The supernatural horror film Obsession, directed by 26-year-old former YouTuber Curry Barker, has shattered a 27-year record. After defying all industry norms by grossing over $224.7 million globally and shattering multiple historic box office records, the micro-budget indie horror has now surpassed an acclaimed found-footage film to become the highest-grossing independent film made for less than 1 million dollars.

The incredibly cheap independent horror project is completely rewriting the Hollywood record books with an unprecedented theatrical run.

Produced on a micro-budget of roughly 750,000 dollars, Obsession has grossed over 248 million dollars globally and counting ($248,863,965 as of June 14, 2026). The movie successfully eclipsed the global record set by The Blair Witch Project back in 1999. That classic found-footage film followed three missing students in a Maryland forest and accumulated an impressive $248,639,881 worldwide (as of June 14, 2026), as tracked by Box Office Mojo.

Distributed domestically by Focus Features, Obsession, meanwhile, tells a dark story about a hopeless romantic man who uses a supernatural item called the One Wish Willow. He quickly discovers that his deepest desires come at a sinister price, leading to a terrifying psychological nightmare.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film secured a massive domestic opening of over 17 million dollars before expanding its global footprint significantly. Theatre owners internationally have witnessed packed screenings, helping the R-rated production achieve an unbelievable return on investment.

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This historic milestone is supported by an equally historic performance across theatre chains in North America.

The horror sensation, Obsession, has achieved another amazing feat by earning more screens in its home territory due to its strong theatrical run. The film collected an insane 6.2 million dollars on its 5th Friday at the domestic box office. Distributors responded by adding another 168 theatres, bringing the massive total to over 3,000 locations across the continent.

This remarkable consistency allowed the project to surpass the domestic lifetime totals of major genre hits like A Quiet Place Part II. It also sailed past the 175.1 million dollar domestic gross of Jordan Peele's acclaimed thriller Us. By doing so, Obsession officially broke into the all-time top ten highest-grossing horror movies in North American history.

The film currently sits comfortably at the number nine spot on that elite lifetime ranking, positioned just behind Get Out. It shares the spotlight with historical blockbusters like It, The Sixth Sense, Jaws, and The Exorcist. This incredible statistical feat cements the legendary status of Curry Barker's micro-budget masterpiece within the global film industry.

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What do you think about the success Obsession is getting? Let us know in the comments.