‘Obsession’ Just Shattered Another Box Office Record, And Horror Fans Can’t Believe It

Horror movies love an underdog story, and few films in recent memory have embodied that trope quite like ‘Obsession.’ The supernatural thriller began as a passion project from YouTube comedian turned filmmaker Curry Barker, who pitched the idea after his short film The Chair caught the attention of producer James Harris, who offered him a deal to turn it into a feature. What started as a scrappy, low budget production has since snowballed into one of the strangest success stories modern Hollywood has seen.

The film follows Bear, a music store employee played by Michael Johnston, whose wish for his friend Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, to fall in love with him leads to a string of horrifying consequences. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter round out the supporting cast. It is a simple premise, but audiences clearly could not get enough of it, and the numbers keep proving that point.

Now ‘Obsession’ has done it again. The film has surpassed $400 million at the worldwide box office against a production budget of just $750,000, and in doing so it has quietly claimed the title of the most profitable film festival acquisition of all time. Focus Features scooped up the distribution rights for roughly $15 million at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, and that gamble has now paid off in staggering fashion.

To put that in perspective, ‘Obsession’ has officially dethroned a horror classic that held onto its own crown for over two decades. ‘The Blair Witch Project’ previously held the record for the highest grossing festival acquisition, having earned $248.6 million worldwide against its own $750,000 budget. Barker’s film did not just edge past that number, it blew right through it.

The rollout itself was already unusual for a horror release. ‘Obsession’ opened to $17.2 million domestically, finishing third at the box office, before an unprecedented second weekend jump of 39 percent, marking the biggest second weekend increase for a wide release film outside the holiday season. Word of mouth from audiences aged 18 to 34, who made up 75 percent of moviegoers, kept ticket sales climbing well past its opening frame.

That momentum never really slowed down. Even after two months in theaters, the film pulled in another $5.3 million domestically and $12 million overseas over the July 4th holiday weekend alone. Its long theatrical run has also made it only the second original film since 2018, alongside Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners,’ to cross $200 million domestically.

For Focus Features, the win is arguably even bigger than the record itself. ‘Obsession’ is now the biggest hit in the studio’s 24 year history, a milestone that would have seemed almost impossible for a film shot on a shoestring budget in a single month back in 2024. Barker’s YouTube fanbase and a killer premise turned into one of the defining horror stories of the decade, and it does not appear to be finished breaking records just yet.

With ‘Obsession’ rewriting the record books at nearly every turn, what do you think is next for Curry Barker and the future of low budget horror filmmaking?