The supernatural horror flick Obsession is about to join a distinguished group of films that have broken an extraordinarily rare box office record. While the Blumhouse and Focus Features production isn’t making as much money as some summer blockbusters, like The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael, Obsession is on the verge of achieving a feat that those two films have not (and likely never will). Written and directed by Curry Barker, a 26-year-old filmmaker who gained a following on his popular YouTube channel “that’s a bad idea,” the movie had a strong domestic opener of $17.2 million and surprisingly continues to maintain strong numbers well after its debut on May 15. Obsession follows Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston) who makes a reckless wish that his childhood friend Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarette) will love him more than anyone else.
Obsession is on the brink of earning more than 100 times its budget
As of May 29, Obsession has earned $95 million at the global box office, with $73 million coming domestically and $22 million coming internationally. A weekend forecast from BoxOfficeTheory on May 27 has the film earning nearly $21 million, just on its domestic front, so it’s expected that the movie will cross the $100 million barrier in a few days. Given that its production budget was only $1 million, the film is about to make more than 100 times its cost, an achievement that only a handful of movies have attained. Talk about profitability.
Most of the time when it comes to box office numbers, films are only trying to break even by making 2.5 times its budget. Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary broke that barrier in the tail end of its theatrical run, ultimately earning $677 million on a $200 million budget. So it’s rare for any movie to blow that goal out of the water by making 100 times its cost — we can call them phenomenons.
Many of the films in this rarefied group include other classic horror flicks, like 1978’s Halloween ($70 million on a $300,000 budget), 1980’s Friday the 13th ($59.8 million on a $550,000 budget), 2009’s Paranormal Activity ($194.2 million on a $215,000 budget), and 1999’s The Blair Witch Project ($248.6 million on a budget less than $1 million budget). Interestingly, another movie on this list is 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ($30.9 million on a $140,000 budget), which Curry Barker has already been hired to reboot by A24. Several other films in this distinguished company have won the Oscar for Best Picture, such as 1939’s Gone With The Wind ($390 million on a $3.85 million budget) and 1976’s Rocky ($225 million on a $1 million budget).
Spurred by strong word-of-mouth from critics and audiences, Obsession has incredible staying power in theaters. After earning $17.2 million in its domestic opener, the film made more than $23 million domestically in its second weekend, per Box Office Mojo, a timeframe when most movies experience a 50% drop. And with the latest forecast projecting the film to earn $21 million in its third weekend, it looks as though the movie will remain in the theatres for much longer than usual despite the competition. We will have to see how well it’s able to contend with A24’s Backrooms, though, as a fellow breakout horror film.
Barker has revealed that his next film, Anything but Ghosts, will be taking place in the same universe as Obsession, and there will be a hint in the movie that ties back to what happened to Bear and Nikki. Anything but Ghosts, which follows two con artists who pose as ghost hunters but are forced to face an actual supernatural entity, will be another collaboration between Barker, Focus Features, and Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
