With six seasons of television and three feature films, the appeal of the Downton Abbey franchise is undoubtedly far-reaching. Though the legacy of the period drama will live on, one box office record that it had under its belt has been snatched away by a horror hit.
The long-running saga told the story of the titular estate and its inhabitants, with the stacked cast including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt and the late Maggie Smith.
The first film in the franchise, 2019's Downton Abbey, grossed over $194 million worldwide against a reported budget of $20 million, becoming the highest-grossing film in Focus Features' catalogue at the time.
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That record is gone, however, with the honour now going to horror film Obsession as it approaches a worldwide gross of $225 million. This is a seriously impressive feat, given it reportedly had a budget of around $750,000 (via Box Office Mojo).
Curry Barker's film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee who has romantic feelings for his co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He buys a supernatural toy and wishes for Nikki to fall in love with him, though it leads to disastrous consequences.
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In addition to its commercial success, Obsession was also lauded by critics and viewers alike, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting a near-perfect approval rating of 95% from 260 reviews. The audience score is slightly lower, at 94%.
In Digital Spy's five-star review of the film, we called the horror "exceptional" and "one of the year's best movies" so far, reserving praise for writer-director Barker and the "star-making" turn from Navarrette.
"Obsession is a properly good messed-up time precisely because you have no idea what comes next," we added. "You might think you know the destination, but Barker delights in taking twisted turns along the way."
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"It's the perfect next chapter for Barker... Obsession is satisfyingly slick proof that he knows just what to do when levelling up to a different platform," opined The Guardian, while The Daily Beast dubbed it a "deliriously pointed cautionary tale".
If you want to give Downton Abbey another watch, then the complete series is streaming on ITVX. The first film is on Netflix, while the third instalment - The Grand Finale - is available via Sky Cinema and NOW.
Obsession is in cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
