO files and reveal it to the entire planet.


    The race is on between the good guys and the bad guys.. and you can take your pick as to which is which .. until the climactic ending, when we as a civilization are forced to pause our wars and confront something much deeper and more profound.


    The positives here are the acting, the score, the writing, and the film itself.


    The negatives could also be the acting, the score, the writing, and the film itself.


    This movie is surprisingly divisive. In fact, the audience I saw it with seemed split right down the middle. A few people clapped. Others sighed. It perfectly fits the divided Rotten Tomatoes score currently online. Even the critics seem divided. It’s not getting the roaring praise that other Spielberg films have received, and it’s not dominating the box office the way it probably would have 25 years ago with Spielberg’s name attached.


    That alone shows how much things have changed.
    Generationally speaking, this year’s horror movies — Obsession and Backrooms — have shown younger directors becoming more popular with younger audiences than Spielberg himself. But the truth is, Disclosure Day is good. Maybe not great, but good. And more than that, it feels significant.
    It feels important.


    A lot of us conspiracy-minded folks have wondered for a long time whether Steven Spielberg knew something. And if he doesn’t, he’s very good at faking it.


    But the movie matters not just because of the acting, the filmmaking, or the spectacle.  It matters because of the questions it asks  and, more importantly, the questions it refuses to answer.


    Disclosure Day may not be Spielberg’s greatest film.  But it is one of his most interesting in years. And at this moment in history, that might be enough to spawn an important debate at America’s 250th..

  • Backrooms and Obsession get competition: Call it old versus new and nostalgia versus the future

    Backrooms and Obsession get competition: Call it old versus new and nostalgia versus the future

    The box office battle of the new week begins.

    There are going to be a couple of things to watch very closely over the next several days, namely how well Obsession and The Backrooms perform during their next weekend at the box office now that some fresh competition is arriving.

    Remember, Obsession was originally scheduled to hit streaming this week, but that date was pushed back due to its continued success in theaters. Meanwhile, The Backrooms just keeps plugging away, posting surprisingly strong numbers even on weeknights. Neither film appears ready to disappear just yet.

    This week, however, brings us a pair of nostalgia-fueled challengers. One is built on 1980s superheroes and the other on early 2000s comedy. Whether either one connects with modern audiences remains to be seen.

    Scary Movie 6 premieres this weekend, as does Masters of the Universe. Both films have generated anticipation and, in theory, should attract decent crowds. Yet early projections suggest that the He-Man adaptation could be surprisingly ill-fated at the box office, while Scary Movie 5 may not be nearly as funny as audiences had hoped.

    While regular moviegoers have not yet fully weighed in, paid reviewers certainly have. For the most part, the reviews for Masters of the Universe have been lukewarm, while Scary Movie 6 has been getting hit even harder.

    If we were to compare them to beverages, Masters of the Universe would be a flat seltzer water and Scary Movie 6 would be that same seltzer after somebody microwaved it.

    As a matter of fact, when comparing the two films, Masters of the Universe should easily dominate the box office. The question is whether Generation X and older Millennials can convince their kids to care about He-Man. The kids may not be all right when it comes to 1980s nostalgia. The decade is long gone, and nostalgia for it may have finally started running out of steam.

    Then again, Scary Movie has its own problem. If the jokes don’t make people laugh, nothing else really matters.

    There is one important caveat, however. Critics have never been particularly fond of movies like Scary Movie. They didn’t like the earlier Scary Movie films. They didn’t like many of the National Lampoon’s movies. They weren’t exactly champions of The Naked Gun either. Irreverent comedies that exist primarily to make audiences laugh have often received a chilly reception from reviewers.

    We’ll see how it all plays out.

    Maybe the critics are right.

    Maybe audiences will disagree.

    And maybe, just maybe, Obsession and The Backrooms will once again dominate the weekend.

    To be determined at a theater near you.

  • Our Backrooms review!!

    Our Backrooms review!!

    Maybe None of Us Know What We Just Saw. 😄🙃

    We just saw The Backrooms, and I’m left sort of speechless.

    As the credits rolled, I found myself paying less attention to the screen and more attention to the people around me. The entire theater just sat there. Nobody rushed for the exits. Nobody immediately grabbed their phones. People looked like they were trying to process what they had just experienced.

    Let me first say that I saw this at a relatively packed theater on a Sunday afternoon. Kids, adults, entire families. People who easily could have gone to see The Mandalorian instead chose The Backrooms, and that alone showcases why this movie is on track to make more than $80 million this weekend.

