Going into the summer, people who’d seen Obsession thought it would be a hit. The movie was too good, too original, and too completely messed up to go unnoticed by audiences. But after it was released, something wild happened. It built up the kind of momentum and buzz that 99.9 percent of films dream about. It became not just a hit. It became a record-breaking sensation. And now, it can lay claim to another record. It’s the highest-grossing original film of the decade, and the only one to make half a billion dollars.
Obsession opened on May 15 and played in domestic theaters until about two weeks ago. There, it ended up grossing almost $265 million. Internationally, though, it has been slowly opening over the course of the summer and, this week, it both crossed $500 million and overtook the previous record holder, Pixar’s 2023 film Elemental, which made just under $495 million in 2023.
Of course, there are a few qualifiers here. Yes, this is only counting from 2020 to now, so the film industry was in a bit of a rut those first few years due to the pandemic. And plenty of movies in those six years or so have grossed well over $500 million. But those movies were all either sequels (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick), based on popular IP (Barbie, The Minecraft Movie), or both. Obsession comes from nowhere except the twisted mind of Curry Barker.
There are also many, many fewer original movies coming out these days, too. The competition for the spot isn’t that intense. But we’re guessing basically none of those original movies (especially ones released or acquired by a studio) were made for under $1 million, as Obsession was. That makes it also the highest-grossing movie ever made for under $1 million, as well as the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time.
As a result, things are going pretty well for all the principals. Barker already had his next film, Anything But Ghosts, lined up, but he may also tackle the Texas Chain Saw Massacre after that too. Inde Navarrette, who plays the film’s star and victim, Nikki, just signed on to play Rogue in the upcoming X-Men, and Michael Johnston, who plays the creepy boyfriend Bear, makes his own blockbuster jump into the new Mummy reboot. And to think, all it takes is an original idea, some marketing, and then a hell of a lot of people to come to the theater.
Of course, the highest-grossing original film of any decade is James Cameron’s Avatar, which also happens to be the highest-grossing film of all time, period. That clocked in at a little under $3 billion, almost 20 years ago. Impressive, to be sure, but it probably cost 200 times the amount that Obsession did.
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