Obsession has officially grossed over $250 million at the domestic box office, a milestone that 14 Marvel Studios-produced MCU movies failed to reach. Having been produced on a $750,000 production budget, studio expectations were clearly high on Obsession from the get-go. Distributor Focus Features picked up the horror sensation for $15 million at the Toronto International Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter), but it's doubtful that, even then, many expected it to compete with the box office big dogs like Marvel, DC, and Star Wars franchises.
Now nine weeks into its box office run, Obsession is still winning big at the box office and recently crossed $250 million domestically. Only four other movies have reached that impressive milestone this year: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5, Michael, and Project Hail Mary, with The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day expected to enter the exclusive club in the coming weeks.
Obsession stands at $256.78 million domestically and $430.13 million globally, making it the seventh biggest movie of the year worldwide. Perhaps its greatest milestone yet is crossing a quarter of a billion ($250 million) at the domestic box office on such a low budget, something even 14 of Marvel Studios' big-budget MCU tentpoles have failed to do over the years:
- The Incredible Hulk - $134.8m
- Thor - $181m
- Captain America: The First Avenger - $176.7m
- Thor: The Dark World - $206.4m
- Ant-Man - $180.2m
- Doctor Strange - $232.6m
- Ant-Man and the Wasp - $216.6m
- Black Widow - $183.7m
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - $224.5m
- Eternals - $164.9m
- Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania - $214.5m
- The Marvels - $84.5m
- Captain America: Brave New World - $200.5m
- Thunderbolts* - $190.3m
Last month, Obsession stole one honor from Avengers: Endgame, outperforming the Infinity Saga's record-breaking blockbuster in its fifth weekend, something which it has continued to do ever since. That demonstrates the unprecedented legs Curry Barker's horror has gained through virality and stellar word of mouth.
Looking at the 14 MCU movies that Obsession has already toppled domestically, they range from the likes of The Incredible Hulk and Thor, which landed as the MCU was still finding its footing, to more recent movies like Thunderbolts* and The Marvels, which have taken a major beating from superhero fatigue.
Perhaps its most impressive box office tackles come with movies like Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and Thor: The Dark World, as they were released during Phases 2 and 3 in the hayday heyday MCU's glory.
When it comes to the global box office, Obsession and its $430.1 million worldwide gross (at the time of writing) has toppled seven MCU movies globally.
- The Incredible Hulk - $265.6m
- Captain America: The First Avenger - $370.6m
- Black Widow - $379.8m
- Eternals - $402.1m
- The Marvels - $206.1m
- Captain America: Brave New World - $415.1m
- Thunderbolts* - $382.4m
Despite already landing on digital platforms, Obsession is still winning big at the box office and should soon overtake Shang-Chi ($432.2m), although Thor ($449.3m) and Ant-Man 3 ($476m) may be a little out of reach.
What Lessons Should the MCU Learn From Obsession?
Hollywood famously learns the wrong lessons from its biggest box-office hits, attempting to replicate basic, surface-level elements, rather than what audiences truly connected with. For instance, the lessons from Obsession must be that moviegoers are craving quality filmmaking with new ideas and fresh talent, regardless of scale, not that they like horror movies about a psychotic girlfriend.
This year has already seen Obsession and Backrooms winning big, and DC Studios is already hoping to grab a piece of the recent horror craze this October with its Batman villain spin-off, Clayface. It's tough to imagine that Marvel Studios isn't evaluating which of its characters could be the vehicle for a true horror movie, whether it be Blade, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, or a Midnight Sons ensemble.
A sub-million-dollar budgeted horror outperforming two of Marvel Studios' recent tentpoles, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, one of which was very well received, should raise major questions about the state of the MCU.
Fortunately, Marvel Studios has two safe bets on its hands with July's Spider-Man: Brand New Day and December's Avengers: Doomsday. Both of the MCU's 2026 movies are expected to perform well at the box office, perhaps proving that modern audiences only care about "event" superhero cinema from the biggest IPs.
Marvel and DC have spent years oversaturating the superhero market in movies and TV, leading audiences to prioritize only the biggest releases. As such, whenever something truly unique comes around that could be the next sleeper hit, such as Thunderbolts*, it, unfortunately, blends into the crowd.
