Curry Barker’s indie supernatural horror Obsession continues to crush the record books. The film has surpassed William Friedkin’s 1973 classic The Exorcist to become the sixth highest-grossing horror movie of all time, with worldwide ticket sales now sitting at $443.3 million.
Written, directed, and edited by Barker, Obsession follows Bear, a music store employee who uses a magical novelty wish-granting toy called the “One Wish Willow” to make his co-worker and crush, Nikki, fall in love with him, only to unleash dark and horrifying consequences.
Barker has said the core idea for the talisman came from watching the “Monkey’s Paw” segment of The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror II,” and eagle-eyed fans will recognize the music store scenes as the same location used in Wayne’s World.
What makes the milestone even more staggering is how Obsession got there. The film was shot on a tiny $750,000 budget in just 20 to 26 days, then sparked a major bidding war before landing a $15 million-plus distribution deal with Focus Features. From micro-budget indie to horror phenomenon, its trajectory has been nothing short of iconic.
Obsession is still playing in select theaters and is also available now on premium video-on-demand platforms like Peacock, giving new audiences a chance to see the film that’s redefining what a low-budget horror can achieve.
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