YouTuber conquers Hollywood: Horror hit "Obsession" – ,000 production grosses over 200 million
[10:25 Sat,13.June 2026 by Thomas Richter]
An even bigger film sensation than Backrooms is the psycho-horror thriller "Obsession": just like the former, it was directed by a young YouTuber, but "Obsession" is actually an even greater sensation because its budget of ,000 was less than a tenth of the size, and it has since grossed over million internationally within just a few weeks—more than 250 times its budget.
The 26-year-old Curry Barker, who served as director, producer, actor, comedian, screenwriter, and editor, had previously released several comedy sketches and short films on YouTube. The cheaply produced but Hollywood-looking horror short "The Chair" (2023), which was viewed over 10 million times, impressed James Harris of the production company Tea Shop Productions so much that he offered him a small budget to turn it into a feature film. However, Barker pitched a different project instead: "Obsession." In 2024, Barker then released the 1-hour found-footage horror film "Milk & Serial" on YouTube, his feature film debut.
Unlike Backrooms, "Obsession" does not rely on a well-known internet meme (which inherently ensures a large audience). Instead, it reinterprets an archetypal motif from fairy tale and myth traditions ("the treachery of a wish"): What happens if a heartfelt wish comes true, but leads to results other than what you imagined? The fulfilled wish for total love becomes the foundation of a horror trip: the longed-for love turns into a deranged obsession.
A Phenomenon
"Obsession" achieved the extraordinary: through word-of-mouth and exceptionally good audience ratings for a horror film, it increased its viewership week after week since its opening weekend—completely contrary to the normal trend of a strong opening weekend followed by gradually declining numbers, especially for horror films.
The success of these new "YouTuber" films is also based on the fact that they are bringing an audience to theaters that was previously thought lost: those under 30. Thanks to these films, they are rediscovering the shared cinema experience. For Hollywood, the success of this indie film is a shock: the recently released "The Mandalorian and Grogu" from the Star Wars universe was produced for million and is now neck-and-neck at the box office with the ,000 production "Obsession." Commercially speaking, a return of over 250 times the production costs is a wet dream for Hollywood and its investors.
YouTubers Conquer Hollywood
And another interesting insight: While Hollywood is racking its brains over how to get the TikTok/YouTube audience away from their smartphones and into the cinema, for these new filmmakers from the web, the screen is not a competitor to the big screen, but a component of their path to success. Creators become known through their films on YouTube, build a fan base and recognition there, and then take that with them to the cinema when their first big film is shown—exclusively, because unlike some films from major studios, the film can only be seen on the big screen and not in parallel via the web.
Fans are not deterred by this; on the contrary, they take the opportunity to go to the cinema again and watch the film together on the big screen. After the theatrical run, the logical path is a VOD offering via YouTube, as Markiplier has now done with his self-produced film "Iron Lung"[LINK], which could thus become a competitor to subscription streaming services on a new level. These two surprise successes are giving hope to cinemas that were already considered dead: the departure of the younger generation does not seem as unstoppable as some had feared.
What distinguishes these young directors is that, unlike older filmmakers, they grew up with the web and came of age on YouTube: they understand internet culture because they grew up with it, have mastered digital grassroots marketing, and know how to build a fan base online that cares deeply about their work.
Currently, Barker has directed a reboot of the horror/slasher classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"—the film that, at age 11, led him to want to pursue the feeling of being shocked—as writer and director for the indie production company A24. Titled "Anything but Ghosts," it is scheduled to hit theaters next year. "Obsession" will be released in theaters here starting Thursday, June 25th, though there are already occasional previews in some cinemas beforehand.
