Obsession has achieved what few films ever have. The low-budget horror film has become the highest-grossing movie ever made with a production budget of under $1 million, earning more than $400 million worldwide.
According to a report by The New York Times, the 2025 horror film, directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, has generated more than $245 million at the North American box office and over $158 million internationally. Its worldwide total now stands at just over $403 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The remarkable run has pushed Obsession past Bruce Lee’s 1973 martial arts classic Enter the Dragon, which was produced for $850,000 and has earned around $400 million across multiple re-releases. Both figures are measured without adjusting for inflation.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September before opening in cinemas on 15 May. Since then, it has remained a strong performer at the global box office.
Focus Features acquired the film following its festival debut in a deal reportedly worth about $14 million. It has since become the biggest commercial success in the studio’s 24-year history and now ranks among the most profitable films ever made.
The film’s strong theatrical performance prompted Focus Features to delay its planned video-on-demand release. It eventually arrived on streaming platforms on 30 June and is scheduled for release on Blu-ray 4K and DVD on 14 July.
Obsession follows Bear, played by Michael Johnston, an awkward young man who secretly loves his friend Nikki, portrayed by Inde Navarrette. After making a poorly worded wish on a mysterious “One Wish Willow” for Nikki to love him more than anyone else, Bear discovers the terrifying consequences of getting exactly what he wished for.
The film’s success has coincided with the strong box office performance of Backrooms (2026), directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons. The achievements of both films have sparked industry discussions about the growing influence of Gen Z filmmakers and their ability to attract younger audiences back to cinemas.
Michael Stasko, a filmmaker and professor at the University of Windsor, believes the film succeeds because of its tightly written screenplay. He said Obsession avoids unnecessary detours and combines world-building, character development and horror elements within the same scenes, keeping audiences constantly engaged.
Stasko also noted that Barker’s success did not happen overnight. Before directing the film, Barker spent years building an audience on YouTube alongside collaborator Cooper Tomlinson, who also stars in Obsession. Their channel has around 1.5 million subscribers. According to Stasko, distributors increasingly expect filmmakers to have an established audience before pitching projects.
Ernest Mathijs, a film studies professor at the University of British Columbia, said Barker and Parsons represent a new generation of filmmakers who developed their skills through online platforms. He believes their experience creating short-form content has accelerated their creative development and changed the traditional path into filmmaking.
Mathijs added that Obsession is likely to become part of future film studies courses, with both lecturers and students expected to examine its unprecedented commercial success.
Barker has already completed another horror film, Anything But Ghosts, which is set in the same universe as Obsession and is scheduled for release next year. He is also attached to write and direct a remake of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and has said he is considering an anthology series centred on wishes gone terribly wrong.
