The first time I saw Obsession, I had two immediate thoughts: 1) This movie rules, and 2) This movie is so disturbing that most people I know will hate it. Turns out, I was right about that first thing, but wrong about the second, because not only is Obsession a verified box office smash, but it’s breaking Hollywood records that I didn’t even know existed.
In its second weekend at the box office, Obsession managed to pull off an unprecedented feat: The movie sold more tickets than it did in its opening weekend. This defies pretty much everything Hollywood knows about movie-ticket sales, where a big opening weekend push is always followed by a steady drop-off. And while this has happened before on rare occasions, it’s the only time a horror movie that received a wide release made more money the second weekend than the first. (Obsession is currently playing in 2,655 North American theaters.)
Jason Blum, the CEO of horror-focused studio Blumhouse, which produced Obsession, confirmed the news on X.
“Obsession is the ONLY wide-release horror film on record to grow in its second weekend at this scale,” he wrote.
While The Mandalorian and Grogu claimed the top box office spot over Memorial Day Weekend, Obsession still held strong. So far, the movie from first-time feature director Curry Barker has raked in $75 million worldwide against a budget of just $1 million. The horror hit also bucked another theatrical trend by getting people to go to the movies during the week, and it was No. 1 at the box office last week on Monday through Thursday.
Speaking to Variety, Blum said the studios are still deciding how long to keep Obsession in theaters before moving it to digital platforms.
“[It’s a] big topic of conversation at the moment,” he said, adding that he is a “big believer in a long, consistent theatrical window.”
Blum added that while you might think scary movie fans would be eager for Obsession to make the jump to streaming, the opposite is actually true.
“It’s great the audience is aware of it. You would think they would say, ‘I want to buy it at home.’ But they’re actually cheering for the movie to stay in theaters longer,” he said. “People cherish the theatrical experience, and they’re willing to give up the convenience of seeing something at home to keep their local theater alive.”
Obsession is in theaters now.
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