Why Folks Can’t Stop Talking About Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’

If you’ve been to the theater or in certain corners of social media lately, you may have seen a plethora of discourse from young adult viewers about the newly released film “Backrooms,” starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. But if you were still on the fence about whether or not the film is worth seeing, believe us when we tell you that it is – just based on the strength of Ejiofor’s performance alone!

As you well know, the Black British actor has had a pretty prolific career in Hollywood, thanks to blockbuster Marvel films like the “Doctor Strange” franchise, “American Gangster,” “Venom: The Last Dance,” and “12 Years A Slave,” which earned him an Oscar nomination for his lead role. Even in the short-lived sci-fi show “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” his earnest way of bringing characters to life in a way that feels both fresh and rooted in reality is a constant and impressive through line in all his projects.

While folks may be used to a certain gravitas from the actor, in “Backrooms,” he’s giving his fans something completely new. For starters, he’s delightfully unhinged in a way we haven’t seen from him before. But his portrayal of a struggling furniture store owner plagued by alcoholism who is suddenly immersed in an off-kilter reality in the backrooms of his store has younger audiences speaking his praises and showing up to the box office in droves.

As noted by Deadline on Monday, the film brought in a whopping $118 million over its opening weekend a few days ago, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. And if we drill it down even more, according to the New York Times, 86 percent of the audience for the film is under the age of 35, while about 44 percent was under 21, as counted by PostTrak. Seeing a Black man take over the box office in this way is a much-welcomed breath of fresh air, if we’re keeping it a buck.

And if you take one look online at what folks are saying, it’s clear that Ejiofor’s performance is the drawing factor that keeps pulling fans in (and largely convinced director Kane Parsons to start thinking of a sequel film.)

“Chiwetel Ejiofor is like kinda incredible in Backrooms? Like he’s always great obviously but he’s really making a meal here,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.

“Not enough talk about how great Chiwetel Ejiofor was in backrooms. i know the movie came out like two days ago but the way he acts in That One Scene is so upsetting and scary,” said another.

One user on TikTok, who fondly remembers Ejiofor for his role as “Victor Sweet” in the 2005 film “Four Brothers,” couldn’t help but praise the actor for his acting chops online.

“Yeah, ‘Victor Sweet’—the acting was good, everybody’s acting was good. It was a good f*cking movie, I f*ck with it. I think y’all should watch it. ‘Backrooms’ was pretty f*cking good and I’m going to see it again,” said user Naut the Father.

One other user also praised Ejiofor’s performance on the clock app, arguing that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to hope for or expect an upcoming Oscar nomination for his role in the film.

“Chiwetel’s narrative arc was so unexpected and there is a monologue that he will deliver in a scene I will not say anything about that is transcendent. And I really hope that we continue to see people in horror films delivering transcendent performances get recognized for doing that,” the user said.

Well, here’s hoping that that’s the case! “Backrooms” is in theaters now.