Beyoncé’s record of movies is tiny however mighty. Whereas her focus is totally on her music, once in a while, she shifts to the display screen and adjustments issues up a bit. For instance, her final movie was 2024’s pretty well-reviewed Mufasa: The Lion King, the place she voiced Nala. Nevertheless, this work is few and much between, so it have to be laborious to get her to say sure to a movie. That proved to be true for producer Will Packer, who revealed that the pop star turned him down 5 instances earlier than finally saying sure to the movie Obsessed.
Earlier than 2009’s Obsessed, Beyoncé appeared in 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember, 2003’s The Combating Temptations, 2006’s The Pink Panther, 2008’s Cadillac Data, and, the Oscar-winning movie, Dreamgirls, exhibiting that she doesn’t ceaselessly tackle motion pictures. So, getting her to say sure to Obsessed was not a simple process, however producer Will Packer labored laborious to make it occur, as he defined throughout Watch What Occurs Stay:
Bey taught me so much about getting rejected, as a result of she informed me no time and again once I wished her to be in that film. She informed me no, however she was gracious sufficient to inform me why. And I saved going again and asking time and again and altering the film so as to make it one thing that she may do. So I known as it a fortuitous no. And, in the end, on the sixth time, Beyoncé stated sure, and that film opened at No. 1. So thanks, Beyoncé.
There are two issues I actually love about this story. One is Packer’s persistence. I believe it’s admirable that he didn’t hand over on getting the star he wished for this film. Secondly, I admire that Beyoncé didn’t simply say no; she informed him why, too. That made it so the producer knew how you can enhance his movie, and it gave him an opportunity to strive once more along with her. And ultimately, all of it labored out!
Now, the critiques for Obsessed weren’t good – it has a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, in keeping with Field Workplace Mojo, it made $73.8 million worldwide ($68.2 million of that was home) on a $20 million finances. It additionally gained the field workplace on its opening weekend, beating different movies that premiered that weekend, like Channing Tatum’s Combating and the Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.-led movie, The Soloist. It additionally made greater than Zac Efron’s 17 Once more throughout these few days, which had been launched one week earlier than Obsessed.
As Packer stated, the romantic psychological thriller, which additionally starred Idris Elba and Ali Larter, was No. 1, which is a fairly large accomplishment. So, sure, “thanks, Beyoncé.”
After that, each Packer and Beyoncé have clearly had nice careers.
Beyoncé’s music profession has continued to thrive over the past 16 years. Most just lately, she lastly gained Album of the 12 months on the 2025 Grammys along with her file Cowboy Carter. And, she’s had some main on-screen moments in the previous few years, as her Renaissance Tour had a profitable run in theaters in 2023 and she or he surprised audiences along with her Christmas Day halftime efficiency on Netflix on the finish of 2024.
In the meantime, Packer produced standard and profitable movies like Ladies Journey, Beast, Straight Outta Compton, Experience Alongside and plenty of, many extra.
Now, trying again, it’s cool to listen to about what went into getting Beyoncé for this movie, and it has me wanting to make use of my Netflix subscription to see her efficiency in it. Together with being an excellent singer, she’s additionally a beautiful actress, so I can see why Will Packer fought laborious to get her into his film.