Curry Barker's horror film Obsession has crossed $500 million at the worldwide box office, becoming the first original Hollywood film of the 2020s to reach that threshold. The Numbers listed its total at about $501.6 million, while TheWrap reported the milestone on August 23 after continued overseas ticket sales pushed the Focus Features release past the mark.
The film has earned about $263.5 million in North America and $238.1 million internationally, according to The Numbers. TheWrap said recent receipts included business from China and Germany, where the film opened later than its mid-May United States release, and placed its Chinese total at $29.7 million and its British total at $26.7 million. A South Korean release was still to come.
Written and directed by Barker, the supernatural horror story stars Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston. It follows Bear, a romantic who uses a mysterious wish to make Nikki love him, only to face violent and unintended consequences. Focus Features released the film widely in the United States on May 15 after acquiring it following its Toronto International Film Festival debut.
The commercial trajectory was highly unusual. Obsession opened with roughly $17.2 million in North America, then posted larger weekend grosses during each of its next three weekends. NBCUniversal previously said it was the first film since E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 to increase in both its second and third weekends. Its domestic run ultimately reached about $263.5 million, more than fifteen times its opening weekend.
The result is especially notable because trade reports put the production budget at approximately $750,000, while The Numbers uses a $1 million estimate. Variety reported that Focus acquired the film for about $14 million at the 2025 Toronto festival. It had already become Focus Features' highest-grossing release and the highest-grossing festival acquisition before reaching $500 million.
TheWrap said Obsession passed Pixar's Elemental, which earned about $494.6 million worldwide, to become the highest-grossing original film since the pandemic. The milestone provides a rare theatrical success for a low-budget, non-franchise story and strengthens the industry's evidence that original horror can draw young audiences. Overseas play, including the planned South Korean opening, will determine the film's final worldwide total.
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