Last month, the Hollywood summer blockbusters started marching out the gate. These big movies don’t just have to recover their huge budgets, there’s also the attendant massive marketing expenses, which may often hit 3/4 percent of production cost.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” needs $500 to 600 million to break even, “Masters of the Universe” needs $400 million, “Disclosure Day” $300 million, “Supergirl” needs upwards of $315 million, while next month’s “The Odyssey” says “hold my wine” as it will need $625 million dollars to sail to fiscal recovery.
Now let’s consider “Obsession.” It was released on May 15 in the United States and May 27 in the Philippines. The local run began exclusively in Ayala Cinemas. Genuine buzz got it to run in more screens in other cinema chains. It had a production budget of $750,000, marketing was mostly word of mouth. It’s current box office take as of this writing? $287 million.
“Obsession” is a 108 minute-long relationship horror movie directed by 26 year old Curry Barker, whose previous work was 2024’s “Milk and Serial” on YouTube.
In “Obsession,” a twenty-something named Bear works at a music store with his friends Ian, Sarah and Nikki. Bear has had a crush on Nikki and makes a wish on a willow stick, and over the course of this ride, you are reminded just why that ancient nugget of wisdom, “be careful what you wish for” endures.
Inde Navarrette is a revelation as Nikki, she goes from her own version of Smeagol and Gollum to chilling effect, displaying both the qualities possessiveness and being possessed.
It’s an already a great, freaky little story punctuated by an effective performance, eerie sound design and use of lighting.
“Obsession” ends in the only way it should. But it looks like the door is going to get blown open for both Barker and Navarrette, and for them might be just the beginning of bigger things.
Here’s also another interesting bit of trivia. According to Yahoo News, the movie is “the first time a non-holiday release’s third weekend has outgrossed its first and second weekend since ‘E.T. the Extraterrestrial’ in 1982.” (Movies usually have a 40 to 50 percent revenue drop in their second weekends.)
“Obsession” was supposed to be out on streaming already. However, while those cinemas seats are still filling up, it’ll be a while before audiences can catch it online.
If you still believe in the blockbusters and are looking forward to “The Odyssey,” tickets for the screenings starting July 15, are now on sale.