Obsession quietly dethrones Avengers: Endgame with an unlikely box office milestone
Obsession is still packing theaters — and it just leapfrogged Avengers: Endgame in a surprise box-office category only weeks into release. Curry Barker’s thriller keeps racking up records with momentum to spare.
If you thought only the capes-and-laser-beams brigade could rack up silly amounts of cash at the box office, you'd better have a seat. Forget Marvel for a minute—turns out a supernatural psychological thriller called 'Obsession' has just managed an eyebrow-raising feat, and frankly, it’s the sort of geeky stat most people won’t spot, but film nerds will be talking about it for ages.
Breaking Records in All the Odd Places
'Obsession', directed by Curry Barker, is still hanging about in cinemas and surprisingly, business is nowhere near slowing down. Most recently, on its 25th day in theatres, the film pulled in $4.2 million at the box office. Why does that matter? Because, believe it or not, that's more than what the likes of 'Avengers: Endgame' managed at the same point in its theatrical run—Marvel's superhero juggernaut took home $3.2 million on its 25th day. Even 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', which seemed to be everywhere for a while, was left behind at $2.4 million.
For a bit of extra context, here’s how those big day 25 hauls stack up:
- 'Obsession' – $4.2m
- 'Avengers: Endgame' – $3.2m
- 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' – $2.4m
Never thought you'd see 'Obsession' above those other two, did you?
Milestones, Horror Style
Since opening, 'Obsession' has raked in about $161.2 million domestically and $234.5 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. And on its fourth weekend, it managed another odd milestone: $25.6 million, the biggest fourth weekend for any horror movie. That knocks out 'The Blair Witch Project' (which managed $24.3 million back in 1999) from its long-held perch in this very specific bit of box office trivia.
What’s more, the film only made its way into cinemas thanks to a hefty deal: distribution rights were snapped up at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 for somewhere between $14-15 million.
Behind the Scenes – A Fresh Face Calls the Shots
Curry Barker, the 26-year-old at the helm, isn’t just the director—he wrote the script and did the editing too. His only previous credit? 'Milk & Serial', which he chucked up on YouTube. For 'Obsession', Barker was joined by producers James Harris, Haley Nicole Johnson, Christian Mercuri, and Roman Viaris. On the exec producer roster you’ve got Jason Blum, Leonora Darby, David Haring, Ruzanna Kegeyan, and Mark Lane—all lending their names alongside the rookie director.
What’s the Film Actually About?
The story follows Bear, a painfully shy employee at a music shop, who’s been pining for his mate and co-worker Nikki but can’t quite admit it. Bear stumbles across a novelty called the 'One Wish Willow'—basically a magical toy that says it’ll grant your deepest desires. He uses it to, yes, wish for Nikki’s love (tricky territory, magical or not), and, surprise surprise, things go predictably and horrifyingly wrong from there.
In case you want to put some faces to those names: Michael Johnston plays Bear, Inde Navarrette is Nikki, and the supporting cast features Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter, and Haley Fitzgerald, among others.
About That Record
If you’re wondering what it’s like for a genre flick to wipe Avengers off the board—at least on a very specific box office day—well, that’s exactly what's just happened here. 'Obsession' has managed to carve out its own little bit of history, and honestly, you wouldn’t have put money on it at the start of this year.