    Kane Parsons, you did a heck of a job.

    One debate we have seen all over social media and TikTok is whether you need to watch the original YouTube shorts or know all of the Backrooms lore before seeing this movie. I don’t think you do.

    If you’ve seen the shorts, you’ll probably catch some Easter eggs and appreciate certain moments a little more. But prior knowledge is not required to enjoy what was created here.

    At the same time, even if you know the lore, you still may not completely understand what you’ve just watched.

    Here’s my interpretation.

    We create the Backrooms.

    The movie seems to be about how we create the insanity inside our own minds. It’s about loops and about obsession. It’s about continually wandering into places we know we shouldn’t go.

    There were several scenes that genuinely left me anxious. Not jump scares, either. Those weren’t the moments that got me.

    One scene involving the giant pirate-like flesh eater with its impossibly long arms reaching toward Dr Mary Kline felt claustrophobic and unsettling. Other scenes used distorted faces, fuzzy imagery, and shaky camera work that made you question whether your own eyes were playing tricks on you.

    The movie was effective in a very unusual way.

    It made me despise the Backrooms while simultaneously wanting to stay there.

    I can’t really explain it any better than that.

    Just like the characters who repeatedly venture deeper into the Backrooms because they need to discover what’s around the next corner, I think that’s exactly how many people in the audience felt. The place is terrifying, but it’s also impossible to stop exploring.

    The found footage elements and flashbacks were probably the most effective use of found footage since The Blair Witch Project. The acting was so convincing that you almost leave the theater wondering if the Backrooms could somehow be real.

    On my way to the bathroom after the movie, part of me felt like I might accidentally slip through a wall.

    What fascinated me most, though, was the audience.

    This was a packed house. The kind of crowd that twenty years ago would have definitely filled a theater for a major Star Wars release.

    The times have changed.

    Parents who brought younger children looked somewhat bewildered, as if they had just spent two hours watching something they didn’t fully understand. The younger kids seemed entertained but weren’t entirely sure what they had seen either ..

    There were a lot of teenagers in the audience. I expected talking and cell phones lighting up.

    There was none of that.

    During several scenes, you could hear a pin drop.

    There were also moments where the audience laughed. Not because the movie became a comedy, but because some situations were so strange and uncomfortable that people almost laughed in spite of themselves. The humor never undercut the horror. The movie maintained its credibility as a genuinely unsettling experience from beginning to end.

    I’ve seen comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock, and honestly, that’s fair.

    For people who don’t understand the movie, don’t want to understand the movie, or simply aren’t interested in trying to interpret it, that’s fine. They probably won’t watch it again.

    Others may find themselves returning to the theater more than once.

    There’s something about that buzzing yellow aura,  those endless hallways, and the stained carpets that almost makes you feel like you can smell them.

    The long-term success of this movie will depend on word of mouth. The initial excitement was clearly there this weekend. Fans, parents, teenagers, and entire families came out in force.

    I’ve seen some people absolutely hate it.

    I’ve seen others love it.

    Put me firmly in the camp that loved it.

    I honestly think it’s one of the greatest horror films I’ve ever seen.

    Not because it was the scariest or had the best monsters with a big budget, but because it was more than a movie.

    It was an experience.

    For two hours, you felt like you were there.

    Kane Parsons did an amazing job.

    And perhaps the best review I heard wasn’t inside the theater at all.

    It happened afterward in the parking lot.

    On a bright, sunny early summer afternoon, families were heading back to their cars. Younger movie goers were talking about their favorite scenes. Parents were looking at each other with confused expressions.

    Then one grandmother, walking away from the theater with her family, finally broke the silence.

    “I’ll call you later. I need to take a break because I don’t know what the f*** that just was.”

    Maybe none of us do.

    But it’s the Backrooms.

    It’s meant to be explored no matter what the f*** it is ..

  • $$ HORROR HOT AT BOX $$

    $$ HORROR HOT AT BOX $$

    Box office watchers are saying to prepare for a possible shock this weekend.. both BACKROOMS and OBSESSION continue to score high and rake in cash … Meanwhile the 2000s called and asked for the Mandalorian back..

    MORE..

    Kane Parsons has won over a younger generation.. his film is connecting with the under-35 demo (a massive 87% turnout since Thursday night) with Backrooms now on track to hoard a $76M to $79M after a $33M-$35M Friday at 3,442 theaters, which includes Thursday night’s $10.4M. Some are expecting an $80 mil opening!

