“Obsession” is, well, the obsession of the box office.
That’s after the low-budget horror film earned $22 million from 2,655 North American theaters in its second weekend and a projected $28.2 million through the Memorial Day holiday. Those ticket sales are 30% above its debut (an impressive $17.2 million from 2,615 cinemas) — a virtually unprecedented increase for a movie that was already in wide release. It’s especially uncommon for horror, a genre that’s notorious for falling sharply after opening weekend.
“It’s really unheard of. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a movie have a jump like this in weekend two,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian, who has covered the box office for more than 30 years. “It’s indicative of audiences embracing the film.”
And a sign of exceptionally strong word-of-mouth. In another rarity for scary movies, audiences and critics have been enthusiastic about “Obsession,” evidenced by the film’s “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Only five other horror movies, including last year’s breakout “Weapons,” have secured an “A-” grade or higher since 2019. (The genre is prone to disappointing grades because moviegoers tend to leave the theater feeling deeply disturbed.) YouTube breakout Curry Barker directed the R-rated “Obsession,” which follows a hopeless romantic named Bear who makes a Faustian bargain to win his crush Nikki’s heart.
