If you missed BACKROOMS during its theatrical run, you’re about to get another chance to wander into that endless yellow maze without having to leave the house.
A24’s BACKROOMS, directed by Kane Parsons and based on his viral web series, will make its streaming debut exclusively on HBO Max in the U.S. on September 25, 2026, with its HBO linear premiere following Saturday, September 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
This isn’t just another horror movie quietly making its way to streaming. BACKROOMS has become A24’s highest-grossing film ever at the domestic and worldwide box office, turning what began as an internet horror concept built around liminal spaces into a full-blown theatrical success.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR “BACKROOMS” BELOW
For those who somehow managed to avoid the phenomenon, the concept is beautifully simple. A strange doorway appears beneath a furniture showroom, opening into an apparently endless maze of interconnected rooms. Time doesn’t behave normally, getting out isn’t exactly straightforward, and somewhere inside that seemingly empty world is something you definitely don’t want to find.
That basic premise helped Parsons’ original Backrooms videos explode online, eventually attracting millions of viewers and building an entire mythology around the strange, empty spaces. Hollywood eventually came knocking, and A24 turned the internet phenomenon into a feature film.
GET LOST AGAIN
BACKROOMS stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell, with Parsons directing from a screenplay by Will Soodik.
The film is produced by a pretty impressive collection of genre and Hollywood heavyweights, including James Wan, Michael Clear, Shawn Levy, Osgood Perkins, Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping.
If you missed BACKROOMS in theaters, September 25 is your chance to find out what all the fuss was about. And considering the film’s box office performance, it looks like a whole lot of people were already willing to get lost.
Just remember, if you see a doorway in your basement that wasn’t there yesterday, maybe leave it alone.
