Obsession is the most financially successful movie of the year, so far, which sounds ridiculous because the film’s box office currently sits at $85 million worldwide after roughly two weeks in theaters.
The Mandalorian and Grogu made more than that in the first four days alone. So why is Grogu dismissed as a potential failure, while Obsession is hailed as a success? Well, Grogu had a $300 million budget.
Obsession, on the other hand, was made for an estimated $750,000. In other words, it made 16 times its budget within the first weekend alone (it opened with $17 million). The supernatural horror follows a music store employee who wants his childhood friend to fall in love with him.
When he expresses this desire to a supposedly supernatural toy, he does not expect the toy to actually grant his wish, and neither does he predict the disastrous consequences that follow.
Obsession debuted in Uganda’s biggest cinemas three weeks ago. It lingered for roughly seven days before they erased it from the schedule. This curse befalls most horror releases in Uganda.
When they appear on the schedule, you have mere days to watch them before they disappear, which is easier said than done, because most of them are restricted to one showtime, typically late at night (10pm).
That said, you can’t blame cinemas. I watched Sam Raimi’s Send Help within the first five days of its release, and the cinema was empty. This happens with most horror releases. I’m almost always alone when I watch them, so of course, Ugandan cinemas restrict their showtimes.
What is the point of assigning a full month of day-long showtimes to a film no one cares about? That raises an even bigger question. How come Ugandans are so apathetic to horror?
I thought it was a race thing, as in, black people in Europe and the USA routinely ridicule white people for jumping out of planes, climbing mountains, swimming with sharks, and seemingly going out of their way to die for the sake of the adrenaline rush. Horror falls into a similar category.
The brain finds pleasure in the adrenaline spike a jump scare generates. In that regard, you would expect black people to reject the genre the same way they reject bungee jumping. After all, what is the point of paying someone to scare you?
But the available evidence shows that young people and minorities (including black people) actually flock towards horror. As such, you would expect Ugandans to favour the genre. The country is predominantly black, and most Ugandans are young (78 percent are below 30).
Additionally, the largest consumers of horror worldwide include Mexico, South Korea, and Indonesia, nations where folklore, superstition, and the macabre are interwoven into their cultures.
Guess which other country is saturated with folklore, superstition, and the macabre? Uganda. The country has almost as many shrines as it does churches and mosques. Conversations about ghosts, demons, and ghouls are common.
We should feel right at home in the horror genre. And yet, horror films continue to underperform in Uganda. Some may argue that Ugandans take the supernatural so seriously that they can’t bring themselves to see the entertainment value behind horror flicks like Obsession.
But that explanation falls apart once you realize that Mexico has an entire holiday called ‘The Day of the Dead’, where (they believe) their ancestors return from the afterlife to join them in celebration.
Mexicans are just as serious about the supernatural as we are, but they love horror. Maybe I’m overthinking things. Maybe it’s a simple matter of taste. Maybe horror just does not appeal to Ugandan sensibilities, which is perfectly fine. However, it also annoys me that I keep missing out on new horror releases in cinemas because Ugandans refuse to support them. k
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