{"slug": "how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession", "title": "How YouTube creator Curry Barker turned his filmmaking dreams into Obsession", "summary": "YouTube creator Curry Barker's horror film Obsession, made for US$750,000, has grossed over US$300 million worldwide, shocking Hollywood. The 26-year-old director built a following on YouTube before achieving this box office success.", "body_md": "# How YouTube creator Curry Barker turned his filmmaking dreams into Obsession\n\nBarker built a following making YouTube content. Now Obsession, his horror film made for US$750,000, has grossed over US$300 million\n\nDays before *Obsession* opened in cinemas across the US, its 26-year-old director, Curry Barker, made a bet with his manager and agent. They said if the film opened with more than US$20 million at the box office, they would all get tattoos.\n\n*Obsession* fell just short. It debuted with US$17 million. They were still thrilled. Barker made the horror film with just US$750,000. It was enormously successful. But then something unexpected happened. The following weekend, *Obsession* easily cleared US$20 million. And then it did again and again and almost a fourth time.\n\n“It was just like: holy cow. I didn’t think that was an option,” Barker says. “Now we’ve said if it hits US$300 million, we’ll all get the tattoo. We had to make a new milestone. And I think we’ll reach it.”\n\nOver the last month, *Obsession* has sent shock waves through Hollywood. Barker’s microbudget thriller has now indeed crossed the US$300 million mark worldwide, and it is still going. The film is scheduled for release in Hong Kong on July 1.\n\n```\nYouTube video player\n```\n\nBarker, who built a following making sketches and short films on YouTube, is living the dream of every aspiring filmmaker.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3357546/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-obsession?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-06-20 08:15:05+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-20 08:42:17.575329+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools"], "entities": ["Curry Barker", "Obsession", "YouTube", "Hollywood"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/how-youtube-creator-curry-barker-turned-his-filmmaking-dreams-into-obsession.jsonld"}}