Director Kane Parsons said he does not regard his $400 million film *Backrooms* as a horror project, despite its origins in internet creepypasta and its widespread marketing as horror. Speaking at the Zurich Summit, he said the label was mainly a convenient marketing frame and suggested he would have more freedom to avoid such categorisation in future projects.

The film was cited as a major contributor to the $4.7 billion US box-office revival this summer, alongside *Obsession*, another project originating on YouTube. Industry figures said *Backrooms* showed how online fandom can move into cinemas, while also reflecting broader changes caused by streaming, the pandemic and younger audiences’ wider exposure to film.