US box office takings soar after boost from surprise hit 'Obsession'

Newsweek · 🇺🇸 public United States · May 26, 2026 · 702 words · By Melissa Fleur Afshar

Box Office Success Cultural Consumption Trends Indie Film Viability

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What to know about Box Office Success

Surprise indie horror hit Obsession made such a stir at the U.S.

Claims checked 18

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Surprise indie horror hit Obsession made such a stir at the U.S.

Why it matters

box office over Memorial Day weekend that it has boosted overall takings, lifting cinema stats up to exciting heights at a time when many new releases are dispersed through streaming platforms.

Common ground

Audiences Are Obsessed With 'Obsession' The debut feature film from 26-year-old former YouTube creator Curry Barker has defied all expectations attached to how the horror genre performs at the box office.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Box Office Success story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and comedian Andy Richter round out a supporting cast?
How does this story connect Box Office Success with Cultural Consumption Trends over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/us-box-office-takings-soar-boost-surprise…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8

check_circle Corroborated 6

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and comedian Andy Richter round out a supporting cast”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “The film earned its second weekend millions from 2,655 U.S. theaters, with ticket sales running 39 percent above its debut figure of $17.2 million from 2,615 cinemas”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “Ask E. Jean—a documentary exploring the life, work, and legal battles of writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll—made its U.S. theatrical premiere on May 22”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “The supernatural horror follows Bear (Michael Johnston)... who purchases a supernatural toy that claims to grant wishes”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 5: “The debut feature film from 26-year-old former YouTube creator Curry Barker”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms Curry Barker (born Sept 22, 1999, making him 26 in 2025/2026) is a YouTuber and filmmaker who directed the feature film 'Obsession' as his directorial debut.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror franchise created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. It consists of nine films, comics, a novel, and two video game adaptations. The franchise focuses on …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre_(f…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker in his feature film directorial debut. The film follows Bear (played by Michael Johnst…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession_(2025_film)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Curry Barker (born September 22, 1999) is an American filmmaker, comedian, YouTuber and actor. He is known for the sketch comedy YouTube channel that's a bad idea (stylized in lowercase) co-created wi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Barker

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Obsession, which released to U.S. theatres on May 15”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources confirm the U.S. theatrical release date of May 15, 2026.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Danielle Fabiola "Inde" Navarrette ( IN-dee NAV-ə-RET-ee; born March 3, 2001) is an American actress. She is known for playing Sarah Cushing in Superman & Lois (2021–2024). In 2026, she received criti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inde_Navarrette

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “$60,734,010 million has already come from U.S. theaters alone”

CORROBORATED

Although listed as 'No evidence found' in the summary, the evidence for Claim 7 explicitly contains the text: 'Of that projected figure, $60,734,010 million has already come from U.S. theaters alone'.

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Claim 8: “follow a production budget of just $750,000”

CORROBORATED

The $750,000 budget is cited across a cross-reference (Flipboard) and multiple independent web search results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Junoon (translation: The Obsession) is a 1979 Indian Hindi language film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film is based on Ruskin Bond's fictional novella, A Flight of Pige…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junoon_(1978_film)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Obsession may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsession

+ 4 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 9: “The top five films so far this year around the globe are: Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, Project Hail Mary, Pegasus 3, The Devil Wears Prada 2”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “Jason Blum... had praise for movie he executively produced”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 11: “Released by Focus Features”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources and a Wikipedia snippet confirm Focus Features as the distributor/releaser of the film.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Fou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_Features

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of films produced and/or distributed by Focus Features that also includes its former predecessors USA Films and Universal Focus, the arthouse motion picture production/distribution arm …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Focus_Features_films

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 12: “The film, which was shot over just 20 days”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of generic movie theater listings for Sandy, UT, and does not mention the filming duration of 'Obsession'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Visit Cinemark Theater in Sandy, UT. Check movie times, tickets, enjoy movie with recliner chairs, fast food fresh popcorn! Buy Tickets Online Now!
https://www.cinemark.com/theatres/ut-midvale/cinemark-centur…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Discover showtimes and movie theaters near you with Fandango! Find showtimes, tickets, and more for your favorite cinema experience in Sandy, UTAH.
https://www.fandango.com/sandy_utah_movietimes

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Buy movie tickets in advance, find movie times, watch trailers, read movie reviews, and more at Fandango.
https://www.fandango.com/

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Claim 13: “the supernatural horror film earned $23.9 million over the weekend, a figure that rose to north of $30 million once Monday's tickets were tallied”

CORROBORATED

Three separate web search results explicitly state the film earned $23.9 million over Memorial Day weekend and rose to over $30 million (specifically $30.2 million) including Monday.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Eli…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An ongoing conflict between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel began on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets and artillery at Israeli positions following Hamas's October 7 att…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah–Israel_conflict_(202…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 14: “25-year-old Inde Navarrette's performance in the lead role of Nikki”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms Inde Navarrette was born March 3, 2001 (making her 25 in 2026) and played the role of Nikki Freeman in the film.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — With Indeed, you can search millions of jobs online to find the next step in your career. With tools for job search, resumes, company reviews and more, we're with you every step of the way.
https://www.indeed.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 · INDE – Matthews India Active ETF – Check INDE price, review total assets, see historical growth, and review the analyst rating from Morningstar.
https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/inde/quote

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · INDE | A complete Matthews India Active ETF exchange traded fund overview by MarketWatch. View the latest ETF prices and news for better ETF investing.
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/inde

help

Claim 15: “The Memorial Day weekend box office as a whole reached $219,245,046”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the total U.S. box office for the entire Memorial Day weekend, only the performance of 'Obsession'.

schedule

Claim 16: “Titles such as Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 have all gained over $100 million in the global box office”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “Obsession is the ONLY wide-release horror film on record to grow in its second weekend at this scale—$22.4M, up 30 percent over opening”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 18: “Obsession is now on course to gross $79 million at the global box office”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm the projected or achieved global box office gross of $79 million.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 8 days ago · Obsession has officially made $79 million at the box office ... The film is officially projected to cross the $100 Million mark ...
https://www.threads.com/@screenrant/post/DYxjcShlPsD/obsessi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 · 'Obsession' could become one of the only films in history to earn more than $100M on a budget under $1M. The movie is also expected to make more ...
https://www.facebook.com/ScreenGeekOfficial/posts/obsession-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · Obsession is now on course to gross $79 million at the global box office. Of that projected figure, $60,734,010 million has already come ...
https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/us-box-office-takings…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.