A24's breakout horror hit Backrooms has crossed $330 million at the global box office, making it the studio's highest grossing film to date, and to mark the milestone the studio is sending the film back into UK and US cinemas this weekend with fifteen extra minutes of footage attached. The re release, titled Backrooms: Everything Must Go Edition, was announced by A24 through a social media post rather than a traditional press rollout.
What Everything Must Go Edition Actually Adds
Despite the buzz, A24 has been careful to clarify that this is neither a full extended cut nor a director's cut of Kane Parsons' film. Cinema listings instead describe the new version as carrying an extra quarter hour long sequence billed as a theatrically exclusive post credit scene. That leaves plenty of room for speculation about what audiences will actually see. It could be freshly shot footage built specifically for this release, further material following the characters played by Renate Reinsve or Chiwetel Ejiofor, or even a cinema only bonus episode tied to Parsons' original Backrooms web series, the creepypasta project that inspired the film in the first place. A24 has not confirmed which of these it is.
A24's Rough Week Before The Re Release
The timing of the extended release is notable because it comes right after a difficult stretch for A24's reputation among its fanbase. Earlier this week it emerged that the studio had accepted a $75 million investment from Google, tied to a research partnership aimed at developing new AI filmmaking tools. The news did not sit well with many fans and critics, who viewed it as a step away from A24's long standing identity as an independent studio built around an artist first model.
Studio communications head Sophia Shin tried to calm the backlash, telling TrendKia, "We'd rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines." That framing has not fully eased the unease around the deal, particularly because A24's biggest box office success to date, Backrooms, comes from Kane Parsons, a filmmaker who has been openly critical of AI in filmmaking.
More Backrooms Heading To Theatres
Whatever the extra fifteen minutes end up containing, the renewed theatrical push gives A24 a chance to put focus back on the film itself rather than the controversy surrounding its Google partnership. More screenings of Backrooms also means more box office receipts for a studio that just watched the title become its all time biggest earner. Backrooms: Everything Must Go Edition opens in cinemas on 3 July.
