Steven Spielberg threw his weight behind emerging horror filmmakers this week, publicly praising the box office performance of two genre entries: Obsession and Backrooms. The three-time Oscar winner made the comments at a screening for his own upcoming thriller Disclosure Day, arriving in theaters June 12.
"I just applaud them," Spielberg said of the horror duo's theatrical success. His endorsement carries real weight in an industry watching younger filmmakers navigate an increasingly fragmented theatrical landscape. Horror remains one of the few reliable genres for mid-budget theatrical releases, consistently outperforming prestige dramas and underperforming tentpoles at the multiplex.
The timing matters. Spielberg, whose filmography spans from Jaws (a prototype for the modern blockbuster) to more recent character studies, has long monitored how different genres and emerging voices capture audiences. His comments acknowledge a creative shift in horror cinema. Rather than franchise sequels or IP-dependent properties, audiences have embraced original concepts from newer voices.
Both Obsession and Backrooms tapped into viewer appetite for psychological scares and internet-age horror aesthetics. Backrooms, in particular, draws from creepypasta internet culture, translating online folklore into theatrical experience. This represents the kind of grassroots-to-screen pipeline that platforms like social media have enabled for genre storytelling.
Spielberg's Disclosure Day positions itself differently within the thriller space, though his remarks suggest he views the current horror moment as healthy for cinema overall. His public support for these competitors reflects an elder statesman's perspective on industry vitality. When genre filmmaking works at the box office, it validates theatrical exhibition itself, a cause Spielberg has championed throughout the streaming era.
The horror renaissance also reflects broader audience demographics. Gen Z and millennial viewers who grew up consuming horror content across YouTube, TikT