A24’s ‘Backrooms’ is getting an extended cut with 16 minutes of new footage, and it’s releasing earlier than you think

A24 is bringing its massive horror hit back to the big screen with an extended cut that adds 16 minutes of brand new footage, and you can catch it in theaters as early as this Friday, Deadline reported. The film is being rebranded as Backrooms: Everything Must Go, and it is shaping up to be a total treat for the fans who helped make this movie an absolute juggernaut at the box office. If you were already a fan of the original, you can expect even more lore and plenty of hidden Easter eggs tucked into that extra runtime.

Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director who stunned Hollywood, built an incredible following through the videos he shot on YouTube while he was still just a teenager. Now, he is at the helm of the highest-grossing movie in the history of A24. The film was produced for a modest $10 million, yet it has managed to rake in more than $330 million worldwide.

The movie itself follows a furniture store owner, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who finds a strange doorway hidden in the basement of his showroom. Things quickly spiral when he gets lost in a maze of endless liminal spaces, and he ends up being pursued by his own therapist, played by Renate Reinsve. The cast is rounded out by Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell, and the script was written by Will Soodik based on the original series created by Parsons.

When the movie first premiered, it was an absolute sensation

While industry analysts were initially projecting a domestic opening in the range of $20 million to $30 million, the film completely blew those expectations out of the water with an $81.4 million debut. It actually managed to outgross major summer tentpoles, including Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. That film brought in $184.1 million at the North American box office, and $327.4 million worldwide, but Backrooms has surged ahead with a global cume of $331 million.

The new version of the film, which hits theaters on July 3, will have a total runtime of 2 hours and 6 minutes. According to a listing on the AMC website, the experience will include a theatrically exclusive post-credit scene. The studio is capitalizing on the July 4 holiday, which is always one of the busiest weekends for theaters. The film is entering a crowded landscape, as it will be competing with other major releases like Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and the Illumination spinoff Minions & Monsters.

It is also worth noting that this trend of low-budget, YouTube-originated horror seems to be having a real moment right now. Another example is the film Obsession, directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker. Like Parsons, Barker got his start on YouTube, and his film has managed to gross more than $370 million globally on a production budget of only $750,000.

Meanwhile, a sequel of Backrooms is already in the works, continuing the collaboration between Blumhouse, 21 Laps, and Chernin Entertainment. A24 spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the re-release.