YouTuber-turned-director Curry Barker's horror film Obsession becomes surprise box office hit
The gist
Curry Barker's $750,000 horror film Obsession opened in US theaters in May 2026 and broke box office records.
The low-budget hit shows how a YouTube director crossed into wide theatrical release.
How it unfolded
- 2023Barker's short The Chair passed 10 million views, prompting producer James Harris to ask him to expand it into a feature that became Obsession.
- Aug 2024Milk & Serial, made by Barker with Cooper Tomlinson, was released free on their sketch channel that's a bad idea after a year without a distributor.
- Sep 2025Obsession premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.