The film is challenging for an Oscar.

TPO - In many respects, "Obsession" is a mainstream, commercial film that doesn't hesitate to cater to the masses, while also bringing in revenue that distributors specializing in art films rarely achieve. The film is currently making nearly 300 times its market value.

Horror films can earn 300 times their production budget.

Variety notes that each awards season features a film that forces Hollywood to re-examine its own rules and preconceptions. This year, that film comes from a YouTuber.

Released in early May, the R- rated horror film *Obsession * shocked audiences worldwide.

Produced by Curry Barker – a popular YouTuber – and with a budget of only $750,000, the project set a series of impressive box office records, becoming the most successful low-budget film of the 21st century despite not featuring any big-name superstars.

The film's global revenue is now approaching $300 million.

On its fifth weekend of release, the film continued its unprecedented success, raking in $19 million.

Even more remarkable is that this low-budget film has had four consecutive weekends grossing more than its already impressive opening weekend of $17 million. This is a growth trajectory almost unprecedented in the current era of cinema.

The film's global revenue is now approaching $300 million. This means the film has grossed nearly 300 times its production budget.

In many respects, Obsession is a mainstream, commercial film that doesn't hesitate to cater to the masses, while also generating revenue rarely achieved by distributors specializing in art films.

That's why this success is especially significant for Focus Features. Obsession gave the company the opportunity to redefine its brand identity.

Obsession reminds audiences of the historic launchpad of Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017). From a horror project with a meager budget of only $4.5 million, Get Out went straight to the Oscars with 4 major nominations and won the Best Original Screenplay award.

The current timing is more favorable than ever for Obsession to make its mark. At the 98th Academy Awards, horror films swept many important categories. Ryan Coogler's vampire masterpiece Sinners led with a record 16 nominations and 4 wins, while Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein took home 3 Golden Globes.

However, the relationship between horror films and the Academy is always subject to change. Winning works are often exceptional, special cases, or unlikely to be replicated, and many of the honored films are not actually pure horror films.

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According to Variety, all the necessary elements for Obsession to win the Oscar are already present.

Steven Spielberg's Jaws is a horror-adventure blockbuster, crafted by one of the masters of cinema. The Silence of the Lambs is an investigative thriller with some genuinely terrifying scenes, driven by a story that Anthony Hopkins finally gets the recognition he deserves. Even Sinners is both a historical drama and a vampire film, under the direction of Coogler.

However, Obsession has its own strengths. The film is a blend of Get Out , Smile , and the 1993 thriller The Crush , with some influence from the 1992 obsessive film Single White Female .

But more importantly, the film has an interesting story about a YouTuber who turned director.

According to Variety , all the necessary elements for Obsession to conquer the Oscars were present: a cultural phenomenon outside the box office, a performance that created a new star, a director with a rare opening story, and distributors with every reason to bet.

Sources within the studio told Variety that a full-scale Oscar campaign is being planned. Just last year, the studio's focus was on Hamnet , but now it's Obsession .

Whether the Oscars will move in this direction remains to be seen. But for the first time in a long time, a horror film with such a significant impact is making it difficult for the Academy to ignore.

YouTuber's film goes beyond the boundaries of tradition.

The film's plot revolves around a strange toy called the One Wish Willow, rumored to be able to make the wishes of its user come true.

Bear (Michael Johnston), who has secretly loved his childhood friend Nikki for a long time but hasn't dared to confess his feelings, uses a toy to wish for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world.

The wish unexpectedly came true, but it transformed Nikki into a completely different person – strange, frightening, and constantly following Bear everywhere.

Inde Navarrette, who played Nikki, is considered a remarkable discovery in the horror genre.

Here, Inde Navarrette's performance shines as she skillfully portrays a new Nikki—haunting, shocking, and unpredictable—yet there are moments when the real Nikki returns to reality, a truly pitiable figure.

What made Obsession a phenomenon was its striking script, which cleverly transformed the familiar "be careful what you wish for" horror trope into a toxic, distorted, and highly timely story about forced love.

Thanks to its concise and sharp storytelling, and its skillful exploitation of the anxieties in modern relationships, the film has been well-received by both critics and the general public. Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki, is considered a notable discovery in this year's horror film genre.

Her performance was both fragile and terrifying, making the character not just a victim of a curse but also the emotional center of the film. This elevated Obsession beyond the realm of a low-budget independent horror film, turning it into a topic of discussion among young people.

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Inde Navarrette's performance became a highlight.

Before making a global impact with Obsession, director Curry Barker had his own audience thanks to his self-created short films on online platforms, which garnered millions of views. He previously made Milk & Serial , a found-footage horror film with a budget of only about $800, which he wrote, directed, and starred in himself.

The film was released for free on YouTube and unexpectedly became a beloved phenomenon in the independent film community.

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Source: https://tienphong.vn/bo-phim-thach-thuc-oscar-post1852240.tpo