For those who have followed Gen Z filmmaker Curry Barker‘s career since he started blowing up YouTube, it’s no surprise that his debut feature film Obsession is doing the same in theaters. The horror pic has been in theaters for less than two weeks and has already earned north of $68 million in North America alone against a minuscule budget of $750,000.
For everyone else, it’s a revelation of epic proportions.
Over the long Memorial Day weekend, the film soared to $23.9 million for the three-day number, a record-smashing increase of 39.4 percent over its opening weekend haul of $17.2 million from 2,615 theaters at the domestic box office. That’s the biggest spike in modern times for a movie playing in more than 2,500 theaters outside the Christmas holidays, and even then, the increase is larger than a number of popular year-end titles.
Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is among those left stunned, saying there are virtually no comps. “I’ve been tracking and analyzing box office for 33 years now, and I thought I’d seen it all until this past weekend with the incredible performance of Obsession that required no caveats. A second weekend jump nearing 40 percent is virtually unprecedented in the annals of modern box office tracking, and there really is no direct apples-to-apples comparison available.“
Focus head of distribution Lisa Bunnell says the specialty house always knew it had something special, but she echoes Degarabedian’s observation. “We’re at a level we’ve never seen before, and the way it has behaved is outrageous,” she tells THR.
One explanation? To date, 75 percent of the audience is between ages 18 and 34, a demo bracket that is dominated by Gen Zers (ages 18-29) and younger Millennials. This bracket can make or break a movie. The Gen Z generation, whose younger members grew up glued to their screens — not to mention those impacted by pandemic restrictions on in-person socializing — is showing an appetite for the collective experience a movie theater offers.
Obsession has dramatically over-performed from the get-go, opening well ahead of an expected $10 million to place third over the May 15-17 weekend just behind The Devil Wears Prada 2. And on its first Monday, it shot to number one, where it remained until Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opened on May 22.
In something of an upset, it beat Michael to come in No. 2 throughout the long Memorial Day holiday, with each day coming in higher than expected. On Saturday, the weekend-over-weekend spike (three-day) was projected to be 30 percent, already a huge victory. But it widened to a record-smashing 39.3 percent.
In terms of the holiday weekend itself, it was also the only title in the top 10 to enjoy a Sunday-over-Saturday increase. And it earned a better-than-expected $8 million on Memorial Day, a Monday, putting its 11-day domestic cume at $62.4 million. On Tuesday, May 26, it earned another $6.5 million as it prepares to leap past $70 million.
“It’s already one of our best-grossing movies,” says Bunnell. Top Focus performers include Robert Eggers’ elevated gothic horror film Nosferatu, which earned $95.6 million domestically and $181.9 million globally following its release in late 2024. 2019’s Downton Abbey is its top-performing title at $97.8 million domestically and $194.7 million worldwide, not adjusted for inflation.
Obsession is a boon for all involved. Focus beat out a number of other bidders — including A24 and Neon, the “cool” indie shops among Gen Zers and younger Millennials — in picking up rights to distribute Obsession out of the 2025 Toronto Film Festival for $15 million.
Focus, run by indie veteran Peter Kujawski, has plenty of experience in marketing and distribution, as well as access to Universal’s international distribution apparatus. And don’t forget that longtime Universal movie chief Donna Langley — who is now content chief across the vast NBCUniversal empire — is known for her shrewd ability to spot and more importantly, win over, emerging talent, including Jordan Peele. She still pays close attention to Focus and is a close Kujawski ally. And marketing head Jason Cassidy is also a seasoned indie veteran.
Bunnell began laying the groundwork for Obsession‘s release six months ago, reaching out to both Alamo Drafthouse and AMC Theatres to whip up interest in terms of working together to promote the film. AMC signed on to make an exclusive popcorn bucket, while Alamo gave Obsession top billing for months.
Focus made a heavy merchandising push overall, including making replicas of the mysterious novelty item called “One Wish Willow” that’s at the heart of the movie’s plot about a young man named Bear (Michael Johnston) who uses the item to wish that his longtime crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) would love him more than anyone in the world. His wish is granted to horrifying results that have won over critics, who gave it a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Obsession is the only title in Focus history that will see its theater count increase in its third weekend. Bunnell says 100 theaters will be added over the May 29-31 weekend, bringing the total number of locations to 2,755 (40 were added last weekend).
“We’re hearing of people going to see the movie three and four times. It’s skewing a little more male, but it’s getting more women as we move on,” says Bunnell.
In terms of its hold, many in the media are saying the closest comp is July 2023’s Sound of Freedom, the only non-year-end title to see a second-weekend spike in the same vicinity, or 38.6 percent. But that film’s distributor, the Utah-based Angel Studios, has come under question for its unique “pay it forward” business model, whereby donors can buy tickets that can be redeemed by moviegoers. While a majority of those redeeming tickets did show up, a significant number didn’t.
Dergarabedian agrees it’s tough to compare the two, since Sound of Freedom added 413 theaters in its second weekend.
Barker has already shot his follow-up film, the horror-comedy Anything But Ghosts, which Focus will also release in partnership with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, which is based at Universal, and Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s Spooky Pictures.
Barker has spent the past few years amassing a fan base on YouTube with his sketch comedy channel That’s a Bad Idea and his $800 found-footage serial killer feature Milk & Serial. He also has Texas Chainsaw Massacre for A24 waiting in the wings, with the filmmaker signing on to write, direct and produce the new take.
