Curry Barker’s excellent horror film, Obsession, just did something no movie has done in three years. It actually made more in its second week at the box office than in its first week. And while we don’t know how much it’ll make in its third week just yet, the filmmaker behind it might be making a lot.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, an unnamed Hollywood studio has offered Barker $10 million for the rights to his next film, sight unseen. But here’s where things get a little confusing. Barker’s actual next film is called Anything But Ghosts. It’s already been shot, and Focus, which released Obsession, has the rights. A24 has also attached Barker to a new film, either based on or somehow part of the world of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This isn’t either of those. This is whatever movie Barker makes next. An original film, like Obsession and Anything But Ghosts.
What’s even more interesting about the offer, though, is that it might not be enough. According to the trade, Universal, which owns Focus, has the first rights to whatever Barker makes next, and that could push the offer up considerably. Plus, there might be a third studio interested in bidding, too. All before Barker’s third weekend in release.
We’ll have to see where Barker’s next original idea ends up, what it even is, and how much it sells for. As for his actual next film, he told io9 about it earlier this month.
“It’s going to be really unique because it, to me, lives in the same world [as Obsession],” Barker said about Anything But Ghosts. “You could put these two movies side by side and go, ‘Yeah, like, they probably live [together].’ Like, the tone isn’t going to be a crazy shift, but I will say that it’s very different than Obsession in the aspect of like, the premise itself lends itself well to comedy. And so naturally, it’s a lot funnier. I mean, it’s about two ghost hunter con artists. So that premise alone just lends itself better to comedy in a way that this premise didn’t. So naturally, you’re going to get more comedic scenes. It’s me and Cooper [Tomlinson]. So it’s kind of a comedic duo. But also, we take the stakes very seriously. It should be set in a very real world.”
Have you seen Obsession yet? Do you think Barker is worthy of this hype? Let us know below.
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