Starbucks barista turned down $2M to rewrite his $750K horror film — it made $522M
aakashgupta · x · 2026-11-03
26-year-old Curry Barker wrote a horror script while working at Starbucks, shot it for $750K, and the film 'Obsession' has grossed $522M — the highest-grossing movie ever made for under $1M.
Studios offered him $2M — nearly 3x his entire budget — to turn the creepy lead into a hero. He refused, and it wasn't his first time walking away from easy money: when producer James Harris approached him to adapt his viral YouTube short 'The Chair', he pitched an original idea instead.
His playbook: make the idea that won't leave you alone. His first feature went online for free; 'Obsession' sold at TIFF for $16.2M with A24, Neon and Netflix bidding. The lead character was among America's most-searched Halloween costumes, and A24 has now signed him for a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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