Remember when Hollywood became obsessed with “Obsession”? Now, it seems Hollywood is becoming obsessed with Inde Navarrette. The breakout star of Curry Barker’s horror sensation is officially entering the awards race, with Focus Features launching a Best Actress campaign for her performance in the film.
At the same time, the 25-year-old actress has landed the lead role in Apple Original Films’ upcoming sci-fi thriller “The Waffle House Index.”
Navarrette’s rise comes alongside the remarkable success of Obsession, which transformed its young cast and filmmaker into some of Hollywood’s most talked-about names.
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From horror breakout to Oscar hopeful
Navarrette stars as Nikki in “Obsession,” the low-budget horror film that became one of the year’s biggest theatrical surprises.
Despite costing less than $1 million to make, the movie has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, with Navarrette’s performance emerging as a key part of its growing awards-season momentum.
According to Variety, Focus Features is campaigning Navarrette for Best Actress while also mounting major Oscar pushes for Barker in categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Original Screenplay, and Film Editing.
The awards attention is especially notable given that Obsession is only Navarrette’s second feature film after 2020’s “Wander Darkly.” Her previous credits include roles in “13 Reasons Why” and “Superman & Lois.”
Should she earn a nomination, Navarrette would become only the seventh Latina woman nominated for Best Actress in Academy Awards history.
Welcome to the Waffle House
While awards voters weigh Obsession’s chances, Hollywood has already lined up Navarrette’s next project.
She is set to star in “The Waffle House Index,” a sci-fi thriller acquired by Apple Original Films and produced by Plan B Entertainment.
The film will be directed by Louis Paxton, while the screenplay by Andrew Nunnelly was featured on the 2025 Black List.
The story centers on a woman working a late shift at a Waffle House restaurant as a storm approaches. The title references the real-world “Waffle House Index,” an informal indicator used to gauge hurricane severity based on whether the restaurant chain remains open, offers limited service, or shuts down.
Plot details remain largely under wraps, but the screenplay reportedly involves a natural disaster, an armed stranger, a massive flood, and increasingly strange sci-fi developments.
Navarrette will also serve as an executive producer, marking another step forward in her career behind the camera.
And then there’s Rogue
As if an Oscar campaign and a major Apple project were not enough, Navarrette has also been cast as Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming “X-Men” film.
It’s a remarkable leap for an actress whose breakout arrived through a low-budget horror experiment that unexpectedly became a cultural and box-office phenomenon.
With awards buzz, producing credits, and a major franchise role on the horizon, Navarrette is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most closely watched young stars.
For her, the Obsession story may be only the beginning.
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