Earlier this year, Steven Spielberg revealed Weapons made him decide to skip making his own horror movie. Now, with two major films in the genre killing it in theaters, his horror debut might take even longer.
Spielberg is officially returning to sci-fi with the upcoming Disclosure Day, which just had its world premiere. Described as a sci-fi horror, the film is a thrilling return to form, but not exactly the horror he could produce. In a red carpet interview, Spielberg hyped Obsession, and praised the ongoing record-breaking run of the film, as well as Backrooms.
Steven Spielberg ‘Loved’ Obsession
Spielberg knows a thing or two about starting as a new filmmaker with a tight budget. While his films helped him top the charts as the highest-grossing director of all time, grossing $10.7 billion worldwide, his first releases had a limited budget, including the iconic Jaws, which was produced on a $9 million budget.
“I’m so happy for them,” Spielberg noted about Backrooms and Obsession dominating the charts. “I think it’s so fantastic. I think it’s great that they had basically very little money, especially Obsession had under $1 million, and the other film had maybe 10 or nine, and they’re doing so well, and I just applaud them.”
Spielberg explained, “I haven’t seen Backrooms; I am going to see it when all this is over.”
As for the other film, the filmmaker declared, “I have seen Obsession, and I loved it.”
Obsession Was a Massive Hit
Spielberg isn’t the only one, as Obsession turned into a major hit with both critics and audiences. Coming from 26-year-old writer-director Curry Barker, Obsession premiered in theaters on May 15. It became a sleeper hit, as it started attracting more interest with every passing week, a feat that hasn’t been achieved since Spielberg’s 1982 hit E.T. The Extraterrestrial outside the holiday season.
Obsession boasts a 95% approval score from critics and 94% from the audience, with both Certified Fresh and Verified Hot badges. The film debuted at No. 3 at the box office, but it has climbed the charts to become one of Focus Features’ Top 5 releases of all time, and its highest-grossing domestic release.
Obsession has currently grossed $178.7 million worldwide, and it reportedly cost only $750,000. If it passes the $200 million milestone (which seems likely at this point), the horror will have grossed 266 times its budget. It’s also likely to become Focus’ biggest release of all time, a spot currently held by the classic Steven Soderbergh crime drama Traffic, which grossed $207.5 million worldwide.
The horror film is a purely original story, and it follows a hopeless romantic who, after breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Obsession is currently playing in theaters.
- Release Date
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May 15, 2026
- Runtime
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108 minutes
- Director
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Curry Barker