‘Obsession’ Just Pulled Off One of Horror’s Rarest Box Office Feats
There’s a reason there was a massive bidding war for Obsession out of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Curry Barker‘s Obsession is that special kind of film that hits all the sweet spots. It’s got an amazing title. The premise is incredibly accessible. Everyone can relate to it. And it’s got a classic theme. I mean, it pulls from one of the greatest short stories of all time, The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs.
And the marketing? The movie sells itself. It really does. There are just a million different, unique, and fun ways to promote it. We saw this coming, just like we see Backrooms coming (that hilarious early $20 million tracking is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my entire life). Anybody who’s a horror fan and has been paying attention knows what’s up. Obsession is not a surprise.
Did you see the movie? I saw the movie.
It’s amazing. It’s a five out of fiver. It’s one of the best movies of the year, and it’s an all-timer. I’ll watch it at least once a year. It’s the most hilarious, perfect Valentine’s Day movie. I want to see it with every single one of my family members. I tell every single person I know to go see it, and I’m sure most of you are doing the same.
The movie opened extremely strong and did extremely well, but I don’t think Focus Features was fully as confident in it as we were, especially after Ready or Not 2 underperformed. But there’s a reason Ready or Not 2 underperformed, and a lot of it had to do with timing and positioning at the box office, not the strength of the film. We can talk about that another time.
With that said, Obsession is far superior. It’s just a different level of a movie. We’re talking about an all-timer here.
And when that happens, you get word of mouth. High CinemaScore. High critic ratings. High fan ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. As of this writing, the movie is sitting around 95% with critics and 95% with audiences, alongside an A- CinemaScore, which is basically unheard of territory for horror.
It’s surprising when you see less than a 50% drop at the box office. And with Obsession, I expected maybe a 20% drop. One of those light drops going into summer. Kids are out of school. Perfectly timed release. Sweet spot.
Not only did it not drop… it went up.
Obsession pulled in an estimated $22.4M over the weekend, with $28.2 million across the four-day holiday frame. That gives the film a domestic total north of $58M. It earned an insane 30% more in its second weekend.
And while the reported production budget sits around $750,000, it’s important to remember that Focus Features reportedly paid around $15M for the movie out of TIFF and then committed tens of millions more to marketing and distribution.
As for the second-week increase, I don’t think it’s happened since Terrifier 2. Terrifier 2 surpassed its previous week’s box office for three consecutive weeks as I continued to hype it, as I continued to build it, and as people continued telling other people they had to go see it. Obsession is the same song and dance. People are finding out. People are talking. People are telling other people to go see it.
Obsession is a special kind of movie. It is generational. It is better than everyone says. When we look back at this, people who were doubters, people who said it was just okay, are going to change their minds. This movie is going to stand the test of time.
It is a moment.
And let’s enjoy it. Let’s celebrate it as we head into Backrooms and kick off what’s shaping up to be one of the greatest summers for horror movies I’ve ever seen.
"I'm your freaky Nikki."
— Brad @ Dread Central (@DreadCentral) May 5, 2026
Chilling new clip from 'OBSESSION'.
In theaters May 19.
Everything we know: [https://t.co/gWQdZrgpRI] pic.twitter.com/kW1dft5Urn
Categorized:Box Office News