For those who have been following Gen Z filmmaker Curry Barker’s journey since he started gaining popularity on YouTube, it’s no surprise that his first movie, Obsession, is doing really well in theaters. The horror film has been playing in theaters for less than two weeks and has already made over $68 million in North America alone, despite having a very small budget of just $750,000.
For others, it’s a big surprise.
During the long Memorial Day weekend, the film made $23.9 million for three days, which is a huge jump of 39.4 percent compared to its opening weekend of $17.2 million from 2,615 theaters. That’s the biggest increase in a long time for a movie playing in more than 2,500 theaters outside of the holiday season, and even then, the rise is bigger than many popular movies at the end of the year.
Paul Dergarabedian, a top box office analyst at Comscore, is amazed.
He said he has been tracking box office numbers for 33 years and has never seen anything like this. He mentioned that the second weekend jump of almost 40 percent is very rare, and there’s really no movie that’s similar for comparison.
Lisa Bunnell, who is in charge of distribution at Focus, also said they knew the movie had something special.
She said the performance is amazing and not like anything they’ve seen before.
One reason could be the audience.
So far, 75 percent of people watching the film are between the ages of 18 and 34, which includes Gen Z and young Millennials. This group is very important for movies. Many of them grew up with lots of screen time and have been affected by pandemic rules that limited in-person socializing. They are now interested in going to the movies again to enjoy that shared experience.
Obsession did very well from the start.
It opened with more than expected, reaching third place over the May 15-17 weekend, just behind The Devil Wears Prada 2. On its first Monday, it moved to number one and stayed there until Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu came out on May 22.
It surprised a lot of people by beating some big names and finishing second on every day of the Memorial Day holiday.
The increase each day was higher than expected, including a big 39.3 percent jump over the weekend. It was also the only movie in the top 10 that saw an increase from Sunday to Saturday.
On Memorial Day, which is a Monday, it made $8 million, bringing its total in the first 11 days to $62.4 million.
On Tuesday, May 26, it made an extra $5.5 million, bringing the total to $67.9 million. It was expected to cross $68 million by Wednesday, May 27, and possibly even reach $70 million.
Bunnell says it’s one of the best-performing movies they’ve had.
Among Focus’s top successes is Robert Eggers’ horror film Nosferatu, which made $95.6 million domestically and $181.9 million worldwide. Another top performer is Downton Abbey from 2019, which made $97.8 million domestically and $194.7 million worldwide, without adjusting for inflation.
Obsession is a big win for everyone involved.
Focus outbid other companies like A24 and Neon, which are known for being popular with Gen Z and younger Millennials, to get the rights to distribute the movie after it was shown at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival for $15 million.
This win is especially good for Peter Kujawski, the head of Focus.
He has a lot of experience in finding and releasing good movies, and he has access to Universal’s international distribution. He was brought in by Donna Langley, who is a top leader at Universal and has been successful in finding and supporting new talent, including Jordan Peele. She still runs Universal Pictures and Focus, where Kujawski is known for his good eye for talent.
Jason Cassidy, the marketing head, is also experienced in indie movies.
Lisa Bunnell started preparing for Obsession’s release six months earlier, reaching out to theaters like Alamo Drafthouse and AMC to build excitement. AMC even made an exclusive popcorn bucket for the movie, and Alamo gave Obsession top billing for months.
Focus pushed hard with merchandise, especially for a mysterious item called “One Wish Willow” that’s central to the story.
The item is used by the main character, Bear, to wish for his crush, Nikki, to love him more than anyone. The movie has won over critics, with a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Obsession is the only movie in Focus history that has more theaters in its third weekend.
Bunnell says the number of theaters will go up to 2,755 by the May 29-31 weekend, with 100 more added this time.
She says people are going to see the movie three or four times.
It’s mostly male at first, but more women are coming in as the movie keeps playing.
Many in the media are saying the closest comparison is July 2023's "Sound of Freedom," which was the only movie that didn't come out at the end of the year but still had a big jump in its second weekend, almost 38.6 percent. However, the company that made that movie, Angel Studios based in Utah, is being questioned for its unusual "pay it forward" way of doing business. People can buy tickets as donations, and then others can use them. Most people who used the tickets showed up, but a lot didn't.
Dergarabedian admits it's hard to compare the two because "Sound of Freedom" added 413 more theaters in its second weekend.
Barker has already made his next movie, a horror-comedy called "Anything But Ghosts," which Focus will release along with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, which is part of Universal.
It's also being made with Roy Lee and Steven Schneider's Spooky Pictures.
Barker has been building a following on YouTube through his sketch comedy channel "That's a Bad Idea" and his $800 found-footage horror film "Milk & Serial."
He also has a movie called "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" for A24 in the works, where he will write, direct, and produce the new version.
