Focus Features/Lucasfilm
All of the movie fans who were concerned and/or annoyed about The Mandalorian & Grogu being the first Star Wars film in seven years have proven to be right. On Wednesday, Obsession made more money than The Mandalorian & Grogu, thus retaking the #1 spot at the domestic box office.
The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars theatrical release since 2019’s disastrous The Rise of Skywalker and a film that cost $165 million to produce — plus a substantial marketing budget on top of that — has been knocked out of the number one spot at the domestic box office by Obsession, a supernatural horror film made for under $750,000.
Obsession made over one million dollars more than The Mandalorian & Grogu on Wednesday, May 27 to retake the top spot at the domestic box office
Obsession, directed by 26-year-old first-time filmmaker and YouTuber Curry Barker in just 20 days, reclaimed the top spot at the domestic box office on Wednesday, earning $5.6 million to The Mandalorian & Grogu’s $4.2 million. Obsession was produced independently before getting picked up by Focus Features for $15 million after a bidding war that also included shrewd studios A24 and NEON.
The film increased ticket sales by nearly 40% in its second weekend — a figure that box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian called virtually unprecedented for a wide-release horror film in 33 years of tracking. It has now crossed $75 million worldwide on a sub-million-dollar budget.
A fun one…
Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is among those left stunned, saying there are virtually no comps. “I’ve been tracking and analyzing box office for 33 years now, and I thought I’d seen it all until this past weekend with the incredible performance…
— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) May 28, 2026
A $750 Thousand indie horror movie dethroning a $160 Million Star Wars Movie at the box office (even for a day) is currently sending shockwaves throughout all of Hollywood.
I can tell you for a fact that studio executives are taking notice at what Obsession is doing right now. pic.twitter.com/vn6yJ640xe
— The Moonlight Warrior 🌙 (@BlackMajikMan90) May 28, 2026
The Mandalorian & Grogu opened to $81 million over Memorial Day weekend — the lowest ever for a Star Wars film — but dropped steeply in its first week due to lackluster marketing, poor word-of-mouth, and general audience disinterest.
Obsession, on the other hand, currently has a 96% critics score, overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth, and the kind of second-weekend growth that is rarely seen in the modern Hollywood landscape.
The breakout stars of Obsession — which is currently on pace to return roughly 100 times its production budget — have been its director Curry Barker, who was reportedly offered $10 million by a studio for his next film sight-unseen, and its lead actress Inde Navarrette, who is getting shouts for an Academy Award nomination.