    But even bigger is Curry Barker’s horror world..

    A24/Chernin Entertainment co-financed movie isn’t even hurting business for Focus Features’ Curry Barker Obsession, which is going over $100M in its third frame after what’s shaping up to be a 3-day of $25M at 2,780 theaters …

    Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu has seen a 69% drop from its first week..

    DEVELOPING

  • Welcome to the summer that is changing horror

    Welcome to the summer that is changing horror

    The summer of 2026 is already shaping up to be the summer that changes horror… and possibly movies in general.

    There’s a new generation of young directors making creative horror films such as Obsession and Backrooms.. and especially with Obsession, there’s been a word-of-mouth popularity surge that really hasn’t been seen since probably The Blair Witch Project. It became the sleeper hit of the late spring season almost entirely because people kept telling other people to go see it. Audiences wanted to know what all the buzz was about, and once they got there, they thoroughly enjoyed it.

    The movie is getting rave reviews and, more importantly, it feels different. That’s the key.

    For too long horror has relied on remakes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Exorcist, and countless recycled ideas from the past. People grew tired of it. The villains that once terrified audiences during the late 20th century slowly started becoming pop culture jokes instead of actual horror icons.

    But this new breed of horror filmmakers is giving audiences something fresh again.

    Obsession is an absolutely perfect example of that. The movie reportedly only cost around $750,000 to make, yet it’s already tracking toward potentially making close to $100 million. The profit margins are insane, but it’s not just about profit. People are genuinely enjoying the art behind what this movie provided. They’re talking about it afterward. They’re debating it and  recommending it to friends.

    And even more interesting than the box office itself is the demographic showing up to see it.

    The audience is heavily made up of the 18-to-25 crowd!

    When I went to see it, I felt like a geezer… and I’m not even that old. The theater was packed with teenagers, college kids, and younger adults. That means something. Younger audiences are actually returning to theaters when a movie feels worth leaving the house for. They’re sitting through the 25 minutes of ads and commercials and eventually, if you’re at AMC, that famous Nicole Kidman theater speech about why movies are better in a dark room with strangers.

    For years people have cried that movie theaters were dying out, but maybe the formula was always simpler than we thought: people will still go to theaters for movies that are actually good. Go figure..

    And horror has always been on the cutting edge of culture.

    Horror reflects the fears, anxieties, politics, and social atmosphere of its era better than almost any other genre. The SAW movies probably would not have exploded in popularity during the 1980s, but during the War on Terror era it hit audiences at exactly the right moment. The same thing happens throughout horror history over and over again.

    Oddly enough, professional wrestling and horror movies might be two of the greatest indicators of where society is emotionally at any given time. Both constantly evolve alongside culture, controversy, fear, anger, escapism, and public mood.

    Unfortunately horror also gets a bad reputation with the elites and Red Carpet Crowd  because of the endless flood of cheap, lazy, ridiculous films pushed out simply to make a quick dollar.  But there’s a new generation of filmmakers emerging right now with creativity, atmosphere, originality, and actual vision.  They’re changing not only horror itself, but possibly the movie industry as a whole because their success is proving audiences still care deeply about cinema when it feels unique.

    Now we’re on the verge of another major moment in the summer of 2026.. this is really not an overstatement but clearly a cultural moment is being defined by a new set of talented people .. FINALLY..

    As this post is being written, all eyes are beginning to shift toward Backrooms, directed by young filmmaker Kane Parsons, known online to many as Kane Pixels. There’s a real possibility that this film pushes things even further and helps cement the summer of 2026 as a turning point for modern filmmaking.

    For those paying attention, something historic honestly feels like it’s happening here.

    You can feel it in the air.

    Movies do not have to be what they once were in order to succeed. In fact, if you simply recreate movies exactly the way they used to be made, chances are audiences may not care anymore. People want something different. They want creativity and atmosphere.. along with originality. They want filmmakers willing to take risks again.

    And this new spirit of filmmaking is finally giving audiences that thing they’ve been searching for.

    So cheers to good movies… and cheers to hopefully seeing full movie theaters again in your neck of the woods.

    Because this weekend people will undoubtedly be lining up excitedly to see Backrooms… and maybe, just maybe, another horror film will make history.

  • The rumors that Kane Parsons didn’t know what he was doing on Backrooms seem to be utterly ridiculous

    The rumors that Kane Parsons didn’t know what he was doing on Backrooms seem to be utterly ridiculous

    What started as a bizarre internet creepypasta and YouTube phenomenon has now turned into one of the most anticipated horror films of the summer. Backrooms, directed by young filmmaker Kane Parsons, is being predicted to have a potentially big box office weekend coming..

