Focus Features’ micro-budget horror Obsession will hit Netflix on November 17, 2026, after a theatrical run that made it the studio’s highest-grossing release and a digital rental window that set a Prime Video record. The date is the result of a licensing structure that matters as much as the film itself.
The Netflix window
Under the Universal-Netflix deal, Netflix can license live-action and animated titles from Universal, DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features and other subsidiaries. These films arrive no later than eight months after their theatrical release and stay on Netflix for up to ten months before returning to Peacock.
Obsession opened in May 2026, so a November 17 premiere lands comfortably inside that structure. For buyers and planners, the practical point is a defined availability window: the title is not an indefinite Netflix library addition.
From $750,000 to $520 million
Directed by Curry Barker as his second feature, Obsession was made for $750,000. The Numbers reports its box office at $520 million. That run passed Downton Abbey to make it the highest-grossing film in Focus Features history, according to Castanet. Its fourth weekend dropped only seven percent—a horror record—and ticket sales grew for three straight weekends, a pattern not seen outside the holiday period since E.T.
The film stars Michael Johnston as Bear, who uses a mysterious toy to win over his crush Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, with a dark price attached. Barker has already finished his next project, Anything but Ghosts.
Why the Prime Video record matters
Since June 30, Obsession has been available as a premium rental on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. It quickly reached first place on Prime Video’s US purchase chart, ahead of Citizen Vigilante and The Devil Wears Prada 2. As of October 18, FlixPatrol puts it fifth in the US Prime Video movie chart—and its 108 days in the rental top 10 are a new record for the streamer.
It is also second on the Apple TV Store in the US. That long-tail demand is the signal media planners should watch: a film more than three months past its digital debut is still converting renters, which changes how platforms and distributors value windowing.
What this means for windowing strategies
For entertainment marketers, Obsession is a case study in stacking windows without cooling demand. Theatrical scarcity, then premium rental, then a subscription window with a hard end date gives each platform a distinct claim. The Universal-Netflix arrangement turns streaming rights into a finite campaign calendar rather than an open library—one reason platforms increasingly promote “now on Netflix” as an event, not a catalog fact.
The film’s chart durability also complicates the assumption that digital revenue collapses after the opening weekend. Buyers allocating against audience attention may need to treat rental-chart stay as a separate demand signal from opening box office.
- Budget: $750,000; box office: $520 million.
- Focus Features’ highest-grossing release, with a 7% fourth-weekend drop.
- 108 days in Prime Video’s US rental top 10, a platform record.
- Netflix window starts November 17, 2026 and runs up to ten months before reverting to Peacock.
