‘Obsession’: Breakout Horror Hit Sets New Historic Record at the BO!!

An incredible event is unfolding at the box office. A new horror movie grossed more in its second weekend of release domestically than it did in its first. This is virtually unheard of, and not just for horror films but for movies of all kinds. The most recent movie that came close to achieving this feat was Sinners, which dropped by around 5% in its second weekend in 2025. Remember, a second-weekend drop of around 40% is actually considered strong these days. So, for a movie to increase its earnings is historic. Two decades ago, Borat saw an incredible 7% bump in domestic box office revenue in its second weekend. This past weekend, Obsession delivered an incredible 30% increase.

Directed by Curry Barker, the movie opened to excellent reviews and exceeded expectations with a $17 million domestic debut. Barker is among a new wave of genre filmmakers who broke out on YouTube with short films and series. People forget, but this wave actually began with David F. Sandberg several years ago. Obsession comes only a few weeks after Markiplier‘s Iron Lung, which grossed more than $50 million worldwide in its entire run. On May 29, A24 will release Kane Parsons‘ Backrooms, which is poised to shock the industry with its opening. The movie, which cost less than $10 million, is on track to beat Marty Supreme‘s record for the biggest domestic debut in A24 history. By then, Obsession will likely have hit the $70 million mark domestically.

We Are So Back!

Which brings us to its second unfathomably impressive achievement. The movie cost just $750,000 to produce. If it earns more than $100 million worldwide, which is essentially guaranteed at this stage, it will have delivered a more than 100x return on investment. The last time something like this happened was in 2009 with Paramount‘s Paranormal Activity, which grossed nearly $200 million worldwide against a reported budget of $450,000. Before that, it was The Blair Witch Project, which made around $250 million worldwide against a budget similar to that of Obsession. Barker‘s movie is enjoying a “Certified Fresh” 95% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 95% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Taking an icky conceit and twisting it to deviously crowd-pleasing ends, Obsession is dauntingly disturbing while also skillfully amusing and thrilling.”