The trailer of the Focus Features horror film "Obsession" starring Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette. Directed by Curry Barker.

A low-budget horror flick is defying gravity at the box office while the latest big-budget Star Wars movie had a rough launch compared to its predecessors.

Focus Features' "Obsession" was made with a microbudget of under $1 million. Initial projections showed it making less than $10 million in its opening weekend. It ended up making over $17 million.

This past weekend, it made roughly $24 million — $30 million when including Memorial Day — a whopping 30% increase from its opening weekend, outpacing much bigger films like "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael." It even outgrossed "The Mandalorian and Grogu" on Wednesday. 

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Inde Navarrette stars as Nikki and Michael Johnston as Bear in "Obsession," a Focus Features release. (Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 Focus Features LLC)

Such a bump for a film in its second weekend is nearly unheard of. It has already grossed over $70 million worldwide and is now projected to make more than $100 million during its theatrical run, making it one of the most profitable films of the year. 

What's remarkable about the success of "Obsession" is that it proves that Hollywood star power isn't always needed to get butts in seats. The director is a 26-year-old content creator named Curry Barker, who is part of the sketch comedy duo "That's a Bad Idea," which has over 1 million followers on YouTube and TikTok. Jason Blum, creator of BlumHouse Productions and producer of horror hits like "Get Out," "Paranormal Activity" and "M3GAN," only boarded "Obsession" as an executive producer after the film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

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The cast has no A-listers. The cast is led by up-and-comers Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless and Cooper Tomlinson (Barker's comedy partner). The most recognizable face is Andy Richter, who has a minor role. 

"Obsession" follows Bear (Johnston), who uses a novelty toy to make a wish that his friend Nikki (Navarrette) falls in love with him — only to realize that his wish quickly backfires.

Inde Navarrette stars as Nikki and Michael Johnston as Bear in "Obsession," a Focus Features release. (Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 Focus Features LLC)

While it lacks stars, it should make a star out of Inde Navarrette, who gives a terrifyingly good performance that rivals Kathy Bates in "Misery."

Erik Childress, a box office columnist for Rotten Tomatoes and host of the Movie Madness podcast, credits the impressive debut to "good marketing" by Focus Features, it's word-of-mouth that carried it the week after. 

"It's incredibly rare," Childress tells Fox News Digital. "Usually those types of bumps you normally only see during the holidays… During the summer months, it almost never happens."

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Meanwhile, in a galaxy far, far away, the new Star Wars film "The Mandalorian and Grogu" made $98 million domestically during Memorial Day weekend, marking the weakest opening weekend for any Star Wars film, an honor (or dishonor, in this case) previously held by 2018's "Solo: a Star Wars Story," which grossed $103 million during its debut Memorial Day weekend.

It marked the first Star Wars movie to hit theaters in seven years — the last one being 2019's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," which made $177 million domestically in its opening weekend.

Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian and Grogu in Lucasfilm's "The Mandalorian and Grogu." (Courtesy of Lucasfilm. © 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd™. All Rights Reserved.)

Unlike "Obsession," "The Mandalorian and Grogu" has A-list talent behind it between Jon Favreau in the director's chair and a cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White and Sigourney Weaver, not to mention the iconic IP and the Disney machine behind it. But this isn't a typical sequel or spin of; it's essentially an adapted continuation of "The Mandalorian" TV series from Disney+. It follows a bounty hunter working on behalf of the New Republic who tracks down Empire loyalists.

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In recent years, Disney has leaned into Star Wars on its streaming service, perhaps changing the perception of audiences increasingly associating the franchise with television rather than film.

With all that being said, "The Mandalorian and Grogu" will still be profitable since its budget was reportedly only $165 million, a more modest price tag compared to many summer blockbusters.

Childress says it's "slightly premature" for Disney execs to be hitting the panic button on the future prospects of the Star Wars franchise, particularly as one is slated for 2027 starring Ryan Gosling. 

"'Solo' dropped 65% in its second weekend. And as long as ‘Mandalorian’ doesn't have a drop like that… it could still have enough juice in it to get in the like vicinity of like $250 million domestic, and if that's the case with international sales, it could end up being not a big hit, but still a success," Childress tells Fox News Digital. 

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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

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