Curry Barker’s independent horror movie sensation Obsession, starring Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston, is already coming to Peacock this week, just over two weeks after the film made its digital streaming debut on premium video on demand.
Written and directed by Barker, Obsession tells the twisted romantic tale of Bear (Johnston), who has an enormous crush on his co-worker, Nikki (Navarrette), yet lacks the courage to tell her. Desperate to win Nikki’s affection, Bear uses a new age novelty item — the One Wish Willow — to wish his friend to love would more him more than anyone in the world. The wish surprigingly comes true, but it comes with the unintended consequences as Nikki’s obsession with Bear turns deadly.
Written and directed by Barker, Obsession — which was produced for $750,000 and acquired for about $15 million by Focus Features at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival — has since its May 15 theatrical debut become one of the biggest hits of 2026.
Through Sunday, the film has earned $426.7 million at the worldwide box office to date, with $253.3 million of the tally coming from North American ticket sales and $173.3 million internationally.
Because of Obsession’s massive box office success, Focus Features delayed the film’s PVOD release to give the film a 45-day theatrical window. As such, the film became available to purchase or rent digitally on June 30.
Now, as the film continues to play in theaters and is performing strongly on PVOD, Focus Features, a Universal Pictures subsidiary, is taking unusual steps and bringing the film to NBC Universal’s Peacock streaming service much earlier than expected.
‘Obsession’ Will Begin Streaming On Peacock On Friday
Focus Features announced last week that Obsession will make its SVOD debut on Peacock on Friday, July 17.
Peacock offers two streaming tiers to stream movies on the subscription platform. Peacock Premium, which is an ad-based tier, costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year, while the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus tier costs $16.99 per month or $169.99 per year.
Obsession’s arrival on Peacock this week comes a mere 17 days after the film debuted on SVOD. By contrast, the Focus Features release Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Best Actress Oscar nominee Kate Hudson, made its debut on Peacock on Feb. 13, 31 days after its SVOD debut on Jan. 13.
Also, Focus’ Best Picture Oscar nominee, Bugonia, followed the same strategy and arrived on SVOD on Peacock on Dec. 26, 2025, 31 days after the film’s SVOD debut on Nov. 25, 2025.
Effectively, it appears that Obsession is sticking to the same theatrical-to-SVOD strategy as Bugonia and Song Sung Blue, with the exception that the blockbuster horror thriller had an extended, 45-day theatrical window.
Had Obsession arrived on PVOD a month after its theatrical release like Bugonia and Song Sung Blue, its SVOD date wouldn’t have seemed so sudden.
Rated R, Obsession also stars Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter. Over the weekend, in the film’s ninth week of release, Obsession earned another $3.8 million for a No. 7 finish at the domestic box office.
