Obsession is the breakout horror hit of 2026. Not just horror, but really any film released this year, on its way to hit $100+ million at the box office at a reported $750,000-$1 million budget, which is almost unheard of.
Now, it’s done something else almost unheard of. Obsession’s second weekend has actually earned 39% more than its first, one of the only films to hit a mark that high this century, indicating almost unprecedented word of mouth. It earned $23.9 million, even going up against the first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which made $81 million.
What is the Obsession streaming release date?
All of this raises a question: How long will Obsession stay in theaters, and what is its streaming/paid-video-on-demand release date? Well, things have gotten complicated.
Before/during Obsession’s release, it was reported that it may hit paid streaming service rental/purchase on Tuesday, June 2, which would have been under two weeks after its debut. Very, very short, but not unheard of for a low-budget horror movie that may not have had a big haul, and wasn’t worth keeping in theaters for an overly long time.
Obviously, that is the opposite of what happened, and if that was the plan before, it’s certainly not now. Variety spoke to Jason Blum of Obsession distributor Blumhouse about the issue:
“[It’s a] big topic of conversation at the moment,” Blum said, and that he’s a“big believer in a long, consistent theatrical window.”
“It’s great the audience is aware of it. You would think they would say, ‘I want to buy it at home.’ But they’re actually cheering for the movie to stay in theaters longer.” Blum said. “People cherish the theatrical experience, and they’re willing to give up the convenience of seeing something at home to keep their local theater alive.”
So, this is clearly an indication that Obsession will stay in theaters longer rather than shorter. With Blumhouse, specifically, they repotedly have had a system where movies that make under $50 million get a 17-day, very short window. Over $50 million extends that to 31 days, at minimum. And it should be noted a mostly “standard” window for theatrical release is 45 days in the larger industry.
If we’re using the Blumhouse rule, which is meant to be five weekends in total, the end of that would be Tuesday, June 16, where movies generally hit PVOD on Tuesdays. If we’re doing 45 days instead, that would be June 28, with a June 30 PVOD on that Tuesday.
That is streaming via PVOD, the next step is heading to a streaming service where subscribers can watch for “free” with a subscription. That’s a lot more variable, but it may take 30 to 60 days after a movie hits PVOD. Blumhouse has a deal with Universal, meaning the first place Obsession would be likely to go is Peacock. But another deal means it may head to Netflix for some number of months after that.
Through all this, the best bet is probably a balance between a longer theatrical release but also getting it on streaming without making non-theater-goers wait too long. That means the 31-day, 5-weekend rule may be applied here. If it grows into a total box-office monster beyond what we’re seeing, that may be extended further. And from everything we can see, it might.
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