Five weeks after its theatrical release in May, Obsession is taking one major box office crown from Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Curry Barker and starring Inde Navarrette, the completely original horror Obsession quickly became 2026's biggest box office surprise on a budget of just $750,000, a far cry from the Marvel Studios blockbuster's almost $400 million price tag, 23 movies of MCU build-up, and decades of comic history. Of course, Endgame and Obsession aren't exactly comparable; the Marvel Studios sensation finished at $858.37 million domestically and $2.8 billion worldwide (after a re-release) while the One Wish Willow's horrors have thus far brought in $188.38 million in the U.S. and $286.49 million globally.
In its recent fifth weekend (June 12-14), Obsession grossed an impressive $19 million domestically, beating out the $17.2 million that Avengers: Endgame earned at that same point in its domestic box office run. The Curry Barker-directed flick's victory over the highest-grossing Marvel Studios blockbuster in 18 years is just the latest showcase of Obsession's truly historic box-office performance.
Almost daily from Day 18 onwards (excluding the Saturdays and Sundays on Day 23 and Day 24), Obsession has exceeded where Endgame was by this point in its box office run. Of course, that is partly due to how front-loaded the Avengers epic's earnings were, but it remains clear proof of Obsession's sturdy legs.
Avengers: Endgame and Obsession both benefited from a Memorial Day Weekend at different points in their box office runs - during the third weekend for the Curry Barker horror and fifth for the Marvel Studios blockbuster. Across the extended four-day bank holiday weekends, Obsession took in the much higher figure, earning $31.98 million against the $22.06 million for Avengers: Endgame.
Obsession just recently climbed past its second Marvel Studios blockbuster, having beat out The Marvels' $206 million and The Incredible Hulk's $264 million, something The Mandalorian & Grogu also managed to do in recent weeks.
Obsession's unprecedented success has made it hard to bet against in any regard, but one has to imagine it will gradually grind to a halt in the coming weeks. The Focus Features flick won't face any major new horror competition until Evil Dead Rise on July 10, but given that Obsession has gone right back to outperforming Backrooms just two weeks after its release, who knows if that can even stop it.
Obsession recently entered the Top 10 highest-grossing horror movies of all time domestically, with $188.38 million, currently ranking #7. It will have to surpass It: Chapter Two's $211.6 million to move up again before tackling The Exorcist's $233 million to enter the Top 5, which should be possible in the coming weeks, although it's tough to imagine it beating Sinners' $279.99 million to climb any higher.
While Obsession ought to cross $300 million worldwide this week, the odds are slim that it will reach the $400 million milestone. If all goes well in the coming weeks, Obsession still has a shot to beat out the rest of the MCU's bottom-five earners: Thunderbolts* ($325 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($370 million), and Black Widow ($379 million).
Is Obsession's Box Office Triumph a Red Flag for Avengers: Doomsday?
The MCU has only truly had two major successes since Phase 5 began three years ago: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Meanwhile, the studio has faced results ranging from disappointment to disaster with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and, just last year, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Naturally, Marvel Studios has a lot riding on Avengers: Doomsday to get the MCU back on track by regaining fans' interest, excitement, and wallets. The Avengers franchise's history should have box-office bets riding high, but the studio's recent string of disappointments has raised concerns that it could underperform.
In many ways, the recent box-office success of movies like Obsession and Backrooms, combined with The Mandalorian & Grogu flopping, has underscored the MCU's biggest problems. As audiences show greater interest in original IPs from fresh talent made on extremely low budgets, leading to greater profitability, one has to wonder whether Hollywood's blockbuster era is winding down.
Ultimately, Hollywood has always and always will have room for low-budget cinema and large-scale blockbusters to co-exist. But in an era when these originals can transform into viral sensations thanks to their uniqueness and sheer quality, that may be a great way to keep the biggest studios accountable for only producing and distributing the best movies possible.
While it's too early to tell how high Avengers 5's box office will go, fans will get a better idea of where interest in the MCU is at when Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters in July. The chances are low that Doomsday will reach Endgame's $2.8 billion or even Infinity War's $2 billion, but it has a good chance of exceeding The Avengers' $1.5 billion to become the franchise's third-biggest yet.
