Obsession scares its way into box office history by surpassing $500M US worldwide

Obsession scares its way into box office history by surpassing $500M US worldwide

Low-budget film continues to break records 3 months later

Turns out moviegoers around the world may be just as obsessed with Obsession as the film’s crazed, murderous girlfriend.

On Sunday, The Wrap reported that the horror hit officially crossed the $500-million US mark at the global box office, becoming the first original film released in the 2020s to reach that milestone.

In doing so, it surpasses Pixar’s 2023 animated hit Elemental, which grossed $494.6 million globally, to become the highest-grossing original movie of the post-pandemic era, according to The Express Tribune.

The micro-budget film about a woman driven to violent obsession after a young man makes a supernatural, selfish wish that she'll return his affections, has also become the highest-grossing film ever made for less than $1 million US.

The film was reportedly produced with a budget of only $750,000. That puts it ahead of the 1973 Bruce Lee martial arts film Enter the Dragon, which cost $850,000 to make and has made $400 million US over several re-releases.

Written and directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, the film hit theatres on May 15. It became the first film since E.T. to see its weekly grosses increase during each of its first three weeks in theatres.

By the end of its U.S. theatrical run on Aug. 14, Obsession had grossed $263.4 million domestically and another $238.1 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $501.5 million and counting, according to Box Office Mojo.

A release in South Korea is still to come, according to The Wrap.

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The American horror film also stands as the highest-grossing festival acquisition in history, after Focus Features acquired the film following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

The film's remarkable commercial success has already begun propelling its young cast to bigger projects. Female lead Inde Navarette is set to play heroine Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film. Meanwhile, male lead Michael Johnston is reportedly in talks to join Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in Universal’s new The Mummy movie.

It's safe to assume Obsession's runaway success has helped to clear the runway for Barker's next project. According to The Wrap, the filmmaker is developing a horror film called Anything but Ghosts, which he himself will star in alongside co-writer Cooper Tomlinson.

Kayla McLean is a web journalist with CBC News in Toronto. She grew up in Brampton, Ont., and received her bachelor of arts in media production at Toronto Metropolitan University. Before joining CBC in 2024, she worked as a breaking news reporter at Global News Toronto — covering everything from crime, sports, festivals and politics. She also reported for Global News's current affairs show, The New Reality, covering stories with a focus on racial equality and climate justice. She also previously held positions as a chase producer and writer for CTV News Channel.

with files from Richard Raycraft