Focus Features has officially dated Curry Barker’s next feature film, Anything But Ghosts, for a May 7, 2027 theatrical release. Co-written and starring Barker alongside Cooper Tomlinson, the project follows the box office performance of their breakout hit Obsession.
Focus Features Stakes Out Summer 2027 for Barker’s Next Big Swing
The summer box office belongs to Curry Barker once again. Following the run of Obsession, Focus Features is planting its flag for the director’s follow-up. Anything But Ghosts is locked in for a May 7, 2027 theatrical bow, echoing the mid-May launch window of Obsession.
Barker and co-writer Cooper Tomlinson broke the scheduling news on social media alongside a tongue-in-cheek reminder that public ticketing isn’t live quite yet. Behind the scenes, the heavy hitters are back in formation. Roy Lee and Steven Schneider are producing for Spooky Pictures alongside Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer, and Jason Blum for Blumhouse. The production roster also features executive producers Daniel Bekerman, Ben Ross of Image Nation, and the co-writers’ own banner, That’s a Bad Idea.
Essential Takeaways for Industry Watchers
- Release Strategy: Focus Features has slated Anything But Ghosts for May 7, 2027, replicating the mid-May window that launched Obsession.
- Star-Studded Expansion: While Barker and Tomlinson step in front of the camera as fame-seeking wannabe ghosthunters, the ensemble expands significantly to include Violet McGraw, Chris Reinacher, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Aaron Paul.
- Box Office Context: The project arrives on the heels of Obsession generating nearly $520 million globally against a production budget of $750,000.
Scaling Up From YouTube Roots to Major Studio Scale
The journey from self-funded YouTube sketches to headlining major studio slates represents a shift for Hollywood acquisition strategies. Barker first cut his teeth online before directing the micro-budget feature Milk & Serial, which quietly racked up close to 3M views. That raw DIY efficiency caught fire when Blumhouse Atomic Monster swooped in after Obsession tore through the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness section.
Focus Features eventually picked up Obsession for $15 million out of TIFF. The gamble paid off: the film pulled a domestic opening of $17.1M, surging 39% in its second weekend and climbing to a domestic final of $263.4M on its way to a global gross of nearly $520 million. That performance made it Focus’ highest-grossing film ever, while simultaneously unseating The Blair Witch Project as the highest-grossing movie ever acquired out of a film festival.
Scaling up to a proper studio production wasn’t without its growing pains, however. Speaking at a DGA panel covered by Deadline, Barker confessed that the production schedule for his latest feature tested his limits. “The hardest day on Obsession was the easiest day on Anything But Ghosts,” Barker admitted to the trade publication. “We had a 130-page script, and we had 26 days to shoot it. I’m also starring in it and directing and I’m the lead character. I have more lines than anyone in the movie.” He noted that filmmaker Zach Kregger and his manager both advised him to slash 30 pages from the script—advice he ultimately bypassed to preserve his vision, leaving him scrambling to complete coverage as the shooting window shrank.
Navigating a Crowded Summer 2027 Competitive Landscape
Securing the first Friday in May puts Anything But Ghosts directly in the crosshairs of early summer blockbuster real estate. Focus Features holds global distribution rights, with Universal Pictures International handling foreign territories. But the opening weekend is already shaping up to be a competitive battlefield.
| Release Date | Film Title | Distributor / Studio |
|---|---|---|
| April 30, 2027 | The Legend of Zelda | Sony Pictures |
| May 6–7, 2027 | The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One | Lionsgate |
| May 7, 2027 | Anything But Ghosts | Focus Features / Blumhouse Atomic Monster |
| May 7, 2027 | Beach Read | 20th Century Studios |
As detailed in Yahoo Entertainment coverage, Barker’s new feature opens against competition, most notably Lionsgate’s Mel Gibson-directed The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, which bows in early May. Sony is also staking out the tail end of April with its live-action adaptation of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda, while 20th Century Studios drops the adaptation of Beach Read the same weekend as Barker’s ghosthunting caper.
Yet, if Obsession proved anything, it is that Barker operates outside traditional demographic boxes. Studio executives across town are aggressively hunting for the next internet-native auteur who can convert digital followings into theatrical gold. Whether Anything But Ghosts can capture that lightning twice will determine if Barker is a generational box-office anomaly or the vanguard of a shift in Hollywood greenlight strategies.
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