As Curry Barker’s Obsession (read our review here) continues to defy expectations at the box office the horror film’s art director, Sally Choi, is sharing complaints about cross-department work that she’s had “for a long time.” Much to everyone’s surprise, Obsession is nearing the $175 million mark at the box office, but Choi only earned a $300-per-day salary while working on the project.
“I’ve debated this for a long time,” Choi wrote on Instagram. “I’ve been holding a lot of weight over the past two years since the production of ‘Obsession,’ so I’m going to say it as it is.”
Choi explains that Obsession was made for “$750K and is projected to make $250M. How much I made: $300/day as Art Director. This came out to $6,741.36 after taxes. No mileage.”
Before too many people could jump down her throat, as people on the internet are wont to do, Choi said that she agreed to the indie film’s production rate at a time when she was living paycheck to paycheck. “This is the reality of most filmmakers, especially those who work below the line. We become a line in the budget sheet to keep as low as possible,” she said. “I kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened,” Choi added.
Unfortunately, this type of thing happens a lot in the entertainment industry. Workers are grossly underpaid in countless professions, but when it comes to people like Hollywood crew members, comic book artists, and video game developers, many work for peanuts under contracts that exploit their hard work. This story makes me think about the creators of A-list Marvel Comics characters. Their compensation for creating characters that go on to star in films that gross hundreds of millions of dollars is deplorable, and it’s been an uphill battle to enact any change in their compensation and in the lasting residuals.
Meanwhile, the reactions to Choi’s story have been quite loud
“One thing people don’t understand about the film business is it’s feast or famine. You may not work for weeks or months so that money has to be saved and amortized,” film director Joseph Kahn emphasized on X, sharing screenshots of Choi’s Instagram.
Others criticized Choi for not looking at the film’s success as a valuable stepping stone, saying she’s burning bridges by “complaining” about her pay rate, which they argue is a livable wage.
“Do NOT cut every connection you have to the filmmakers, put out tweets about how you wish you’d shut down their production, and complain about the rate you agreed to (which isn’t even like $100 or some student film sketchiness),” wrote actor and director Luke Barnett.
Meanwhile, another user sided with Choi, saying, “I 100% believe that this studio/producers should give every person who worked on the obsession set a bonus since it’s made literally 250x its budget.”
What do you think about Choi’s situation? Would you push for contract reform? Do you feel she’s entitled to more money? Let us know in the comments section below.