{"id":1839789,"date":"2026-07-25T13:52:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T13:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/?p=1839789"},"modified":"2026-07-25T13:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T13:52:46","slug":"a-moderate-and-nuanced-analysis-of-backrooms-obsession-and-theaters-in-2026-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/a-moderate-and-nuanced-analysis-of-backrooms-obsession-and-theaters-in-2026-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"A (Moderate and Nuanced) Analysis of Backrooms, Obsession and Theaters in 2026 So Far"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today\u2019s article. <\/span>Please subscribe<\/a>.)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n

I have somehow yet to write about the buzziest entertainment story of the year so far.<\/p>\n

I speak, of course, of <\/span>Backrooms<\/em> and <\/span>Obsession.<\/em><\/p>\n

Is it because I don\u2019t see how this is great news for the theatrical box office? Actually, no, I totally get that. Almost out of nowhere, two new films from young directors dramatically over-performed. One became a blockbuster and one is very popular. That\u2019s absolutely terrific. And the box office is <\/span>up compared to 2025<\/a>, and closing in on the pre-pandemic average.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, a number like \u201ctwo\u201d is a small sample size, which naturally leads me to worry:<\/p>\n

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Are we overhyping this trend?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Because Hollywood loves to overhype trends. For example, we all remember just four years ago when a certain East Asian nation came to conquer Hollywood. I speak of South Korea, right after <\/span>Squid Game <\/em>became a global phenomenon for Netflix. Everyone rushed to South Korea to find their next global hit.<\/span><\/p>\n

So <\/span>how\u2019s that going<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yikes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: the South Korean film industry is struggling. The streaming boom faded, and it turns out South Korean TV shows didn\u2019t take over America. This is why precision in data analysis matters: the success of <\/span>Squid Game<\/em> showed that the <\/span>ceiling<\/strong> of success of foreign language TV shows had been raised in America. But the data showed that the <\/span>hit rate<\/strong> of foreign language shows had not. (I tried to <\/span>tamp down the hype for foreign TV shows in 2022<\/a>. Did folks listen? The opposite, if anything.)<\/span><\/p>\n

You could add <\/span>concert films<\/a>, <\/span>anime<\/a>, <\/span>faith-based films<\/a> and maybe <\/span>musicals<\/a> to the list of potential box office saviors that never saved the box office.<\/span><\/p>\n

I worry, writing all of this, that I\u2019ll come across as too negative, but there\u2019s been quite a bit of hype around the relative successes of <\/span>Backrooms, Obsession, Iron Lung<\/em> and <\/span>Amazing Digital Circus<\/em> and the relative failures of <\/span>Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu<\/em>, <\/span>Supergirl, Disclosure Day, Masters of the Universe<\/em>, <\/span>Minions & Monsters<\/em>,<\/span> <\/em>and the live-action <\/span>Moana.<\/em> I don\u2019t want to be a downer here\u2014which is ironic, because I\u2019ve long been bullish on theaters, pushing back against the \u201ctheaters are in structural decline\u201d narrative for years\u2014but right when almost everyone in town is ecstatic, I\u2019m worried.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want Hollywood to learn the wrong lessons from the terrific success story of movies in 2026. (See this fun article for <\/span>past times Hollywood has done just that<\/a>.) I\u2019m going to break down the box office data from this year and past years to answer what may or may not have changed based on the success of <\/span>Backrooms<\/em> and <\/span>Obsession<\/em>. As usual, expect loads of nuance, moderation, history and caveats. And I\u2019ll try to be honest when I say we don\u2019t know or can\u2019t say for sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than anything, I want to write the most comprehensive analysis of the <\/span>Obsession<\/em> and <\/span>Backrooms<\/em> (I\u2019m calling them O&B from here on out) that you\u2019ll find on the internet. This article is over 5,500 words long, with 20+ images.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want hype, I can\u2019t help you. If you want a much-too-long very deep dive through a bunch of box office trends, stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Today I\u2019ll look at\u2026<\/p>\n