YouTuber’s Horror Movie With 95% on RT Makes 100x Its Budget at the Box Office (& Might Join an Exclusive Club)

One new Horror movie from a YouTube creator has been taking over the box office since it made its debut earlier this month, and it’s set to join an exclusive club of legendary movies after making a ton at the box office. Obsession has been one of the most surprising, but biggest success stories of the year so far. The film made a quiet debut in the festival circuit, but had made even more waves before it hit theaters thanks to a viral marketing campaign that quickly caught the attention of potential moviegoers.

Obsession was already impressive as its opening weekend saw a return of $17 million from a reported budget of just $750,000. But the film has seen an even greater return in its second weekend as word of mouth is spreading for the movie and more are seeing it the second time around. It’s gotten so big in its second weekend, in fact, that it’s already made an impressive $75 million worldwide. This puts it in line with other legendary Horror releases like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and more.

Obsession Makes 100x Its Box Office With New Update

According to a new update from Blumhouse producer Jason Blum shared with fans on social media, Obsession is “the ONLY wide-release horror film on record to grow in its second weekend at this scale” noting that the film’s box office was up 30% in its second weekend. While it’s going to join the same club as other previous low budget horror successes thanks to word of mouth, it’s even more impressive because Obsession was able to be such a success in the modern Horror landscape when it’s being said that people don’t go to the theaters anymore.

Read Next

From Psycho to Halloween: What Was Horror’s First Slasher Film?

Obsession‘s success proves that not only will people go to the theaters if there’s a good movie to see, but they’ll support original ideas in theaters as well. The film isn’t a franchise release or an adaptation of a different medium, it’s a new idea from Curry Barker, who had been steadily releasing online content through social media platforms and YouTube for years before this theatrical debut. And it’s through that viral mentality that the film has been able to tap into a “don’t miss” kind of vein that no other film this decade has been able to do in the same way.

Why Is Obsession Such a Success?

Obsession has been driving people to theaters because it’s such a breath of fresh, youthful air. Not only is it a story with younger characters at the center of it all making very stupid young people kind of mistakes, it’s got a lot of moments that are going to resonate with a modern, social media climate audience. Many of its moments have gone so viral on different platforms that curious watchers (who might not have gone to theaters otherwise) are making their way out to see it to make sure they’re a part of the conversation too.

It’s the kind of movie that would benefit from a long run in theaters, but unfortunately Obsession is likely going to come to digital platforms in a few more weeks. It’s the norm for films these days to hit digital a month after their debut in anticipation of weaker theatrical run, and it’s likely that the same will happen here. But its success in theaters could keep it on screens even longer than expected. Especially with returns like this.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!