Five Hollywood Juggernauts … That All Got Boat Raced by Obsession

From the moment it arrived in theaters–or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, from its second weekend in theaters onward–Curry Barker’s Obsession has been doing things at the box office that American movies have really not done for decades. When the indie horror flick about toxic “nice guy” masculinity and unrequited love gone wrong made more money in its second weekend than it did in its first, that was already an oddity for a film industry that has become extremely front loaded, in which movies frequently head to streaming services just a month after their debut. When it made even more money in its third week, that was nearly unprecedented. When it did it again in its fourth week? That was shit the likes of which the film industry hasn’t seen in decades, the kind of word-of-mouth success that has folks questioning whether the entire theatrical window model needs a rework.

Obsession, suffice to say, is a genuine phenomenon, one propelled by Barker’s skillful direction, nifty production design and art direction, and especially by the scintillating performance of breakout star Inde Navarrette, which is the kind of daring showcase you pray people will still remember when the next Academy Awards rolls around. It simply refuses to stop making money in theaters even now, eight weeks after its initial release, and this weekend it smashed through yet another milestone: $400 million in grosses at the worldwide box office. In doing so, it became the highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation) that was made for a budget of less than $1 million, as Obsession was initially shot and completed for just $750,000 total. The only other film in history to settle at the $400 million mark with a budget of less than $1 million was Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon in 1973, which benefited from the grim pop-culture moment following its star’s mysterious death just before its release. Obsession had no such hook: Just some effective trailers and the strongest word-of-mouth the industry has seen in its collective memory. It’s only the second original, non-franchise film since 2018 (after Sinners) to make more than $200 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Box office talk is often cheap, and used to attack films and shout about failures, but sometimes it’s about success too.

Obsession is about to overtake Sinners.

Think of that. Sinners was a massive hit, and it has star power and a big name director.

Make good films. People will watch them.

— No Time To Dan (@danburden1138.bsky.social) 9:23 AM · Jun 29, 2026

So naturally, Obsession has also managed to absolutely crush the relative performance of quite a few films along the way that Hollywood was actively banking on being cash cows. Here are five of them, which together have combined budgets of $555 million … all of which got thumped by an indie horror flick made for the Hollywood equivalent of pocket change fished out from between a producer’s couch cushions.

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1. Wuthering Heights

Budget: $80 million
Gross: $242 million

Director Emerald Fennell’s ravishing, revisionist take on the classic Emily Brontë novel was a bit of a long-shot to become a true blockbuster, but it at least managed to hold its own, especially considering that its main pitch was an attempt to get primarily women audiences all horned up about Jacob Elordi, with some considerable success. It even had an entire score from Charli XCX! Still, its name-brand source material (provided you consider your memories of high school English class “name brand”) wasn’t enough to put it into the realm of Obsession, which had no IP at all to lean on–or promises of Elordi/Margot Robbie sexual dalliances, for that matter.

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2. Disclosure Day

Budget: $115 million
Gross: $216 million

Can you believe that an original action-sci fi alien blockbuster from the likes of Steven freakin’ Spielberg is still trying to limp to profitability a month after its release? Or that it made roughly the same amount of money over the July 4 holiday weekend as Obsession, despite the fact that Disclosure Day is playing in more than twice as many theaters, and was initially released a month later? Who would have believed you, if at the start of 2026 you were claiming (or placing Kalshi bets) that an unknown indie horror flick would be beating the pants off Spielberg’s spiritual successor to Close Encounters and E.T.? Granted, that Disclosure Day ending definitely doesn’t work for everybody, but on brand name alone, it’s shocking that not even the Spielberg name could propel this film to half the genuine excitement generated by Obsession.

Saw Obsession last night as part of a double feature. I wouldn’t have gone to see it on its own but I ended up really liking it. Inde Navarrette is excellent. She manages to add just the right amount of comedy to a terrifying performance.

The other film was Disclosure Day. I didn’t like it as much.

