{"id":88409,"date":"2026-09-28T03:12:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T19:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=88409"},"modified":"2026-09-28T03:12:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T19:12:58","slug":"netflix-tried-to-bring-obsession-straight-to-streaming-before-it-exploded-in-theaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=88409","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Tried to Bring Obsession Straight to Streaming Before It Exploded in Theaters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Director Curry Barker said Netflix bid to put <u>Obsession<\/u> straight to streaming before Focus Features helped it become the biggest box office success story of 2026.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The comedian-turned-horror-filmmaker talked about the early days of his record-breaking low-budget flick during a conversation on <u>Q with Tom Power<\/u>. We all know how Obsession turned out, but Barker said offers for the project nearly kept it out of theaters for a very different life as a streaming exclusive.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Barker said an early screening almost immediately resulted in &#8220;everybody&#8221; putting in offers to distribute Obsession. Neon, Focus, A24, and more wanted to bring Barker&#8217;s twisted monkey&#8217;s paw tale under their banner. Focus eventually won the war, but not before Netflix offered to throw a wrench into things.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;All of these companies are wanting to do your movie,&#8221; Barker recalled hearing from his manager. &#8220;At this time, I&#8217;m still thinking maybe small theatrical release. Maybe they just want to acquire it, and also, as a director, I&#8217;m thinking, I&#8217;m scared of, &#8216;Are they going to want to change my movie? Are they going to want to take out certain parts that I like?&#8217;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;So many questions were being thrown around. I think Netflix was in the conversation at one point. They put in an offer to just put it straight on Netflix. All of these conversations started.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">With the <u>odd exception<\/u>, Netflix has infamously strayed from theatrical releases in the past. Before Paramount swooped in to acquire Warner Bros., the streaming giant was <u>reportedly only interested in keeping its new slate of films in theaters for a little more than two weeks<\/u>. Its movie boss, Dan Lin, said in June that <u>the company &#8220;just won&#8217;t work with&#8221; filmmakers who push to bring their films to theaters<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The Best Horror Movie of 2025<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"As usual, there were a bunch of horror movies to check out in 2025. The genre never has a lack of new contributions, thanks in part to its relatively low bar of entry for up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as to audiences\u2019 never-ending appetite for stuff that will thrill them. Some of these new horror flicks of 2025 were great, some were good, some were just OK, and plenty were, shall we say, not great at all.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;There were sequels like The Conjuring: Last Rites, Final Destination: Bloodlines and Five Nights at Freddy's 2. There were fresh new concepts like Weapons and Sinners (more on those two below). And there were dog POV ghost stories too! (Actually, even Steven Soderbergh got into the ghost point-of-view party with Presence this year.)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;Oh, and let\u2019s not forget Stephen King adaptations. The author\u2019s legacy was present on the big screen throughout the year (and the small screen as well with Welcome to Derry), from Osgood Perkins' fun adaptation of The Monkey to Francis Lawrence\u2019s intense The Long Walk and, most recently, Edgar Wright\u2019s non-horror spin on The Running Man.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;But what was the best horror of the year? Read on\u2026\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">All signs point to a streaming-exclusive release for Obsession should Barker have signed with Netflix \u2013 but we all know that&#8217;s not what happened. Instead, audiences spent months swarming movie theaters to see how stars Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, and Megan Lawless helped bring the director&#8217;s vision to life. It brought home <u>massive early returns<\/u> at the box office on its notably low $750,000 budget and then <u>continued to surprise<\/u> before reaching an unbelievable global total of $519.4 million (via <u>Box Office Mojo<\/u>).<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It was an unprecedented run that almost didn&#8217;t happen if Netflix had proved victorious. There&#8217;s no telling if Obsession would have had the same impact if it remained available to stream from the start, but Barker and company are probably happy enough with how things turned out. Although he and Tomlinson are still working on getting their next feature, Anything But Ghosts, ready for release, the director does have some ideas for a sequel in mind, even if <u>it will be a while before Obsession 2 gets off the ground<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"poll-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">For more, you can read what Barker had to say about <u>Gen Z&#8217;s opinions on &#8220;slop&#8221; in movies<\/u>. You can also check out <u>how Universal brought Navarrette&#8217;s Nikki to Halloween Horror Nights<\/u> and then see <u>IGN&#8217;s top-reviewed horror movies of the year<\/u>. Obsession, for example, earned an <u>8\/10<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"author-sign-off\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><span class=\"stack jsx-59817748 jsx-1927875859\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-444076027 jsx-4218469134 profile-thumb jsx-2141281959 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1\"><img alt=\"Michael Cripe Avatar\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image profile-thumb-img jsx-249361588 jsx-2338608387 expand\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/5205bf6a08586a205a834928\/Michael_blue_red_2-1700460435246.png?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 1x, https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/5205bf6a08586a205a834928\/Michael_blue_red_2-1700460435246.png?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;dpr=2&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 2x\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-3630940851\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-702910195 author-sign-off-header\"><\/p>\n<p>Michael Cripe<\/p>\n<p>Freelance Writer<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-1220387432\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"author-sign-off-socials\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 author-sign-off-socials\"><button type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"listbox\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-label=\"View social links\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 socials-trigger\"><span title=\"X\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 social-icon-avatar\"><span class=\"ign-icon jsx-2877214176 jsx-2750866048 jsx-2788214270\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"jsx-2877214176\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/Twitter.d0b97af5.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><span title=\"Bluesky\" class=\"jsx-2877214176 social-icon-avatar\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon jsx-2877214176 jsx-2750866048 jsx-2788214270\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"jsx-2877214176\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/Bluesky.d8b4aa9b.svg?cors=0\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"interface jsx-1132626198 sign-off-text\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He&#8217;s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/section>\n<p><\/output><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/netflix-tried-to-bring-obsession-straight-to-streaming-before-it-exploded-in-theaters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Director Curry Barker said Netflix bid to put Obsession straight to streaming before Focus Features helped it become the biggest box office success story of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2751,24088,5916,5417,1435,7445,11847],"class_list":["post-88409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-bring","tag-exploded","tag-netflix","tag-obsession","tag-straight","tag-streaming","tag-theaters","wpcat-32-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/88410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}