The box office conversation has been dominated for the past couple of weeks by the dual successes of Backrooms and Obsession, low-cost horror movies that have captured audience attention and outperforming way “bigger” productions like The Mandalorian & Grogu and Masters of the Universe. But the conversation around Obsession may be changing, after a key crew member went viral by revealing how little she was paid for working on the project, which cost just $750k to make. Naturally, the post kicked off a wave of discourse that has seemingly split both industry insiders and fans.
Sally Choi, who worked as the Art Director on Obsession – her first major feature film project – revealed on Instagram that she was paid just $300 a day, and under $7000 in total after taxes. Choi says she is sharing her experience both to “have her peace” and to try and affect change in the industry. She admits she knew the pay ahead of time, and is aware that low-budget productions come with higher expectations, and her account is an interesting look into a mostly overlooked part of film productions at a time when under-the-line roles in filmmaking are even more at threat thanks to the insidious rise of AI as an “efficiency tool” to squeeze humans out and increase profits. Here’s her post in full:
“I’ve debated this for a long time. 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. obssn was made for $750K and is projected to make $250M. How much I made: $300/day as Art Director. This came out to $6741.36 after taxes. No mileage.
I did know the rate beforehand and agreed to it, but atp I 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. There were also crew on obssn who were volunteers, getting paid in gas and mileage. This wasn’t even paid on time, so to make a $250M grossing film, some of these amazing people had to come out of pocket to work on set.
I kick myself every single day for not flipping this production. I was encouraged not to and I naively listened. As is the case for most low budget productions, everyone has to wear many, many hats. Though my official title is art director, I was also a PA, set dresser, graphic designer, background actor, driver, swing, and buyer. I was doing runs for the art dept (again, no mileage). I was shopping, loading, returning while the rest of the crew were on set (Thank you Jeff Barker for helping me during those times). I had to wrap Bear’s House that was left an absolute mess without water or crafties left behind. I shopped an entire location (Ian’s house) and loaded the truck the same day for shoot the next day which also happened to be an overnight.
It took such a physical toll on my body that I kept losing weight, weighing 90lbs during this production. I say all this to finally have my peace. I know this is bigger than Obsession (or Curry and his team, It’s not about that). I know this is even bigger than the film industry. If you feel called to have this discussion w me, please do so. I’m willing to be wrong bc I know I’m probably missing information and my perspective is just a drop in the bucket. if you were a crew member on obsession and feel called to share your rate, maybe we can turn a tide in the film industry.”
Obsession’s Art Director Prompts Support and Backlash
Courtesy of Focus Features
Inevitably, the Internet has thoughts about Choi’s post. As well as a wave of support from those outraged by how little her pay represents of the movie’s projected $250 million take, there’s also some more critical takes. Some industry insiders have come out to reveal more context to why the low pay is worse than a $300 a day rate might seem to outsiders. Director Joseph Kahn (who made the excellent Ick) posted on X to reveal the reality of living and working in the industry in Los Angeles, reflecting on the true breakdown of the pay:
“Art director making $300 a day is a livable wage.”
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.
Then the Obsession crew lives in LA, so they’re paying the… pic.twitter.com/xYHuS0Dd9A
— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) June 5, 2026
Some more cynical takes have suggested that Choi’s post is a bad idea because it may impact her future employment opportunities and “isn’t the right way to go about it.” Sadly, that sort of mentality is too prevalent in established systems that require the quiet participation and endorsement of the people most exploited by the status quo. If nobody speaks out, nothing changes, and holding the threat over someone sharing their own experience is a bad look. There is nuance here, of course, as some other posts (like one by actor Luke Barnett) have pointed out: the production wouldn’t have been made for $750k had wages been higher or the crew been bigger, Choi was very early in her career, and the pay was established ahead of time. But none of that changes how a likely $250 million success looks when the people who worked hard on making it possible end up being overlooked. It’s far from a straightforward question.
Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg reacted to the success of Obsession and Backrooms while at an early screening of Disclosure Day. In a red carpet interview with Popdrop, he echoed most of the sentiment around the smaller indie films doing so well: “I’m so happy for them. I think it’s so fantastic. I think it’s great that they had basically very little money, especially Obsession had under $1 million, and the other film had maybe 10 or nine, and they’re doing so well, and I just applaud them. I haven’t seen Backrooms; I am going to see it when all this is over. But I have seen Obsession, and I loved it.”
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