Inde Navarrette Lands Palm Springs Rising Star Award, Putting the ‘Obsession’ Breakout Firmly in the Oscar Race

Every awards season has a name that nobody saw coming at the start of the year. Sometimes it is a veteran finally getting their due, and sometimes it is a performer who arrives out of nowhere and refuses to leave the conversation.

This year, that name belongs to a horror lead whose film cost almost nothing and earned a fortune. Her latest honor signals that the industry is taking her seriously.

Inde Navarrette, the breakout star of Focus Features’ horror hit ‘Obsession,’ will receive the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, Variety has learned exclusively. She joins a growing list of honorees that already includes Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, who share the Vanguard Award for ‘The Invite.’

The timing is significant. A Palm Springs honor is a critical stop on the Oscar campaign trail, and the Rising Star Award has a strong track record as an Oscar bellwether.

Navarrette’s performance has already been singled out by critics as gripping and emotionally charged. The film also picked up a Gotham Award nomination, and her turn has put her firmly in the best actress conversation.

Focus Features has leaned into that. The studio is mounting a broad awards push for ‘Obsession,’ with Navarrette campaigning in the Best Actress category and other campaigns planned for her co-stars and director Curry Barker.

The film’s rise is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Writer-director Curry Barker, a 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, made ‘Obsession’ in just 20 days on a budget of about $750,000.

It premiered in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 5, 2025. Studios entered a bidding war, and Focus Features reportedly acquired it for around $14 million.

Since opening in US theaters on May 15, 2026, it has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, the largest total for a Focus Features release. It premiered to rave reviews and holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to Variety.

The film’s performance defied expectations from the start. It opened with an estimated $16.1 million domestically, landing in third place behind ‘Michael’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’

Then something unusual happened. Its second weekend grew by 30% over opening, to $22.4 million. Producer Jason Blum called it the only wide-release horror film on record to grow in its second weekend at that scale.

Word of mouth drove that surge, along with a heavy social media presence. Some of Navarrette’s most outlandish scenes went viral and became memes, a phenomenon she has said surprised her but does not bother her.

Navarrette plays Nikki Freeman, the coworker whose life is upended when a shy music shop employee named Bear, played by Michael Johnston, breaks a novelty wishing stick. The wish is that she loves him as much as he loves her, and the consequences are sinister.

Critics have praised her volatile shift between docile and aggressively dependent behavior. Barker has said she brought a natural, relaxed personality that helped make Nikki believable before the horror elements emerged.

She has already won recognition elsewhere. Her honors include a Critics’ Choice award and the Best Performance prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, and IMDb presented her with a Breakout STARmeter Award.

First trailer for ‘OBSESSION’ spin-off ‘THE BARTENDER FROM OBSESSION’ Starring The Bartender from ‘OBSESSION’ https://t.co/nlKD3oe6dP

— Cinema Solace (@SolaceCinema) September 25, 2026

Navarrette’s schedule has filled up fast. She has been cast as Rogue in the MCU’s X-Men reboot and has filmed the horror film ‘Invertigo.’ She is also signed on to star in the Apple Studios thriller ‘The Waffle House Index,’ on which she is an executive producer.

Barker, meanwhile, has finished ‘Anything But Ghosts’ and is attached to direct A24’s remake of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.’ Navarrette has said fans can look out for an Easter egg referencing her character in that comedy.

Whether the Academy rewards a horror performance remains an open question. But with a major precursor honor on the way, Navarrette is no longer an underdog story, but a genuine contender.

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