Inde Navarrette in “Obsession.”
Focus Features
Filmmaker Curry Barker's indie blockbuster Obsession, starring Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston, is poised to hit another major milestone at the worldwide box office this week as it approaches $300 million in ticket sales.
Obsession — which was produced for a scant $750,000 and acquired by Focus Features for about $15 million at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival — earned $17.1 million in its debut weekend domestically May 15-17 and has been on a wildly lucrative ride in theaters ever since.
After Obsession vaulted an unprecedented 39% upward in its second weekend in theaters, its box office dominance continued with a 14% jump in its third weekend in theaters. The film then had a mere 7% dip in ticket sales in its fourth weekend domestically, and business fell 25% in weekend five — still demonstrating an incredibly strong hold for a film in its fifth week of release.
Counting Obsession's ticket sales through Wednesday, the horror thriller has earned $198.6 million from North American theaters and nearly $98.8 million internationally for a running worldwide box office tally of $297.4 million.
As the film enters its 35th day of release in theaters on Thursday, Obsession could conceivably hit another global box office milestone by hitting the $300 million mark once the day's receipts are counted and made official on Friday.
After all, the film on average has earned anywhere between $3 million to $4 million in domestic ticket sales daily this week, so the idea of the film earning another $3 million in North American ticket sales on Thursday is completely within reason.
If somehow Obsession doesn't make it $300 million worldwide after Thursday's receipts are counted, the film will easily hit the landmark number on Friday.
Inde Navarrette in “Obsession.”
Focus Features
‘Obsession' Has Been A Big Record-Setter For Focus Features
Written and directed by Curry Barker, Obsession stars Michael Johnston as Bear, a lovelorn music store worker who has a massive crush on Nikki (Inde Navarrette) but doesn't have the courage to tell her. After Nikki reveals that she is going to leave town in a couple of weeks to seek a better life, Bear buys her a new-age novelty item — a One Wish Willow — as a go-away present.
When it becomes apparent that he's headed to the friend zone with his crush, Bear uses the One Wish Willow to wish that Nikki will love him more than anyone in the world. Much to Bear's astonishment, the wish comes true, but with unintended consequences as Nikki dangerously obsesses over him and resorts to deadly measures to prove her love for him.
Rated R, Obsession, not surprisingly, has been setting records during its remarkable theatrical run. On June 8, Focus Features announced that Obsession became the highest-grossing film in the history of the studio when it crossed the $200 million mark at the worldwide box office. In the next day or two, Obsession will, of course, become Focus' first feature to earn at least $300 million globally.
Earlier this week, Obsession set a new record when it became the highest-grossing film festival acquisition when it surpassed the total earned by the 1999 indie sensation The Blair Witch Project.
The found-footage horror thriller, which was acquired by Artisan Entertainment for $1 million at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival (per Deadline), earned $248.3 million globally (not adjusted for inflation) during its theatrical run.
Also starring Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless, Obsession is still awaiting a streaming release date and is only playing in theaters.