    Parsons, known online for his eerie Backrooms videos that exploded in popularity on YouTube, managed to turn a simple concept of endless yellow hallways and mundane existential dread into a full-fledged feature film backed by a24films..

    Some internet users began speculating that Parsons did not truly direct the film himself and that someone else may have secretly taken over production behind the scenes.

    The rumor spread across social media quickly, with some people claiming that a young creator like Parsons could not have realistically handled a movie of this scale.


    Mark Duplass spoke out.. he pushed back on those claims and defended Parsons. Duplass confirmed that Kane Parsons absolutely directed the film and that the speculation was absurd.

    @duplassmark

    You may like the movie. You may not. But you should know that Kane Parsons is the one and only director of THE BACKROOMS.

    ♬ original sound – Mark Duplass

    In many ways, the rumors almost speak to the disbelief some people still have that a young internet creator could successfully transition from YouTube horror shorts into a major theatrical release. But Parsons already proved with his online work that he understands atmosphere, tension, and the kind of surreal horror that modern audiences connect with.


    In the end, Backrooms represents something bigger than just another horror movie release. It is yet another example of internet culture and independent creators finding their way into mainstream Hollywood.

    What started as grainy videos uploaded online may now become one of the surprise horror success stories of the year.

  • People obsessed with OBSESSION

    People obsessed with OBSESSION

    And rightfully so!!

    Read our review here..

    In its second week, low budget horror OBSESSION is doing the unthinkable: RISING at the box!

    For Memorial Day weekend, the film is now expected to finish with an amazing +16% hike in its 3-day for a near $20M second weekend and 4-day of $24.8M and 11-day cumulative of $55.1M. If those numbers stick, Obsession will be +18% ahead of Longlegs at the same point in time..

    Here are some more internal reported numbers.

    More women are showing up now at 51% versus 41% in the pic’s opening weekend, however guys like this battle of the sexes movie a little more, with a slightly higher definite recommend, 75% to 73%

    DEVELOPING..

  • As usual people have an obsession with horror while critics always lampoon it

    As usual people have an obsession with horror while critics always lampoon it

    Horror always seems to succeed where other genres fail. Even when critics shrug or the mainstream audience barely notices, horror has a way of finding profitability. A massive opening weekend is not always required when the budget is microscopic compared to modern blockbuster standards. Sometimes a horror movie only needs curiosity, atmosphere, and enough people willing to buy a ticket on a Friday night.


    Take Obsession for instance. The film did not become the number one movie of the weekend, but it did not have to. Reports indicate the movie opened to around $16 million domestically against a production budget of only about $750,000. In an era where major studio films can lose hundreds of millions of dollars, horror once again proved why it remains one of the safest bets in entertainment.


    Directed by emerging filmmaker Mark Ellison, Obsession leans heavily into psychological horror and paranoia rather than expensive visual effects. The movie stars Samara Weaving alongside Justice Smith, telling the story of a couple whose relationship spirals into terror after a seemingly harmless fixation turns dangerous. Much of the buzz surrounding the movie came from social media reactions praising its tension, disturbing imagery, and old school thriller atmosphere.


    And that really is the magic formula horror continues to pull off year after year. While superhero films and giant action spectacles require enormous budgets just to survive, horror can thrive on creativity, mood, and word of mouth… If audiences are intrigued enough to show up, the genre often wins before the opening weekend is even over.

  • Of toys and tribulations; predictions for the HE-MAN toy line and movie profitability

    Of toys and tribulations; predictions for the HE-MAN toy line and movie profitability

    Before the new Masters of the Universe movie even arrives in theaters, one of the biggest questions surrounding the entire project may not actually be about the movie itself. It may be about toys… and whether kids even want them anymore in the modern era.


    For years now, it feels like adult collectors have completely changed the toy industry. Every time a major toy line comes out, shelves are emptied by collectors, resale prices are inflated online, and the toys themselves become collectibles instead of actual toys for children. It has happened with Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe, wrestling figures, retro reissues, and countless others. Parents sometimes walk into stores only to discover the shelves already raided by adults hunting rare variants and exclusives before kids even had a chance to see them.


