A24's Backrooms Runtime Unveiled: How Long You'll Be Lost With Chiwetel Ejiofor
A24’s Backrooms has locked its runtime, with Academy Award nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve leading the supernatural sci‑fi shocker into theaters on May 29, 2026—where it’s set to collide with rival horror contender Passenger.
Well, here’s one for horror fans (and the folks who live for production trivia): A24 just nailed down the runtime for their next big supernatural/sci-fi flick, 'Backrooms.' And believe it or not, this one actually started as a viral YouTube series before going Hollywood. So if you ever thought “hey, that weird corner of the internet could be a movie someday,” you might owe Kane Parsons a coffee.
So What’s 'Backrooms' Actually About?
The movie’s core hook? According to the official logline, 'A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.' Yes, that’s the entire setup—minimalist, but definitely creepy if it’s anything like the oddly unsettling vibe of the original web series. If you haven’t fallen down that particular YouTube rabbit hole yet, the Backrooms concept basically boils down to “what if liminal spaces and analog horror were all too real?”
Feature Debut for Kane Parsons
Taking the director’s chair is Kane Parsons, who’s making the leap from internet folklore to feature films. Parsons knows this territory—the original Backrooms web series (created by him) has clocked nearly 100 million views online, which is not exactly small potatoes.
Running Time and Release Date
- Length: 105 minutes (that’s just about 1 hour, 45 minutes—so nobody’s making you sit through an endurance test à la Oppenheimer)
- US Theatrical Release: May 29, 2026
- Competition: Opening the same weekend as 'Passenger,' which means horror fans are getting double-booked at the multiplex
A24 Went Big on Casting
There’s a pretty stacked ensemble here. Chiwetel Ejiofor (you’ll know him from 'Doctor Strange' or '2012') and Renate Reinsve (star of 'Sentimental Value') are leading the charge. They’re joined by Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, Avan Jogia, Chelah Horsdal, and Toby Hargrave. So yeah, not just a YouTuber’s experimental side project anymore.
Screenplay, Producers, and Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
The script comes courtesy of Will Soodik. On the producing side, there’s no shortage of genre credibility: you’ve got Kori Adelson, Dan Levine, and none other than James Wan (the dude behind 'The Conjuring' universe) attached. For extra name-dropping, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 'Stranger Things' are throwing their weight behind it too.
Executive producers include Michael Clear, Jenni DePiero, Alayna Glasthal, Roberto Patino, Jesse Savath, Judson Scott, and Chris White—yes, that’s a lot of cooks, but hey, it’s an A24 genre project, of course it’s stacked.
Who's Making It Look (and Sound) Creepy?
Cinematography is in the hands of Jeremy Cox, with Danny Vermette designing production, Trevor Johnston handling set decoration, and Mica Kayde on costumes. If you’re the sort who even notices music in horror movies, Parsons himself is co-composing the score with Edo Van Breemen.
'Backrooms' is being put together by A24, Chernin Entertainment, Atomic Monster, and 21 Laps—so, essentially, if you’ve watched scary movies in the last decade, you’ve seen at least one film from each of these guys.
Bottom Line
A haunted Ikea basement, a ‘who’s who’ of modern genre producers, and a director who started out as a YouTube sensation: 'Backrooms' is absolutely one to keep an eye on in 2026. Plus, at under two hours, it's practically a short story by today's standards.
'A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.'
Get ready to spend 105 minutes getting seriously creeped out by what’s behind Door Number One.