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This Movie Just Grossed 500 Million, With No A-List Stars and a Budget of Under $1 Million

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It’s one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a while. It’s up there with 2022’s Barbarian, a film where you’d think twice about using Airbnb. Obsession is a dark twist on the shy guy who can’t tell the girl of his dreams how he feels, so he makes a wish, which becomes an absolute nightmare, fraught with murder, self-mutilation, and outright creepiness.

The movie has no stars. It has a talented cast, no doubt, especially Inde Navarette, who plays ‘Nikki,’ but there are no A-list stars. It had a budget of only $750,000, and it has grossed over $500 million (via The Wrap):

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Focus Features’ record-smashing horror hit “Obsession” has finished its run in U.S. theaters. But thanks to its continued success overseas, it has now crossed $500 million at the global box office, becoming the first original film of the 2020s to do so.

Curry Barker’s disturbing tale of a woman forced to become an obsessive, murderous girlfriend by a man’s selfish wish has passed the 2023 Pixar film “Elemental,” which grossed $494.6 million globally, to become the top grossing original film since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Obsession” also stands as the highest grossing festival acquisition of all time and the highest grossing film ever with a budget of less than $1 million.

Opening to a domestic launch of just $17.1 million, “Obsession” became a massive hit with critics and moviegoers alike thanks in good part to Inde Navarrette’s star-making lead performance. Defying 21st century box office norms, “Obsession” went on to have higher weekend totals than its opening for the next month, not dropping below $17 million until its sixth weekend in theaters as it grossed $263.4 million domestically.

Overseas, “Obsession” just inched past the $500 million mark by adding $2.5 million from countries like China and Germany where the film hit theaters well after the mid-May U.S. release date. The film has earned $238.1 million overseas, including $29.7 million in China and $26.7 million in the United Kingdom, pushing it to $501.5 million worldwide with a release in South Korea still to come.

There’s talk of a sequel, which I strongly oppose, as it’s unnecessary. Watch the film — you’ll see. It has sparked some excellent memes and reactions. Have fun with this one, folks. It’s worth it. 

If the material is good, people will go to see it.