    That is what makes the current strategy from Mattel so interesting. It appears a conscious effort is being made to divide the line between collector products and kid-focused products. The larger premium collectibles and nostalgia-driven exclusives are still being made for longtime fans, while more affordable figures in the lower price ranges are reportedly being aimed directly at children and families. In a strange way, a moral position almost seems to be getting taken here… toys should still belong to kids.
    That approach may end up being one of the smartest things Mattel has done with Masters of the Universe in decades.


    But the larger mystery remains the same… will modern kids even embrace He-Man?


    That question becomes more complicated when it is remembered that younger audiences today have grown up in a completely different entertainment landscape than children from the 1980s. The imagination-driven era of after-school cartoons, toy aisles filled wall-to-wall with action figures, and playground mythology has largely been replaced by TikTok clips, YouTube personalities, anime, streaming services, Roblox, Minecraft, and endless fast-moving digital entertainment.

    A child born after 2011, or especially after 2020, may not automatically connect with a giant sword-and-sorcery fantasy mythology the same way older generations once did.


    There was a certain imagination attached to the 1980s that still carries enormous nostalgic power. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe existed in a colorful world filled with strange creatures, giant castles, cosmic battles between good and evil, and larger-than-life personalities. The sincerity of it all was part of the appeal. It was not ironic. It was not ashamed of itself. Eternia was simply allowed to be strange.


    The concern now is whether that kind of mythology still works in the modern age… or whether its time has long passed.


    Reportedly carrying a budget somewhere between $170 million and $200 million, the new film is not being treated like a niche experiment. A massive theatrical rollout is expected, with projections pointing toward a wide release in roughly 3,500 to 4,000 theaters when the film arrives on June 5, 2026. The runtime is also being reported at approximately 132 minutes, making it a fairly lengthy fantasy blockbuster.

    But we are already hearing about early pre-sales that are not meeting their target.


    That runtime may become part of the problem.
    A prediction is going to be made here… the movie will probably have a decent opening weekend fueled by nostalgia, curiosity, and longtime fans, but may ultimately fall flat afterward. Toy sales for the kid-focused line may also end up weaker than expected, while adult collectors will likely scoop up the premium and nostalgia-driven figures almost immediately. Of course, reality may prove this prediction completely wrong, and honestly it would be great if that happened. A genuine new He-Man sensation taking over pop culture again would actually be pretty incredible to witness.


    Still, there is skepticism.


    The movie may simply be too long to fully appeal to younger children unless the pacing is nonstop action from beginning to end. But at the same time, constant action for over two hours involving characters that many kids have never seen before could become overwhelming rather than exciting. Modern audiences, especially younger viewers, often need emotional anchors before they become invested in giant fantasy worlds. If there is no attachment to the characters themselves, endless spectacle can start to blur together.


    That may be the biggest challenge facing Eternia in 2026.


    Adults already care about He-Man. Adults already understand Skeletor, Castle Grayskull, Battle Cat, and the mythology. But the future of the franchise will not really be decided by nostalgia-driven collectors. It will be decided by whether children begin asking for the toys, pretending to be the characters, wearing the shirts, arguing about who is stronger, and carrying Eternia into an entirely new generation.


    That is the real test.


    And right now, nobody truly knows whether Masters of the Universe is about to become the next great fantasy revival… or simply another relic of the 1980s trying one last time to survive in a completely different world.

  • From the Vault: we were trepidatious of a new Masters of the Universe movie in 2019

    From the Vault: we were trepidatious of a new Masters of the Universe movie in 2019

    As the new Masters of the Universe film gets ready for its big unveiling, rumor has it that it will run for more than two hours. Hardcore fans are excited, but the jury is still out on whether new audiences will be acclimated to Eternia… or if this is just going to turn into a full-blown nostalgia bloodbath for the true believers.


    The new film is being directed by Travis Knight, the same mind behind Bumblebee, and is backed by Amazon MGM Studios. Nicholas Galitzine steps into the role of Prince Adam/He-Man, with Camila Mendes as Teela and Jared Leto taking on Skeletor. Early details suggest a larger, more grounded take on Eternia, blending fantasy with a more cinematic scope than previous attempts. It’s aiming big… whether it lands that way is another question entirely.


    So at this time, a trip back into the vault of Horror Report ramblings is in order, where a 2019 article surfaced discussing the fabled rumors of a new movie being created. That was so many years ago… and so many timelines ago. But in that article, a moral adversity to the original 1980s live-action He-Man movie was also laid out. It wasn’t liked then… and as maturity has set in, it feels like it’s liked a little more now.


    But we’ll see how much the newest He-Man movie is liked this year in comparison.


    It’s got to be better, right?


    It just has to be.