Obsession Sets New Box Office Records for Focus Features and the Horror Genre

Curry Barker’s horror film *Obsession* has surpassed $200 million worldwide and $151 million domestically. In its fourth weekend the film earned $25.6 million, a 7 percent decline, establishing the best fourth-weekend hold for a horror title. The previous benchmark, held by *Blair Witch Project* (1999), posted $24.2 million in its fourth weekend with a 9 percent drop.

Hollywood Reporter

Focus Features acquired *Obsession* at the Toronto International Film Festival for an estimated $15 million. The movie was produced independently on a $750,000 budget, featuring a cast of largely unknown actors. The film’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere generated buzz, prompting the $15 million purchase. Its modest $750,000 budget and $200 million gross represent a profit multiple of more than 260 times the production cost.

Hollywood Reporter

Director Curry Barker entered the mainstream after gaining attention for the horror short *The Chair* and the free-to-watch YouTube projects *Milk & Serial* and the sketch-comedy channel “That’s a Bad Idea,” co-run with Dr. Cooper Tomlinson. The success of *Obsession* has elevated Barker to a sought-after filmmaker, with a follow-up titled *Anything But Ghosts* already shot. Focus Features, a Universal-owned specialty label, previously recorded its highest grosses with titles such as *Downton Abbey* ($193.3 million), Robert Eggers’s *Nosferatu* ($181.8 million), *Burn After Reading* ($164.3 million), and *Darkest Hour* ($150.3 million).

Hollywood Reporter

• Global gross: > $200 million

Hollywood Reporter

• Domestic gross: $151 million

Hollywood Reporter

• Fourth-weekend earnings: $25.6 million (7 % drop)

Hollywood Reporter

• Prior horror fourth-weekend record: $24.2 million (*Blair Witch Project*)

Hollywood Reporter

• Focus Features’ former top-grossing titles: *Downton Abbey* ($193.3 million), *Nosferatu* ($181.8 million), *Burn After Reading* ($164.3 million), *Darkest Hour* ($150.3 million)

Hollywood Reporter

Focus Features announced that *Obsession* is now the studio’s highest-earning film worldwide, overtaking its previous record holders. Barker acknowledged that the film’s performance has positioned him among the industry’s most in-demand directors, prompting new collaborations with A24 and other studios. The studio highlighted the film’s sustained audience interest as a key factor in its historic performance.

Hollywood Reporter

The fourth-weekend hold of $25.6 million, the lowest decline recorded for a horror film in that period, combined with a $200 million global gross, shows that a low-budget horror title can generate blockbuster-level revenue. As Focus Features’ highest-earning film, *Obsession* exceeds the studio’s previous top performers across genres, illustrating the scale of revenue a specialty label can achieve with a modestly budgeted acquisition.

Hollywood Reporter

Following *Obsession*, Barker has completed filming *Anything But Ghosts* and is slated to direct a new *Texas Chainsaw* movie for A24.

Hollywood Reporter

The available sources do not provide detailed breakdowns of international market contributions or critical reception metrics, leaving those aspects of the film’s impact undocumented.

Hollywood Reporter