Midnight Madness delivers again as $750K Obsession hits $516M and River sells
A US$750,000 horror film that took US$516 million at the box office has turned Toronto's late-night slot into the deal to watch, according to Deadline.
The film is Curry Barker's Obsession. It debuted in the Midnight Madness programme, the Toronto International Film Festival's after-hours section for genre films, a year before the 2026 edition. The 2026 festival was the 51st edition.
The budget was US$750,000. The box office return was US$516 million. Both figures were reported on 21 September 2026. Focus Features had earlier acquired stateside rights, meaning the right to release the film in the United States, for US$15 million, according to Deadline.
This year buyers circled another Midnight title. Josh Giuliano's River was acquired from IFC by Blumhouse and Universal in a deal worth more than US$10 million, according to Deadline. Sony, Focus, Paramount, A24 and Netflix had shown interest before the sale.
River was written and directed by Giuliano. It stars Jessica Rothe, Jane Levy and Max Mattern as three siblings who reunite to scatter their estranged father's ashes.
Their boat gets wedged under a bridge. They are then stalked by two masked killers, one on each side of the river.
The shoot stayed wet. The production spent 14 of its 22 shooting days on the water. Twelve days were filmed on a fishing pond that stood in for the main location, while the bridge scenes used the real Monongahela River in West Virginia.
It was all done in real outdoor locations. No tank work was used, which means no giant studio water tank with a built set. Night scenes were shot for real in the pond and the river. Nick Matthews was the director of photography, the person in charge of camera and lighting.
River also has a credit scene with a time jump and a cliffhanger. Giuliano said he has no formal plans for a sequel.
Another Midnight title put its story on the page plainly. Vintage Violence was written and directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko, according to Deadline. It stars Cole Sprouse as Carter and Kiko Mizuhara as Izumi.
Carter is an urban explorer who finds rare denim in a mineshaft. He travels to Tokyo to sell it, and he and Izumi run into the yakuza, Japan's organised crime groups.
What makes this stand out for festival watchers is the maths. Small budgets, loud late shows and quick sales can reset a calendar.
The wider 51st edition ran for 10 days of premieres and gala presentations, according to Deadline. Variety listed 12 films for sale to watch at TIFF 2026, according to Variety. TheWrap picked nine of the buzziest sales titles, according to TheWrap, including Zack Snyder's The Last Photograph and Caleb Hearon's Trash Mountain.
