A horror film made for less than a million dollars by a YouTuber in his studio feature debut is driving audiences to theaters in droves. "Star Wars" bounty hunters Mandalorian and Grogu led the box office over this holiday weekend, but critic Bob Mondello says the film industry is buzzing about the film that came in second. BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: Hollywood is obsessed with "Obsession," a thriller about an extremely shy guy... MICHAEL JOHNSTON: (As Bear) Nikki, wait.
I was going to ask you, um... JOHNSTON: (As Bear) Uh, I lost my train of thought. MONDELLO: ...Who gets a friend to fall for him with a wish-granting willow branch... JOHNSTON: (As Bear) I wish Nikki Freeman (ph) loved me more than anyone in the entire world.
NAVARRETTE: (As Nikki) I love you so, so, so, so, so much. MONDELLO: Made by YouTuber and first-time studio filmmaker, Curry Barker, for about $750,000, "Obsession" was released 10 days ago in 2,600 theaters and has already scared up more than $62 million in ticket sales. MONDELLO: In its first weekend, it came in third behind big studio hits, "Michael" and "The Devil Wears Prada 2." But word of mouth pushed it to first place on weekdays, and it stayed there until "Star Wars: Mandalorian And Grogu" opened on Friday. JOHNSTON: (As Bear) I was calling to see if there's a way I can cancel a wish.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) I'm sorry. MONDELLO: Then came the remarkable part. Most wide-release movies, especially horror films, see ticket sales decline their second weekends, often by more than half. Last year, it was considered astonishing when "Sinners" only dropped by 5%.
But second weekend sales for "Obsession" went up by 39%. No horror film that's opened on more than 2,000 screens has ever seen an increase that big. It's worth noting that the horror genre has been having a good run lately. Earlier this year, another YouTuber self-financed a fright fest called "Iron Lung," collecting more than $50 million on a spend of 3 million.
