Obsession North America Box Office: Scores A Solid $2.6 Million In Thursday Previews & Beats Send Help & 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

The 2026 horror film Obsession has earned an impressive $2.6 million from Thursday previews and has outperformed Send Help & 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s preview collections.

- May 16, 2026 | 12:19 PM IST

Obsession North America Box Office(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Stellar Critical Reception

Curry Barker’s supernatural horror film, Obsession, has been in the news for all the right reasons. The film currently holds a stellar 94% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest-rated horror movie of 2026 so far and placing it ahead of Sam Raimi’s Send Help (93%), 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (92%), and Adam Scott’s Hokum (89%). And now, it has received an A- CinemaScore, which is great for an R-rated horror film.

Projected Domestic Opening & Thursday Preview Earnings

On the box office front, as per a recent estimate by Box Office Pro, Obsession was tracking to earn between $7 million and $10 million in its opening weekend (May 15-17) in North America. However, it now looks like it might just exceed its early projections. According to box office analyst Luiz Fernando, Obsession has scored a solid $2.6 million from Thursday previews, including ticket sales from Wednesday’s early screenings.

Positive momentum won’t stop at US #BoxOffice, as even #Focus’ new R-rated horror romcom #Obsession, directed by YouTuber #CurryBarker is poised to crush projections after grossing STRONG 2.6M on THU Previews which include WED early screenings (vs #M3GAN2.0 1.5M,… pic.twitter.com/tqyVVWSja7

— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) May 15, 2026

On Track To Challenge Multiple 2026 Horror Films’ Opening Weekend Numbers

In doing that, the Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette starrer has outperformed several other 2026 horror counterparts, including Send Help ($2.2 million) and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple ($2.1 million), in terms of preview collections.

Given the latest development, Obsession is now likely to deliver a $14-19 million domestic opening if everything goes well. If the film lives up to these projections, it could match the 3-day opening figures of Send Help ($19.1 million), according to Box Office Mojo and exceed the domestic openings of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy ($13.5 million), according to Box Office Mojo, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple ($12.5 million), according to Box Office Mojo, and Hokum ($6.4 million), according to Box Office Mojo.

Surpasses Break-Even Point

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Obsession has been made on a modest budget of just $1 million. So, it needed to earn roughly $2.5 million worldwide to break even at the box office, based on the 2.5x multiplier rule. Because of its $2.6 million Thursday preview earnings, this means it has already reached its estimated box office break-even point, and any earnings from here will be considered the film’s theatrical surplus.

What’s Obsession All About?

When Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee, discovers a mysterious trinket, he uses it to fulfil one wish – to make his childhood friend and co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. Bear’s wish is granted, but with a wild twist. He gets more than what he bargained for as Nikki becomes dangerously obsessive, leading to unimaginable consequences.