The King of Horror has given his stamp of approval to Obsession, this year’s breakout hit horror movie.

Stephen King, the prolific author of best-selling horror novels including It, Carrie and The Shining, applauded the May release Tuesday in a two-line review on Threads.

“I gave OBSESSION a B+ in my movie book, but I keep thinking about it,” King, 78, wrote of YouTuber Curry Barker’s directorial feature film debut. “That weird mixture of humor and horror.”

Obsession — which follows the dangerous consequences of a hopeless romantic’s (Michael Johnston) naive wish for his crush (Inde Navarrette) to love him back — has been a massive box-office success, grossing over $297 milion worldwide off a micro-budget of approximately $750,000 to $1 million.

It has earned major plaudits from critics and a 94 percent score on the popular review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

In her four-star review, The Independent’s Clarrisse Loughrey labeled Obsession “one of the creepiest horror movies of 2026.”

The new sensation marks 26-year-old Barker’s first feature film. He previously directed the 2024 found-footage, prank-themed horror Milk & Serial, which he shot for $800 and uploaded directly to YouTube.

Obsession’s theatrical release coincided with that of fellow YouTuber Cane Parson’s directorial debut, Backrooms, a horror film adapted from his popular YouTube series about liminal spaces. The movie has similarly taken the box office by storm.

The success of both projects signals a fresh direction for the genre, leading Loughrey to declare that “the future of horror is on YouTube.”

“Gone is any feeling of Gothic tenderness, of the misunderstood going bump in the night. Here, the generation exposed to what feels like only the very worst of the world has responded in kind, with horror in which punishment is swift, nasty, and arguably well deserved,” she added. “Obsession is delicately handled work, unafraid to find pockets of humor.”

Meanwhile, King, who often shares his opinion about TV and film online, recently directed his followers’ attention to Apple TV+’s new dark comedy, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.

Starring Tatiana Maslany as Paula, a newly divorced mom who becomes convinced she witnessed a crime, the show centers on her spiral into a rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer.

Comparing it to the streamer’s Matthew Rhys-led comedy horror series Widow’s Bay, King argued that it was “even better.”

“It’s like Hitchcock came back to do it one more time,” The Long Walk author said on X. “And Tatiana Maslany is so good. The play of emotions on her face is pretty incredible. She goes from comic to terror in an instant.”

Last September, he also revealed his list of 10 favorite films of all time, which consisted of Sorcerer (1977), Godfather 2 (1974), The Getaway (1972), Groundhog Day (1993), Casablanca (1942), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Jaws (1975), Mean Streets (1973), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Double Indemnity (1944).

‘Toy Story 5’

Directed by Andrew Stanton (PG)

★★★

“Toy Story 5,” the latest installment to one of Disney Pixar’s longest-running franchises, topped the box office this weekend.

The tech-fueled tale, led by fan favorite characters Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, earned $160 million for its opening weekend at the domestic box office and a global total of $312 million, according to Rentrak Data. The animated feature now holds the biggest box office opening of the year, further signaling what could be a massive summer for theaters.

Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” came in second at the box office with a domestic haul of $17 million. “Obession,” “Backrooms” and “Scary Movie” rounded out the top five.

“Toy Story 5” features the original cast, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack as Jessie. The story follows the beloved band of toys as they grapple with the introduction of technology into their home, with a tablet named Lilypad. The production budget for “Toy Story 5” is about $150 million to $200 million, and a crew of about 300 people worked on the film at Pixar’s Emeryville, Calif., headquarters.

“Tech versus toys is a very easy concept for families and parents to grasp. Every family goes through that to some degree,” said Andrew Cripps, head of theatrical distribution for Walt Disney Studios.

With the successes of “Inside Out 2” and “Zootopia 2,” sequels have proved to be dependable releases for Disney and Pixar in recent years. But “Toy Story” has been a steadfast juggernaut for the entertainment giant. This new release marks a new debut weekend record for the 31-year-long franchise, beating the nearly $121-million opening of 2019’s “Toy Story 4.” The original opened with $29 million in 1995, 1999’s “Toy Story 2” hit $57 million, and the third installment from 2010 received $110 million.

“The franchise is just so big,” Cripps added. “It’s in the theme parks. The consumer products keep it alive. It’s been 31 years with five movies, so it’s not like it’s overstayed its welcome. They’re very good at Pixar. They tell a story when they have a story worthwhile telling, and it feels like this one was worthwhile.”

Across the franchise’s lifetime, “Toy Story” has grossed more than $3 billion worldwide. The new movie also landed the second-highest animated opening weekend of all-time, behind only “Incredibles 2,” which earned $182 million.

Building off the surprise successes of budget horror films like “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” “Toy Story 5” brings yet another major boost to this year’s box office. Domestic ticket sales are up over last year, and Roth Capital Partners forecasts the second quarter will climb 6.5% to $2.8 billion.

With this uptick, there’s a chance the box office could climb back to pre-pandemic numbers. The 2026 box office is tracking 1.1% behind the summer of 2019 and 16% ahead of last year, according to Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak data.

“The industry’s on a roll,” Dergarabedian said. “There’s some unpredictable things that have happened so far this year, with the holdover strength of ‘Project Hail Mary,’ ‘Michael’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’ Their worldwide grosses are incredibly impressive. It’s a phenomenon.”

“Toy Story 5” is just the first of several theatrical tentpoles hitting the big screen later this summer. Rentrak predicts this could be another $4-billion summer season domestically, following in the steps of the 2023 “Barbenheimer” summer.

Warner Bros.’ DC Studios has “Supergirl” landing later this month. Universal Pictures and Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters,” Disney’s live-action “Moana,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” are all lined up for releases in July.

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.