Updated October 4, 2026
Obsession's Cast and Box-Office Story: $1M to $500M
How Curry Barker's $1M horror film became Focus Features' highest-grossing release ever — cast, numbers, and what's next.
Obsession is the kind of box-office story studios dream about.
The cast
Michael Johnston (Bear), Inde Navarrette (Nikki) — her breakout performance — plus Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter. Barker wrote, directed, and edited; producers included James Harris and Christian Mercuri, with Jason Blum executive-producing.
The numbers
Made for roughly $1 million (some reports say $750,000), acquired by Focus Features for over $15 million after its TIFF Midnight Madness premiere. It opened to $17.2M from 2,615 US theaters and finished with about $263M domestic and $520M worldwide — Focus Features’ highest-grossing film in its history, on ~95% Rotten Tomatoes.
What’s next
Barker wrapped his third feature, Anything But Ghosts (also via Focus, with a secret connection to Obsession), and signed an eight-figure deal for an original horror film with Universal and Blumhouse’s Atomic Monster.
Where to watch it now: every legal option. Overview: the Obsession guide.