Curry Barker’s Record-Breaking Horror Hit ‘Obsession’ Is Finally Headed to Netflix

Few horror films have had a run quite like Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’. The supernatural chiller premiered in the Midnight Madness block at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Focus Features bought it for a reported $14 million to $15 million, the highest price ever paid for a genre film in the festival’s history.

Barker, who wrote, directed, and edited the film, made it on a micro-budget of $750,000. It went on to earn more than $400 million worldwide after opening in theaters in May, making it Focus Features’ highest-grossing film ever.

The film is now reaching a much bigger audience. DiscussingFilm reported that ‘Obsession’ will arrive on Netflix on November 17, and Netflix had confirmed the date in a post on X last month.

According to What’s on Netflix, the date applies to Netflix in the United States only. Other regions will get the film through separate streaming windows over the coming years. The move comes from Universal’s Pay-1 deal. Universal and Focus Features titles go through an 18-month window that starts with an exclusive 4-month run on Peacock, followed by 10 months on Netflix and a final 4 months back on Peacock.

‘Obsession’ started streaming on Peacock in July, after a premium video-on-demand release in June and a physical release on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD. The Netflix debut should introduce it to even more viewers. Netflix also has a history with the film. Barker revealed in September that the streamer had offered to take ‘Obsession’ straight to streaming before it ever reached theaters.

You wished for this. Official trailer for OBSESSION, only in theaters May 15. Text 724-876-4554 🖤 https://t.co/rNfs9wfwml

— Obsession (@obsessionmovie) March 11, 2026

The story follows Bear, a shy music store employee played by Michael Johnston, who buys a novelty toy called the One Wish Willow. Breaking it grants a wish, and Bear wishes that his longtime crush and co-worker Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, would love him more than anyone.

The wish comes true, but Nikki becomes consumed by a dangerous obsession with him, and the results turn violent. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter round out the cast, with Richter playing the music store owner, Carter.

The film has strong reviews to go with its box office. It holds a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus calls it disturbing but also funny and thrilling, and it has a 77 on Metacritic.

You wished for this. Obsession is coming to Netflix in the US on November 17. https://t.co/UEJOqsxZQX

— Netflix (@netflix) October 18, 2026

Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore, and Navarrette’s performance drew widespread acclaim. Dread Central gave the film a perfect score in its festival review and called it an expert vision of the next generation of hardcore horror.

The film has also set a long list of records. It is the highest-grossing film ever made on a budget under $1 million, passing ‘Enter the Dragon’, and the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time, passing ‘The Blair Witch Project’.

It also passed ‘Sinners’ to become the highest-grossing live-action English-language original film of the decade. In its second weekend, it posted the biggest increase for a wide release outside the Christmas season, with ticket sales up 39%.

Barker isn’t done with this world. His next film, ‘Anything but Ghosts’, reportedly shares a universe with ‘Obsession’ and follows 2 con artists who pose as ghost hunters before running into a real dark entity.

Barker co-wrote the project with Tomlinson, his longtime comedy partner, and the pair star alongside Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Violet McGraw. The film comes from Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster but doesn’t have a release date yet.

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