The last few weeks have been incredibly busy for director Curry Barker, as his breakout horror hit, "Obsession," continued to surprise at every turn. This continued in its third weekend of release. Despite stiff competition from A24's "Behind the Scenes," as well as Disney's latest Star Wars films, "The Mandalorian," and "Grog," audiences continued to flock to Barker's acclaimed debut feature.
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Focus Features' "Obsession" grossed approximately $26.4 million in the US in its third week of release. This is, rather astonishingly, $101 million more than its second weekend, which, in turn, showed an increase of approximately $401 million compared to its opening weekend. This simply doesn't happen in the modern era. It's completely unthinkable, especially for a low-budget, original horror film from a previously unknown director. It's worth noting that Kane Parsons' "Backstage" also grossed over $81 million in its opening weekend. Such a start would typically dwarf any other horror film.
Instead, those films took first and second place, respectively, pushing The Mandalorian and Grogu ($25 million) down to third place. This would have been very difficult to predict even a couple of weeks ago. To date, Whiplash has grossed $148 million worldwide, including $13.8 million overseas, a $391 million increase from the previous weekend.
Barker's feature-length debut tells the story of a young man, in love with a young woman, who breaks the mysterious "Willow of One Wish" to win her heart. His wish is granted, but he quickly realizes his pursuit comes at a sinister cost. Starring Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter, the film also features Inde Navarrete, who became a breakout star for her role as Nikki.
Backrooms may have been the most unexpected release of the year, but Obsession is the biggest surprise of 2026 overall. While the first film was based on a series of viral YouTube shorts, which in turn were based on a very popular creepypasta, the second is a completely original idea. Furthermore, it was made for less than $1 million before Focus acquired it for $14 million, a figure that seemed shocking at the time. To put it mildly, it was money well spent.
There are still plenty of horror films in this genre to look forward to: next weekend, the new film "Scary Movie" premieres. After that, on June 12, Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" hits theaters. The next major studio horror film won't be released until July 10, when "Evil Dead" comes to town.
The film "Obsession" is now showing in cinemas.
Poster for the film "Obsession" by Curry Barker