Obsession had a digital release date. Focus Features set it for June 2 – just 17 days after the film opened. Then the second weekend numbers came in, the date was quietly pulled, and it has not been rescheduled since. The film is still in theaters. No streaming date is confirmed. But the platform roadmap from digital rental to Peacock to Netflix is predictable if you know how Universal’s distribution deals work.
About Obsession
Obsession is a supernatural psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. Michael Johnston plays Baron “Bear” Bailey, a music store employee who has been in love with his co-worker Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette) for years without saying a word about it. He visits a crystal shop, buys her a novelty toy called the “One Wish Willow,” and breaks it – wishing for Nikki to fall in love with him.
She does. That is where the horror starts.
The wish does not give Nikki feelings. It gives her an obsession. Her attachment to Bear is violent and consuming, and the film spends 109 minutes showing what it looks like when you get exactly what you thought you wanted. The cast also includes Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter in supporting roles.
Is Obession movie streaming anywhere?
Focus Features released Obsession wide on May 15, 2026. It is still playing in cinemas across the United States, and given its box office trajectory, it is unlikely to leave anytime soon.
The film opened to $17.2 million in its first weekend, then grew 39% in its second weekend to $23.9 million – the largest second-weekend increase ever recorded for a wide-release horror film. A strong Memorial Day frame added another $32 million.
By early June, Obsession had crossed $224 million worldwide against a production budget of $750,000 to $1 million. That makes it Focus Features’ highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing the studio’s previous record-holder, Downton Abbey ($194.6 million worldwide in 2019).
You can find showtimes through Fandango, AMC, Regal, or Cinemark.
Why the streaming date keeps getting pushed?
This one requires a bit of context.
Universal and Focus Features have a COVID-era deal with theaters that lets them move films to digital within 17 days of release – but only if the movie earns under $50 million. Obsession opened to $17.2 million, which technically qualified it for an early home release.
A digital date of June 2 was quietly set. Then the second weekend happened.
The film grew 39% in its second weekend to $23.9 million. That kind of second-weekend growth for a non-franchise horror film had not happened before. Focus Features pulled the June 2 digital date. The third weekend grew again, making Obsession the first wide release outside of Christmas since E.T. in 1982 to grow for three straight weekends.
As of June 8, 2026, the film has earned $161 million domestically and $234.5 million worldwide against a production budget of under $1 million. Focus Features is not rushing this one home.
Also read: Where Was Obsession Filmed? Every Real Location Behind the 2026 Horror Thriller
When Will Obsession be available to Rent or Buy?
No date is confirmed, but the window is closing in.
Focus Features titles typically move to digital rental on a Tuesday, about 30 to 45 days after wide release. With Obsession now 27 days into its run and still performing, the most likely digital rental window is late June or early July 2026, with July 7 cited as a realistic target by several tracking sites, as it gives the film one more week before Universal’s The Odyssey arrives and reshuffles the box office.
Once it drops on digital, expect it on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google TV, and Fandango at Home. Both Apple TV and Prime Video already have listing pages live, you can add it to your watchlist now and get a notification when it goes live.
When will Obsession be on Peacock?
Peacock is where Obsession lands for its first subscription streaming window. Focus Features is distributed by Universal, and all Universal theatrical releases go to Peacock first under the studio’s long-standing NBCUniversal deal.
Universal typically holds horror films for about 91 days before their Peacock debut. Black Phone 2, Drop, Woman in the Yard, and Night Swim all hit that mark. Applying the same logic to Obsession puts a Peacock debut at mid-August 2026. Given the box office legs, September is also realistic.
After Peacock, the deal structure routes the film to Netflix for a 10-month window, followed by a return to Peacock. If Obsession lands on Peacock in August, the Netflix window opens around December 2026 or January 2027.
Will Obsession come to Netflix?
Yes, eventually. Universal struck a deal with Netflix in 2025 that sends live-action Universal titles to Netflix no later than eight months after theatrical release, following their initial Peacock window. Obsession falls under that agreement.
So the full roadmap looks like this:
| Window | Platform | Projected Timing |
| Theatrical | Cinemas | Now through ~July 2026 |
| Digital rental/purchase | Apple TV, Prime Video, Google TV | Late June – July 2026 |
| Subscription streaming | Peacock (exclusive) | August – September 2026 |
| Subscription streaming | Netflix (10-month window) | December 2026 – January 2027 |
| Returns | Peacock | ~Late 2027 |
Also read: Where to watch Backrooms (2026): Theaters, Streaming, and Everything You Need to Know
How Has Obsession Performed?
The numbers are unusual enough to list out.
- Opening weekend: $17.2 million
- Second weekend: Grew 30% – something that had not happened for a wide-release horror film outside of the holiday window
- Third weekend: Grew again, making it the first wide release since E.T. (1982) to grow for three consecutive weekends
- Fourth weekend: $25.6 million – the biggest non-holiday Monday through Sunday for a horror film on record, with only a 6.6% drop
- Domestic total as of June 8: $161 million
- Worldwide total as of June 8: $234.5 million
- Production budget: $750,000 to $1 million
The film surpassed Downton Abbey ($194.6 million worldwide) to become Focus Features’ highest-grossing film of all time and the top-grossing festival acquisition title ever, clearing Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004, $222 million). It currently sits as the 10th-highest-grossing film of 2026.
Producers & Creators
Curry Barker is 26 years old, grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and had no traditional industry background before this film. He co-runs the YouTube sketch comedy channel “That’s a Bad Idea” with Cooper Tomlinson, who also appears in Obsession.
Before this, Barker made a found-footage horror film called Milk & Serial in 2024 on an $800 budget. He wrote, directed, edited, and scored it himself. When no distributor picked it up, he posted it on YouTube for free. It hit 1.6 million views and made Variety’s list of the best horror films of 2024. That visibility landed him a deal with United Talent Agency.
Producer James Harris of Tea Shop Productions contacted Barker about a separate adaptation, and Barker pitched him on Obsession instead. Christian Mercuri of Capstone Pictures financed the film. Blumhouse came on board after Focus Features acquired it at TIFF in September 2025 for an estimated $15 million, the highest price ever paid for a genre film in TIFF history.
Barker and Tomlinson are now developing a second horror film for Blumhouse. Barker is also writing and directing a reimagining of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for A24.
Also read: Dredd (2012): Where to Watch, Cast, Streaming and Everything You Need to Know
Is it worth seeing in theaters?
The film has a 95–96% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Multiple reviewers have written specifically about the crowd experience that the reactions around you are part of what the film is designed for. One critic noted her theater was nearly full on a Friday afternoon, which is rare for any film, let alone a debut horror feature.
If you have the option to go now, the crowd energy is part of the movie. If waiting is more practical, digital rental lands in late June or July. Peacock subscribers are looking at August at the earliest.
Milk & Serial, Barker’s previous film, is free on YouTube if you want to see where his sensibility started before catching Obsession.
