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Obsession, the 2025 American supernatural horror film, has officially made over $100 million at the Box Office, making it one of the most successful films of the 21st Century, Cape {town} Etc reports.

Starring Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette, the film follows a young man who makes a wish for his long-time crush to love him, leading to horrifying consequences. When the film first debuted, it reached decent opening weekend grossings with $17.2 million domestically, but word-of-mouth and social media hype have led to the film becoming a massive hit.

It has been confirmed that the film has earned a worldwide Box Office of $151 million. What makes this number so impressive is the film’s reported budget of $750 000 to $1 million, meaning that the film’s release has garnered more than 125 times the amount it took be made.

The last time a film of a comparable smaller budget saw such a significant return was in 2009 with Paranormal Activity, which earned a Box Office of $194.2 million on a budget of $15 000 to $450 000.

The film is currently topping the Box Office list, beating out higher budget films like:

  • Michael ($155 to 200 million)
  • The Devil Wears Prada 2 ($100 million)
  • Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu ($165 million)

Film forecasters predict that Obsession will likely earn more than $250 million throughout its theatrical run, based on the domestic earnings throughout its first three weeks:

  • Weekend 1: $16 million
  • Weekend 2: $22.4 million (+30%)
  • Weekend 3: $26.4 million (+10%)

The hype around the film is certainly global, with screenings in Cape Town being reportedly sold out, and in some cases, even double-booked.

Obsession is currently screening at Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro cinemas.

From indie horror to global hit: Obsession dominates the Box Office

The 2025 American supernatural horror film, Obsession, has finally made it to theatres, and it is smashing the Box Office at an unprecedented rate, Cape {town} Etc reports.

Initially premiering in 2025 at the Toronto International Film Festival, (TIFF) Obsession saw a worldwide theatrical release on 15 May 2026 and has been hitting significant box office records throughout its theatrical run.

Directed by Curry Baker, the film follows a music store employee named Bear (Michael Johnston) who makes a wish for his childhood friend to fall in love with him, leading to disastrous consequences.

What makes this film’s success so remarkable is how small the production budget was in comparison to its box office returns. On a budget of around $750 000 to $1 million, the film has thus far grossed a box office of $95.8 million worldwide.

Box Office:

Domestic (US & Canada): $73.5 million

International: $22.3 million

With Obsession premiering initially at TIFF to much praise, there was already some buzz around the film when it premiered, garnering a critical score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film drew a domestic Box Office of $17.2 million in its opening weekend, but word of mouth created a lot of buzz that led to a historic second weekend, with the Box Office gaining 39%, rather than the usual drop-off seen with most horror films in subsequent weekends.

‘It’s really unheard of. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a movie have a jump like this in weekend two. It’s indicative of audiences embracing the film.’

– Paul Dergarabedian, Head of Marketplace Trends at Comscore

Reportedly earning a domestic Box Office of $22.4 million in its second weekend, the film is one of the only films in the 21st Century to gross 30% more in its second weekend.

The record-breaking may continue as the Box Office grows, with forecasters predicting the film to gross more than $100 million, which would make Obsession one of the few films in history to earn $100m+ on a budget of less than $1 million.

While the film has yet to reach $100 million, it has already surpassed some bigger films, earning more than The Mandalorian & Grogu on 27 May, a Star Wars film, retaking its spot as #1 at the Box Office.

With the unexpected success of the film, it is certain that the stars, who were relatively unknown when cast in Obsession, will go on to appear in future Hollywood projects. The lead, Johnston, is already set to voice the character of Nathan Summers in X-Men ’97: Season Two for Disney+.

Obsession is currently screening at Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro cinemas.

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Picture: Screenshot from Video

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