LibraryNowOriginsOddsMechanicsMCP

Kinds

Campaign380Product91Food & drink27App & software56Film24Series24Music60Game115Book22Creator moment54Meme & format109Trend & aesthetic38Activity58Moment89
PricingPrivacyTermsRefundsPress
Library/Film/The Backrooms (Found Footage)
Grade B29 sourcesHIS-00037

The Backrooms (Found Footage)

Film · 2022 · ViralVerification level 2: Fact-checked

60Editable slideCertificate

A teenager's YouTube horror short became an A24 film with an $81.4M domestic opening.

Original · Kane Pixels
Trailer · A24 on YouTube
The Backrooms (Found Footage)
Kane Pixels on YouTube
Backrooms | Official Trailer HD | A24
A24 on YouTube
The Backrooms: Horror storytelling goes online
ABC News
YouTube Streamy Awards 2022
Deadline
Kane Parsons, Roberto Patino
Deadline
Steam Community :: Backrooms: Escape Together
Triiodide Studios / Steam
Backrooms - Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo
Box Office: 'Backrooms' $81M U.S, $118MWW Opening Is An A24 Record
Deadline
The Backrooms: How a Creepy Office Photo Became an Internet Bogeyman
VICE
Is This Viral Found Footage Horror Short the Scariest Video on the Internet?
ScreenCrush
Dread Central's Top 10 Horror Movies of 2022
Dread Central
YouTube Horror Hit 'The Backrooms' to Be Made Into A24 Feature Film by Its Teenage Creator
TheWrap

Spread Score

How it works
Reach87Contagion45Breadth90Velocity21Longevity2860

Numbers

Feature only: worldwide total (Box Office Mojo)
$400.6M
As of Oct 12, 2026 · Box Office Mojo
Peak date
Week of Jun 1, 2026
Jan 7 ’22 to Week of Jun 1, 2026
Platforms
7
Started on YouTube
Leverage
40×
$400.6M on $10M budget

Mechanics

  • Response chainPrimary
  • Underdog
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Kane Pixels adapted a 2019 4chan creepypasta into a Blender horror short at sixteen. Reddit, 8-BitRyan and GTLive spread it; sequels and TikTok tributes followed. His A24 feature opened at No. 1 to $81.4M domestic in 2026.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesOct ’21Feb ’22MayAugDecFeb ’23NovDec ’24Jan ’26MayJulNovPeakYouTubeRedditPressTikTokTVOpen webBox office
YouTubeRedditPressTikTokTVOpen webBox office

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. January 2022

    Kane Pixels seed · Jan 7 ’22

    Sixteen-year-old Kane Pixels uploaded his nine-minute Blender short The Backrooms (Found Footage).[1][2][3]

    Is This Viral Found Footage Horror Short the Scariest Video on the Internet?
    Open the first post ↗

  2. r/backrooms users platform jump · Jan 8 ’22

    Users shared the short to r/backrooms on January 8, according to Know Your Meme.[4]

  3. 8-BitRyan and GTLive platform jump · Jan 14 ’22

    8-BitRyan posted a reaction on January 14; GTLive followed on January 24.[4][5][6]

Changelogupdated Oct 13 ’26
  1. 2026-10-13Archived 6 sources
  2. 2026-10-12Added: 16 events, 29 sources · Score 53
Origin
Organic
Sector
Entertainment
Region
US
Feature only: worldwide total (Box Office Mojo)
$400.6M
As of Oct 12, 2026 · Box Office Mojo
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Heneral Luna

Box office · 2015

66
Heneral Luna - Welcome to TBA Studios

$5.7M box office

A Quiet Place

Box office · 2018

65
Official A Quiet Place home-video cover showing Emily Blunt covering her mouth.

$334.9M on a $17M budget

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Open web · 2020

57
Official Fall Guys game artwork and product page.

$185M revenue

Beto O’Rourke’s NFL-protests answer

X · 2018

42
‘I can think of nothing more American.’ — Beto O'Rourke — the man taking on Ted Cruz — brilliantly explains why NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not disrespectful

19.9M views

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

See every timeline

Free account, every case's full spread.

Join free
Log inJoin free
Wikipedia views · Google searchesOct ’21Feb ’22MayAugDecFeb ’23NovDec ’24Jan ’26MayJulNovPeakYouTubeRedditPressTikTokTVOpen webBox office
YouTubeRedditPressTikTokTVOpen webBox office

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. January 2022

    Kane Pixels seed · Jan 7 ’22

    Sixteen-year-old Kane Pixels uploaded his nine-minute Blender short The Backrooms (Found Footage).[1][2][3]

    Is This Viral Found Footage Horror Short the Scariest Video on the Internet?
    Open the first post ↗

  2. r/backrooms users platform jump · Jan 8 ’22

    Users shared the short to r/backrooms on January 8, according to Know Your Meme.[4]

  3. 8-BitRyan and GTLive platform jump · Jan 14 ’22

    8-BitRyan posted a reaction on January 14; GTLive followed on January 24.[4][5][6]

  1. platform jump · Jan 14 ’22

  2. owner response · Jan 17 ’22

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

Join free

Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 13 sourced numbers and 29 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro