Obsession Director Curry Barker Is Amazed By India Success: "Can't Believe What It's Doing"

In an interview with Variety India, Curry Barker, the director of Obsession, confessed he was startled by the overwhelming response the film received in India. In India, the film has collected more money than any Western horror film ever. The 26-year-old also reflected honestly about his current fears and anxieties. Talking about Obsession becoming a hit in India, Curry Barker said, “I definitely did not expect Obsession to be a big hit in India. I didn’t expect it to be a big hit anywhere, really. You hope and dream that your movie is successful and that it resonates with people. But I can’t believe what it’s doing. I mean, we made this movie for nothing. I just can’t believe that it’s getting the recognition that it’s getting.”

“I’m actually more nervous about myself than the studio system. I’m going to figure it out. I’m trying to just cut out all the noise and try to remember whatever made me unique or made people like my voice in the first place. Also not really even care about what other people think. I think Obsession turned out well, only because I wasn’t making it for anybody else but myself. And I really want to continue that. I don’t want the noise around the success of Obsession to get to me,” he mentioned.

Curry Barker's supernatural horror film emerged the highest-grossing Hollywood film of 2026 in India after surpassing Ryan Gosling's Project Hail Mary at the box office. According to trade tracker Sacnilk, Obsession has earned ₹92.09 crore gross and ₹77.30 crore net in India. Obsession premiered on September 5, 2025, at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Focus Features acquired the distribution rights for $14 to $15 million, the highest price commanded by a genre film in TIFF history. It was theatrically released in the United States on May 15, 2026. Made on a modest budget of just $750,000, the film has grossed over $250 million worldwide, becoming a staggering phenomenon. Barker has already shot his second feature, the supernatural horror Anything But Ghosts, starring Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard, for Blumhouse.