Focus Features Snags Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’: A Twisted $14 Million Horror Love Story!

Focus Features has successfully secured the rights to “Obsession,” a horror movie produced on a modest budget, marking the directorial debut of YouTube sensation Curry Barker. The acquisition was completed with a substantial $14 million agreement.

In his initial venture into feature filmmaking, Barker both wrote and directed “Obsession.” The film, which had its first showing at the Toronto International Film Festival during the midnights section, centers around a man desperately in love who enters into a sinister pact to capture the affection of the person he desires. This film twists the classic warning of “be careful what you wish for.” Barker revealed to The Bangin Beats that he was inspired by an episode of “The Simpsons” in which Bart acquires a monkey’s paw that unleashes chaos.

Focus Features plans to release “Obsession” across theaters in 2026, with Universal Pictures International taking charge of the international distribution in all regions except for France, New Zealand, and Russia.

The cast of “Obsession” includes Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter. The production team comprises James Harris from Teashop Productions, Haley Nicole Johnson from Under the Shell, and Christian Mercuri from Capstone Pictures. Capstone, which fully financed the project, handled the worldwide rights and co-represented the domestic rights with CAA Media Finance.

Barker first caught the attention of Hollywood with his 2024 micro-budget film “Milk & Serial,” which gained widespread popularity after being released on YouTube for free. He has already planned his next project, “Anything but Ghosts,” where he will take on roles as director and actor, and co-write the screenplay with Tomlinson. Notably, horror cinema heavyweights Jason Blum, founder of Blumhouse, and Roy Lee joined the project just days before “Obsession” premiered at TIFF.

Before the release of “Obsession” next year, Focus Features has an exciting lineup for 2025 that includes projects such as Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet,” a new collaboration between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone titled “Bugonia,” and a musical featuring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson called “Song Sung Blue.”