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Obsession” surpassed $400 million globally, grossing $403 million worldwide. The indie horror film, directed by Curry Barker, was produced for $750,000.
Obsession Earns Over $400 Million Worldwide On Just A $750,000 Budget
Not every box office success begins with a massive budget or a star-studded cast. Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh idea, strong word-of-mouth and audiences who can’t stop talking about it. That’s exactly what’s happened with Obsession, a horror film that has quietly turned into one of 2026’s biggest success stories.
Two months after hitting theatres, Obsession has crossed the $400 million mark at the worldwide box office. The supernatural horror film has now collected $403 million globally, with $245 million coming from North America and another $157 million from international markets.
What’s even more impressive is the film’s tiny budget. Directed by YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Curry Barker, Obsession was made for just $750,000. It later became one of the hottest titles at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Focus Features picked up its distribution rights for $14 million, making it one of the festival’s biggest genre film deals.
Even after spending eight weekends in cinemas, Obsession continues to pull audiences. During the July 4 holiday weekend, the film added $5.3 million domestically and $12 million overseas. It is now inching closer to the $250 million milestone in North America alone—an achievement few original films have managed in recent years.
The film had opened with a promising $17 million in North America in May. But instead of slowing down after release, it kept growing. In a rare feat, Obsession recorded four consecutive weekends that earned more than its opening weekend, thanks to strong audience reactions and glowing word-of-mouth.
Much of the film’s success has been driven by younger audiences, especially Gen Z moviegoers. The story follows Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a music store employee who makes a Faustian bargain using a supernatural toy to make his crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. What begins as a romantic wish soon spirals into terrifying consequences.
The film’s performance has also challenged the belief that younger audiences are losing interest in theatres. Alongside A24’s horror hit Backrooms, Obsession has shown that original horror films can still draw crowds. Directed by YouTuber Kane Parsons, Backrooms has also enjoyed a hugely successful run, earning $347 million worldwide so far.
Speaking to Variety earlier this summer, producer Jason Blum, who backed both Obsession and Backrooms through Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, said, “There’s a new generation of moviegoers who are declaring a very specific taste for horror movies that is quite left-of-center. There’s a lot of concern about theatrical, and this is a real new growth area.”
Obsession is written, directed and edited by Curry Barker, who first gained popularity as a YouTube sketch comedian. The filmmaker’s 2023 short horror film, The Chair, caught the attention of producer James Harris, who approached him about turning it into a feature. Instead, Barker pitched Obsession, an original idea that was partly inspired by The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror II.
Filmed in Los Angeles in October 2024, Obsession is Barker’s second feature after Milk & Serial (2024) and his first theatrical release.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, where Focus Features acquired it for $14–15 million, setting a record for the highest amount paid for a genre film in the festival’s history. Jason Blum also joined the project as executive producer under Blumhouse Productions before the film finally arrived in US theatres on May 15, 2026.
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