Picture Credit: Focus Features
Focus Features’ and Curry Barker’s record-breaking horror thriller Obsession is officially preparing to scare up a massive streaming audience. Following its astonishing theatrical run this past spring, the Focus Features runaway hit has set its initial SVOD debut on Peacock for July 17th, 2026, which means we now know exactly when it will be heading to Netflix US.
World premiering to rave reactions at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival before hitting US theaters on May 15th, 2026, Obsession has been the undisputed horror event of the year. The film was written, directed, and edited by 26-year-old Curry Barker, who first built a massive following alongside his comedy partner Cooper Tomlinson on the YouTube sketch channel “that’s a bad idea,” before pivoting to viral horror with the micro-budget Milk & Serial..
Partially inspired by a classic The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror” episode, Obsession follows Bear (played by Teen Wolf alum Michael Johnston), a fiercely lonely and selfish music store employee. Desperate to win the heart of his crush, Nikki (Superman & Lois star Inde Navarrette), Bear breaks a mysterious novelty toy known as the “One Wish Willow.” He quickly finds himself getting exactly what he asked for, only to discover that his desires come with a dark, terrifying, and deeply sinister price.
The thriller features a stellar cast, starring Johnston and Navarrette alongside Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and veteran comedian Andy Richter.
To say Obsession was a success would be an incredible understatement. Hitting US theaters on May 15th, 2026 (and later moving to PVOD on June 30th), the film proved to be a historic, lightning-in-a-bottle blockbuster for Focus Features and their biggest movie to date.
In what’s easily my personal favorite movie of the year, it’s a film that gets into the brain and you’ll struggle to take it. It’s layered superbly for repeat viewings and the performances make it irresistable to look away.
Filmed on a micro-budget of just $750,000, the movie went on to gross a jaw-dropping $407 million at the global box office. The film’s success has instantly catapulted Barker into the spotlight as one of Hollywood’s hottest new filmmakers (he’s already been tapped to direct an A24 reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), while simultaneously rocketing its young cast into mainstream stardom Now, the viral phenomenon is gearing up to capture an even wider audience as it makes its transition to streaming beginning with Peacock before jumping to Netflix.
When exactly is Obsession coming to Netflix US?
As we’ve been tracking with our ongoing coverage of Universal Pictures movies coming in 2026 and beyond, the live-action slates for Universal and its subsidiary Focus Features follow a strict, fast-tracked 18-month Pay-1 window.
Much like we covered above with Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and You, Me & Tuscany, these films don’t come to Netflix immediately. Instead, they head to Universal’s own streaming service, Peacock, for an exclusive four-month window first. Obsession is set to make its SVOD debut on Peacock later this month on July 17th, 2026.
Exactly four months after that Peacock debut, the sinister secrets of the One Wish Willow will make their way to Netflix. That means Obsession will officially release on Netflix US on November 17th, 2026.
Once it arrives, it will remain on Netflix for exactly ten months before rotating back over to Peacock for the final four months of the Pay-1 window.
This is the United States only but other regions, like France for instance, also get Universal movies in a similar fashion. All other countries will have to wait across multiple windows over the coming years.
Will you be checking out Obsession when it arrives on Netflix this fall? Let us know in the comments down below.
