In a recent Produced By panel, Michael De Luca, the current Co-chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures, discussed the box-office successes of the horror films Obsession and Backrooms. Obsession has proven to be a remarkable word-of-mouth success, grossing a staggering $148 million worldwide on a measly $750k budget. Backrooms saw similar success this past weekend, grossing $81 million domestically (the highest North American opening for an A24 film) and $36 million internationally, for a worldwide total of approximately $118 million.

As for why these two films were such huge successes, Michael De Luca offered his insights. “They hone their craft online. Kane [Parsons] worked on Backrooms for five years,” De Luca explained. “These filmmakers are in a dialogue with their audience from the word ‘Go’. Their subscribers have direct input in each iteration of these things.” De Luca also explained that “By the time you get to the movie, they’ve had a billion test screenings.”

De Luca also offered the following piece of insight about the box office:

“There’s no crystal ball for box office success in regards to what makes you buy a ticket. It’s an active decision when you go to a theater and surrender your devices. There’s no algorithm. No one can predict that decision. You just try to get enough movies on screen in front of people.”

De Luca’s work with Warner Bros led the studio to having one of the most critical and financial successes in Hollywood for 2025, with box office successes like A Minecraft Movie and James Gunn’s Superman, and critical darlings like Sinners and the eventual Best Picture winner, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.

Both Obsession and Backrooms are currently showing in theaters.