(SeaPRwire) – By: Robert Kensington
Obsession, the indie horror flick that’s raked in $400 million worldwide, has everyone talking. But let’s not get carried away. This movie, made for a mere $750,000 by first-time director Curry Barker, is being touted as a box office juggernaut. Yet, the idea that a low-budget indie horror can crush it at the box office isn’t exactly groundbreaking.
Sure, Obsession is well-reviewed and connecting with audiences, but history tells a different story. Back in 1999, The Blair Witch Project, a low-budget indie horror, made $248.6 million domestically. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around $500 million in today’s money. Like Obsession, The Blair Witch Project was a profit powerhouse with a tiny budget. It even innovated the found-footage genre. So, Obsession isn’t the first to pull off this feat.
Then there’s Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, made in the 80s for $375,000. It grossed $29.4 million, which translates to nearly $100 million when adjusted for inflation. Raimi was just 20 when he started making The Evil Dead, similar to Barker today. The 80s, 90s, and early 2000s were filled with indie horror from young filmmakers. Obsession is just the latest example of this ongoing trend.
The key to Obsession’s success? Timing. Current discussions about loneliness make its premise—about a curse turning a crush into an obsessive monster—resonate with social anxieties. But young audiences have been flocking to indie horror for years. This isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s a cycle. So, while Obsession is doing well, it’s riding on a wave that started decades ago.
Author bio: Robert Kensington, an overseas entrepreneurial veteran with decades of experience in real-economy industrial investment and expansion.