The Battle Of Backrooms

PRESENTED BY SAFEBETS

Happy Monday Future Party. This month has felt like a true baton-passing moment in Hollywood. Curry Barker’s Obsession climbed in ticket sales for a third consecutive week, raking in nearly $105 million. Kane Parsons has also become the youngest filmmaker ever to top the box office, with Backrooms debuting to $118 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Markiplier (real name Mark Fischbach) self-funded and self-distributed his $3 million horror film, Iron Lung, which went on to earn $51.2 million theatrically. The YouTube generation has officially arrived.

Backrooms, which has evolved from a viral creepypasta into a major motion picture, is sparking a debate about ownership — or at least the sense of ownership — in the internet age.

The Big Picture: Creepypastas derive their followings from communities that continually expand their lore and narratives, with each new contribution enriching the legend as it spreads across the internet. The more people who meaningfully contribute, the merrier. But when a Hollywood studio partners with one of those contributors to formalize it as IP, it raises questions about the creepypasta’s future as a communal story.

Behind The Scenes: Backrooms just delivered A24’s biggest box-office debut ever — and, according to Bloomberg, that has parts of the Backrooms community worried.

Final Deliberation: The Backrooms debate is ultimately about remix culture: Is something genuinely new and original created when artists build on existing ideas? Legally, A24 and Parsons are well within their rights to make the film, but for many people, the vibe is more important than the law. As Parsons put it on a recent podcast: “I would be an advocate for someone else going down the road of making their own Backrooms series and interpretation, and they get a film.”

Still, the reality may be more complicated. Scott Manson, CEO of North Road Company and one of the film’s producers, said the company is “not focused on lawyering up.” At the same time, he noted that they are not “inviting the world to take these specific characters in this movie.”

Coming Soon: While the future of Backrooms as a creepypasta may be uncertain, expect an explosion of new internet-first horror universes hoping to receive the same Backrooms treatment.

Last week, Governor Walz signed the first law in the country criminalizing the operation of a prediction market. Seven more states are lining up. The largest platforms in the category face criminal exposure. And this is just the beginning.

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Both Kalshi and Polymarket are introducing new offerings that expand beyond their typical multiple-choice trades.

Why It Hits: In a few short years, the industry has come a long way from simply being able to bet on sports games through an app. Now, markets that were once accessible only to accredited trading firms are ending up in everyone’s hands — for better or worse.

Behind The Trades: The big bet moving forward is that whenever either Polymarket or Kalshi announces a new offering, the other won’t be far behind.

Case in point:

Final Wager: Kalshi and Polymarket are locked in a heated battle for prediction-market users, so expanding the number of ways people can make money is the name of the game. But that’s easier said than done, as each new feature falls under a different regulatory framework.

Kalshi said it is “the first company in American history to offer perpetuals,” which will be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Meanwhile, Polymarket’s new feature will not be available to US users because it would need to fall under SEC oversight. The company has not disclosed whether it is currently seeking that approval.

Prediction: The prediction market that offers the broadest range of opportunities to US-based users could ultimately be the real winner.

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37.5% of you voted Within a week in Friday’s poll: How far in advance do you typically make restaurant reservations?

“If it takes more than a week to get a reservation, there is too much hype with the place. It also means they are probably overpriced by at least 50%.”

“Never lived anyplace that truly required reservations — for which, incidentally, you could still have to wait. If there is more than a 10- to 15-minute wait, we leave and eat somewhere else.”

“It depends. For special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries, I reserve at least two weeks ahead. Otherwise, just to go someplace nice for dinner, I reserve as little as 1-2 days ahead.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

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