Curry Barker Confirms Netflix Wanted ‘Obsession’ for Streaming Before Focus Features Acquired It
Few horror films have experienced a rise quite like ‘Obsession,’ the micro-budget breakout that transformed director Curry Barker into one of the industry’s most in-demand new voices almost overnight. What began as a modest festival entry quickly evolved into one of the genre’s biggest success stories in recent memory.
Such a trajectory rarely occurs without a chaotic scramble behind the scenes, and Barker has spent the past year gradually revealing just how wild that scramble was. Insights about the film’s origins have emerged slowly, each detail adding another layer to an already improbable success story.
The latest revelation may be the most significant yet. In a conversation with Tom Power on CBC’s “Q,” Barker confirmed that Netflix made a serious attempt to acquire ‘Obsession’ with an offer that would have bypassed theaters entirely, opting to send the film straight to streaming instead of the theatrical release that ultimately turned it into a phenomenon.
Barker recalled waking up the morning after the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to a barrage of missed calls from his manager, agent, and financier, all trying to reach him about an unexpected bidding war. “Dude, like everybody’s putting in a bid for this thing,” he remembered his manager telling him. “You name it, you know, every company. Neon, Focus, A24, all of these companies are wanting to do your movie.”
Among the many interested buyers, Netflix distinguished itself by taking a fundamentally different approach than the others at the table. Instead of vying for a traditional theatrical release, the streamer proposed skipping cinemas altogether.
“Netflix was in the conversation at one point,” Barker said. “They put in an offer to just put it straight on Netflix.” Ultimately, Focus Features secured the rights, paying around $15 million for a film that Barker estimates cost roughly $600,000 to $700,000 to produce, a disparity that still astonishes him.
Choosing the theatrical route proved to be a monumental decision. ‘Obsession’ emerged as one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits, eventually grossing over $500 million worldwide against its modest budget, a feat that would have been impossible under a streaming-only release model.
Barker also took the opportunity to share a separate near-miss from earlier in his career. He came remarkably close to creating a feature-length version of his viral short film “The Chair,” which nearly became his debut feature before ‘Obsession’ took shape instead.
This detail adds context to just how unpredictable Barker’s journey to feature filmmaking has been, with multiple projects competing for his attention before ‘Obsession’ emerged as the one that ultimately succeeded. Given how events unfolded, it’s difficult to envision the industry’s current excitement surrounding Barker existing in quite the same way if either “The Chair” or a Netflix-only release had come to fruition.
First trailer for ‘OBSESSION’ spin-off ‘THE BARTENDER FROM OBSESSION’
Starring The Bartender from ‘OBSESSION’ pic.twitter.com/nlKD3oe6dP
— Cinema Solace (@SolaceCinema) September 25, 2026
Barker’s profile has continued to rise since ‘Obsession’s release, with Universal reportedly signing him to an eight-figure deal to write, direct, and produce an original horror feature. He is also attached to ‘Anything but Ghosts’ at Focus Features and a reimagining of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ for A24, giving him one of the most impressive upcoming slates of any young genre filmmaker today.
For a film that almost skipped theaters entirely, ‘Obsession’s eventual box office success serves as a powerful reminder of just how significant a theatrical release can be for the right film.
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