In years to come, there’s every chance that 2026 will be remembered as the year of Obsession. Sure, there have been bigger hits this year (Toy Story 5, The Odyssey, etc.), but those were films that were more-or-less expected to become cultural touchpoints. Obsession, on the other hand, was a small-budget horror film that had been scooped up by Blumhouse and Focus Features at a film festival in 2025 and was getting a mid-May release date as a bit of counterprogramming. Given that the film was sandwiched between the release of big-budget releases like Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Mandalorian and Grogu, little was expected of Obsession.
However, between glowing reviews and stellar word of mouth, the film’s popularity spread like wildfire, leading to it becoming a genuine phenomenon. I don’t think that anybody thought that audiences would still be ravenously discussing Obsession at this point in the year, including the folks who made Obsession, but here we are. And now, Focus Features is seizing upon the moment and revealing that come awards season, they will be mounting a full across-the-board campaign in an effort to get Obsession some love from the Academy Awards.
The release reveals that Focus will be pushing for awards in categories such as Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Cinematography, Original Score, Casting, Sound, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Production Design. All of this is immensely fascinating for a number of reasons. First off, this is not the kind of treatment that your average (or frankly, any) horror film gets. Historically, horror has been an under-loved genre during awards season, especially at the Oscars. However, that has begun to shift in recent years, with something like Sinners winning big last year across multiple categories, so that might have spurred on some of the gusto behind these choices.
But furthermore, it is clear that Focus Features sees Obsession as a unique opportunity in terms of being an awards contender and is making a statement by pushing for all of these categories simultaneously. Like, I full-tilt love Andy Richter. As a lifelong Conan O’Brien fan, Andy is very much my guy. I watched Dancing with the Stars just to see him last season, and I audibly gasped when he popped up as a bit player in Obsession. But let’s be honest with ourselves here, folks, campaigning for Any Richter to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in the film? You only do that if you are looking to mount a full-court push.
Where Obsession seems to really have a shot at winning gold is in the form of Inde Navarrette’s titular performance, which everyone seems to agree should, at the very least, net the new star an Oscar nomination. If the campaign is successful enough, I could see director Curry Barker getting some love somewhere for his trifecta of writing, directing, and editing, and hell, I’d even argue that Michael Johnson probably does deserve a nomination for Best Actor, which is a massively under-praised part of the film. And the film’s reputation as the breakout underdog story of the year will certainly help it on the road to awards season. But will it be enough to get it to break into the big leagues and net a Best Picture nomination? Only time will tell.
Add us as a preferred source on Google