— Liana Kerzner (@redlianak.bsky.social) 10:50 AM · Jun 28, 2026

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3. Scream 7

Budget: $45 million
Gross: $214 million

It’s actually pretty impressive that Scream 7 somehow managed to claw and slash its way to the highest gross of the long-running, once upon a time Wes Craven-directed slasher series, considering that it alienated a chunk of its fanbase through the shitty treatment of Melissa Barrera, brought in the generally worst reviews any Scream film has ever seen, and could not for the life of it demonstrate any reason to exist beyond “well, there’s profit to be made.” And yet, even the title of “highest grossing Scream movie ever” still only implies a gross that is barely more than half of what Obsession has now made. Think about that; about the cultural impact and enduring popularity of Scream among horror geeks as an idea and an archetype. That it should get so thoroughly crushed by a new, original horror concept that truly reflects the current culture is an oddly appropriate passing of the torch. On that note, let’s just pray Obsession doesn’t generate half a dozen increasingly insipid sequels.

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4. Hoppers

Budget: $150 million
Gross: $389 million

Of all these films, it’s Pixar’s Hoppers that comes closest to matching Obsession‘s current box office total, although it required a budget … 19900% bigger in order to do it, which is not exactly the paragon of business efficiency, at least compared to the money-printing machine of Barker’s movie. Consider everything that Hoppers had going for it to get it this far, from a Disney-approved marketing budget, to a far bigger target demographic (including kids), to recognizable stars and music by SZA. An accessible film about cute animals and a teen girl being welcomed into their secret world, vs … a deeply disturbing parable about the loss of agency in relationships and the way insecure men dominate their partners’ lives, complete with scenes of the female lead pissing and shitting herself. Which of those would you have predicted to make more money? The family friendly Disney flick from the most profitable animation studio in history, or the one made by a 26-year-old YouTuber for less money than the cost of a 1-bedroom condo in San Francisco?

obsession making more money at the box office than the newest original pixar movie is genuinely wild but also telling as to how the media landscape for kids has shifted so much since covid to where non-IP animation tends to struggle to make any impact in theaters

— winona 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@velvetxero.bsky.social) 6:43 PM · Jul 5, 2026

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5. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Budget: $165 million
Gross: $340 million

And finally, what must be considered the crème de la crème of Obsession‘s many box office achievements: In its third week of release, it made more money than a new STAR WARS MOVIE that had been so relentlessly promoted during every professional sports event for months leading up to its release that it became impossible to shut my eyes without Baby Yoda intruding on my subconscious. Even with a relatively warm critical reception for its tactile, puppet-heavy approach, an even more aggressive Disney marketing campaign than Hoppers, and the almighty Star Wars IP attached to it, The Mandalorian and Grogu was already getting beaten in its second weekend of release by an indie horror flick (two, actually, as Backrooms beat it too!) that was in theaters BEFORE it arrived. This was truly a historic box office weekend, involving millions of Americans weighing the possibility of seeing a cute Star Wars puppet adventure, or a harrowing satire of modern relationships starring unknown actors, and somehow choosing the latter of those two options.

That Obsession has beaten Star Wars at the box office can not be understated

— Biff Whipster (@biffwhipster.bsky.social) 10:21 PM · Jun 28, 2026

All that said, you do have to acknowledge that IP-driven slop still dominates our box office on a wider scale: We’re talking about a year where The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has already made $1 billion, and where even the deeply unnerving Michael seems poised to reach that same milestone. The most surefire method of success in Hollywood remains releasing a new movie with a numeral after the instantly recognizable title, as in Toy Story 5 or The Devil Wears Prada 2. But it’s still significant that the likes of Disney-Pixar, a famous slasher franchise, Steven Spielberg and even the monolith of Star Wars all couldn’t match what Curry Barker did via Obsession, on a wing and a prayer. If you told us that a One Wish Willow was involved in achieving such a deeply unlikely result, we’d probably believe you.