Emerging director Curry Barker‘s supernatural horror film Obsession earned a promising $2.6 million in Thursday previews and Wednesday early access screenings.
That’s a stellar start, considering the $1 million film is only projected to open to $10 million to $12 million domestically during an otherwise quiet weekend before the long Memorial Day holiday.
It remains to be seen whether the R-rated genre pic has enough upside to turn the weekend into a closer-than-expected battle with The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael Jackson biopic Michael, which are tipped to top othe chart.
One key advantage — younger adults in the 18-24 bracket aren’t turning out in for those two films. Another — Obsession has won over both critics and audiences in equal measure, boasting a coveted 95 percent score among both categories on Rotten Tomatoes as of midday Friday.
Barker, 26, has spent the past few years amassing an avid fan base on YouTube with his sketch comedy channel, That’s a Bad Idea. He next made the $800 found-footage serial killer feature Milk & Serial, which went viral. Almost overnight, everyone in town was trying to win him over; he ultimately signed UTA.
