{"id":2441575,"date":"2026-06-02T14:37:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2441575"},"modified":"2026-06-02T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:37:54","slug":"meet-curry-barker-obsession-director-and-former-youtuber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/meet-curry-barker-obsession-director-and-former-youtuber\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Curry Barker, Obsession director and former YouTuber"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">Director <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/magazines\/style\/people\/celebrities\/article\/3354879\/meet-megan-lawless-who-plays-sarah-obsession-curry-barkers-hit-horror-film?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\"><span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">Curry Barker\u2019s Obsession<\/span><\/a> was filmed in 20 days with a modest US$750,000 budget and a relatively unknown cast, but it may be one of this year\u2019s biggest films.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, the film was sold to Focus Features for US$15 million, breaking the record for the highest price paid for a film in the festival\u2019s history. Obsession had its theatrical release in the US on May 15 and has become a surprise blockbuster, grossing over US$95 million worldwide.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in Obsession. Photo: TNS\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/29\/143e616c-a822-46b6-ae85-74bfd5178a8e_595de0ff.jpg\" title=\"Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in Obsession. Photo: TNS\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in Obsession. Photo: TNS<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1xdhyk6 ec74h0k0\">The film follows a young man named Bear, played by Michael Johnston, who breaks a One Wish Willow \u2013 a \u201csupernatural trinket\u201d \u2013 in a hopeless attempt to earn the love of his long-time crush <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/magazines\/style\/people\/celebrities\/article\/3354079\/meet-inde-navarrette-who-plays-nikki-curry-barkers-hit-horror-film-obsession?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\"><span data-qa=\"Component-Text\" class=\"css-0 ef9u0v00\">Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette<\/span><\/a>. His wish is granted, but it comes with a sinister twist.<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Since the film\u2019s release and immense success, Barker, a 26-year-old former YouTuber, has become an overnight sensation with studios scrambling to sign him for his next film, which he has yet to pitch. He has even had an offer worth US$10 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Studios have been scrambling to sign Curry Barker after the success of Obsession. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/29\/918a1bc2-9be9-4eb9-8716-055e6c040abb_7390c88c.jpg\" title=\"Studios have been scrambling to sign Curry Barker after the success of Obsession. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Studios have been scrambling to sign Curry Barker after the success of Obsession. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Barker also recently signed a lucrative contract with A24 to direct a Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">So who is Curry Barker, the Gen-Z director who went from YouTube fame to Hollywood stardom overnight? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n<h3 type=\"h3\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"eh0yk8h0 css-17x7qa9 e1pqa4re1\"><strong data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component\" class=\"css-1mniedq ex3nmsa17\">Barker fell in love with horror as a child<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-bjn8wh e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Curry Barker\u2019s first brush with the horror genre was when he watched the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/05\/29\/b7afaf68-c5e2-4646-9410-5a8f9c7ca959_d7491f3d.jpg\" title=\"Curry Barker\u2019s first brush with the horror genre was when he watched the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Curry Barker\u2019s first brush with the horror genre was when he watched the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Photo: @curry.barker\/Instagram<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Curry Barker was born in September 1999 and spent his childhood in Alabama. When he was 11 years old, he watched his first ever horror film, the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.scmp.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Director Curry Barker\u2019s Obsession was filmed in 20 days with a modest US$750,000 budget and a relatively unknown cast, but it may be one of this year\u2019s biggest films. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, the film was sold to Focus Features for US$15 million, breaking the record for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2441576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[57960,350560,313033,479280,342346,368197,328980,22860,22693,479278,479279,402091,31190,318702,351740],"class_list":["post-2441575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-a","tag-a24","tag-alabama","tag-anything-but-ghosts","tag-box-office-mojo","tag-curry-barker","tag-focus-features","tag-hollywood","tag-los-angeles","tag-milk-serial","tag-new-york-film-academy","tag-obsession","tag-the-hollywood-reporter","tag-toronto-international-film-festival","tag-united-talent-agency"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Meet-Curry-Barker-Obsession-director-and-former-YouTuber.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2441577,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441575\/revisions\/2441577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2441576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}