It’s the horror movie everyone is talking about.
Obsession landed in theatres earlier this month and has completely taken over the box office.
Just two weekends into its theatrical run, the independent film, directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker, has earned over $79.7 million worldwide, according to IMDb Pro’s BoxOfficeMojo.
Financed on a modest budget of just $750K and shot in 20 days, the film has already grossed more than 100 times its production cost.
This makes it one of the most profitable films in years.
Even horror film genre heavyweight Jason Blum, who was an executive producer on the film, said this is rare.
Obsession landed in theatres earlier this month and has completely hijacked the box office
Just two weekends into its theatrical run, the independent film, directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker (pictured), has earned over $79.7 million worldwide, according to IMDb Pro’s BoxOfficeMojo
‘Obsession is the ONLY wide-release horror film on record to grow in its second weekend at this scale – $22.4M, up 30% over opening,’ Blum wrote on X. ‘This doesn’t happen in horror.’
The story follows hopeless romantic Bear (Teen Wolf’s Michael Johnston) and his childhood friend Nikki (Superman & Lois star Inde Navarrette).
However, this is far from a lovey-dovey tale, as Bear purchases a One Wish Willow – a supernatural toy that claims to grant one wish when broken.
Using it to make Nikki fall in love with him, Bear soon learns that winning his crush’s heart comes at a sinister price.
‘When we made Obsession, we had no idea what was going to happen,’ Curry said in a video interview last week.
‘As the leader of the ship, I had to tell the people: “This is going to be huge. You guys have to give this a year, because it’s going to be something special.”
‘But that’s just because that’s my job, to champion the movie. Really, I had no idea. … It was insane when we even just got into TIFF.’
The film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, where it began building its terrifying reputation.
And by the time it hit cinemas this May, audiences quickly became obsessed with it.
The film earned $17.2 million from 2,615 theatres during its opening weekend.
It then saw a rare second-weekend boost thanks to overwhelmingly positive praise, making it the only wide-release horror film of the century to earn more in its second weekend.
The story follows hopeless romantic Bear (Teen Wolf’s Michael Johnston) and his childhood friend Nikki (Superman & Lois star Inde Navarrette)
‘When we made ‘Obsession,’ we had no idea what was going to happen,’ Curry said in a video interview last week
Moviegoers have shared nothing but positive thoughts on the movie on social media
It’s especially uncommon for horror, a genre that’s notorious for falling after opening weekend.
‘We used to say that horror movies would open on Friday and die on Saturday,’ Paul Dergarabedian told Variety.
‘Being in a movie theatre has so much appeal, but a lot of prior horror movies were terrible. People would see them, realize they were awful and never go back.’
Paul added that it’s a clear indication that audiences are embracing the film.
Moviegoers have shared nothing but positive thoughts on the movie on social media.
They gushed: ‘Obsession lived up to the hype. One of the best horror flicks I’ve ever seen’,
‘Just saw Obsession, best movie I never wanna see again; borderline traumatic but absolutely PHENOMENAL movie’,
‘Obsession was really really good I loved how unsettling it was it genuinely made me so uncomfortable lol’,
‘I loved Weapons but Obsession seriously might be the best horror movie since Hereditary’,
‘Obsession deserves the hype. Best horror I’ve seen all year if not past couple years. Actual 10/10 for me’,
‘Obsession will get the best horror movie award of this year.’
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has amassed a 95 per cent fresh ‘Tomatometer’ score from critics and a 94 per cent hot ‘Popcornmeter’ score from audiences.
That 95% score makes it the highest Rotten Tomatoes-scored movie of the year.
It’s also received an ‘A-‘ grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
Only five other horror movies, including last year’s breakout Weapons, have secured an ‘A-‘ grade or higher since 2019.
Younger audiences have been key in the genre’s enviable hot streak, with 75% of its audience being between 18 and 25 years old, according to PostTrak.
Focus Features, which is distributing the film, opted against a platform release and instead launched the film in over 2,000 theatres nationwide.
Before opening weekend, Focus crafted a commercial to buy One Wish Willows and the product sold out within hours.
They also built buzz through cryptic billboards across Los Angeles and New York, featuring Nikki’s obsessive texts, voice notes and deliveries, alongside a phone number inviting them to reach out.
And while attendance tends to stall from Monday to Thursday, Obsession managed to get people to theatres during the weekdays.
Despite Michael or The Devil Wears Prada 2, Obsession was No. 1 in North America on Monday ($2.9 million), Tuesday ($3.6 million), Wednesday ($3.2 million) and Thursday ($3.3 million).
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has amassed a 95% fresh ‘Tomatometer’ score from critics and a 94% hot ‘Popcornmeter’ score from audiences
Director Curry is part of a group of YouTube creators who have achieved mainstream success at the box office.
Earlier this year, YouTuber Markiplier directed horror film Iron Lung, which earned a stellar $50 million from a $3 million budget.
With Hollywood already putting a lot of trust in Curry for his future endeavours, he has another film, titled Anything But Ghosts, in the works.
A24 recently tapped him to helm a reimagining of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
‘The opportunities that I have right now are pretty insane,’ he told Variety. ‘But I’m just trying to keep my head down and focus on what’s important to me, you know?’
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