'Paranormal Activity' to play outside of midnight after another strong weekend

"Paranormal Activity" is turning into a scary box office phenomenon for Paramount, putting up the second-highest per-theater average of any movie this weekend despite only playing midnight shows.

The ultra-low-budget horror film sold $535,000 worth of tickets at 33 theaters, averaging $16,000 at each. That's the biggest average of any movie this weekend except the new Coen Brothers picture, "A Serious Man."

It's particularly impressive given that "Paranormal" played only three times at each theater, at midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Most movies play four or five times per day at each theater -- 12 to 15 shows for the weekend -- and even more if they are on multiple screens.

Now that virtually every midnight show has sold out for the last two weekends, Paramount plans to move the film outside of the witching hour starting Friday and schedule show times throughout the day. It is also expanding "Paranormal" to 10 more markets, bringing the total to more than 40.

Paramount has very precisely opened "Paranormal Activity," which was originally bought by its former subsidiary DreamWorks Studios with the intention of creating a bigger-budget remake, in hopes of generating "Blair Witch Project"-like buzz. The movie played in 12 college markets last weekend, and Internet feedback has helped to determine in which cities the film will show.

Next weekend will test whether the studio's carefully cultivated online and media buzz is reaching beyond the young, late-night horror crowd.

-- Ben Fritz

Photo: Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in "Paranormal Activity." Credit: Paramount Pictures

Comments

[Nena]

Is this film playing anywhere in Philly?

[Adrian]

Indianapolis please

[Michelle De Marco]

Do not waste your hard earned $$$ on the newly released movie Paranormal Activity. This snoozer is so boring I wanted to walk out. I had come with a group, and needed a ride since the buses had stopped. There were only a few good scares, and only after a over long buildup. Poorly filmed to simulate the amature photography of a young couple who were being haunted by an equally unimaginative demon. What a huge waste of everyones time!! Be Warned, it is not even close to being scary. The marketing of this dog is what is scary.

[Lois]

Scariest movie I've seen since I watched the Exorcist at age 12. A review! http://bit.ly/kwucZ

[Dorian Gray]

Saw this in Chicago this past weekend. Fantastic scare. Once this gets fully released its going to make a ton.

[Johnny]

Don't listen to haters like Michelle here.. She probably talked through all the scary parts like the other wimps in the theatre. This film was incredible! Everyone I know loved it. We found it hard to sleep that night and every noise made us jump. I am a huge horror fan and haven't had a movie affect me like this one has in years. Go see it!!!

[Gary Boulanger]

I need help tryn to find this movie,I live in Massachusetts and i cant find the movie playn any where.

[David Kirshbaum]

This is an excellent horror film. The build-up to the terrifying climax was very well done - very successful considering the response from the audience. It is a superb example of how you can do so much with film with relatively little resources (4 unknown but excellent actors, 1 house, $11,000) - bravo!

[David Kirshbaum]

This is an excellent horror film. The build-up to the terrifying climax was very well done - very successful considering the response from the audience. It is a superb example of how you can do so much with film with relatively little resources (4 unknown but excellent actors, 1 house, $11,000) - bravo!

[Joey]

Don't believe the hype!!! This is the worst movie ive ever seen. I went with my girlfriend, who is scared of her own shadow, and she never even flinched. Not only is the movie not scary, the acting is terrible. If you are a 13 year old girl who just finished setting up a church halloween carnival, this movie is for you. Paramount owes me $19.00.

[gabby dove]

wow im going to see this movie this weekend and i am EXCITED!

[phoebe]

i was dozing off and checking my watch. maybe it was all a marketing campaign. the last ten minutes were pretty good. that was so creepy when she was standing over him in bed! but the rest was basically the same thing being repeated over and over. they would wake up, she would get emotional, he would act like a jerk, then they would go to bed, a door would move, blah blah blah. and they had way too much black leather furniture. demons don't like that. by the way, in one scene she was putting deodorant on before bed. do people do this?

[Ayla]

I think this is a good film, an interesting film, a refreshing departure from the typical horror movie these days, but it is nothing like Paramount's awful marketing scheme would have you beleive. As for it being the "scariest movie you'll ever see", hardly; I am fairly easy to scare and wasn't even bothered. It is a subtly eery film which is good at building supense and tension, but not much else. After an hour of build-up, I felt the climax was cheap, predictable, and a bit of a cop-out, not as cathartic or scary as so much methodical build-up deserves. i have heard that there are alternate endings and that this trite last minute piece of garbage that I saw in theatres, was not a part of the original that was showed at the festivals a few years ago; I sincerely hope this is true.

The movie's scares are pretty standard scary-movie fare, the pace is slow, and the "horror" is merely implied. That is what i appreciated the most, the fact that it adhered to an almost Hitchcock-inspired style of filmmaking where less is more. I also thought it was nice that unlike most horror genre films these days, the gore was next to none, and the scares were things that were rather mundane in comparison. If a haunting were to really occur, your chances of some doors opening and closing and some weird noises in the night are much greater than your chances of demons with spinning heads spewing green bile. It is that little sense of realism that I think makes the film unique and is a major reason as to why it is considered so scary. It plays on seemingly mundane experiences we've all had, and begs the viewer to wonder if that flickering of the lights is something more than meets the eye.

Anywho, I would suggest waiting for a DVD release or just downloading it for several reasons.

First, this is one of those movies in which you really aren't missing much by watching it on a small screen.

Second, Paramount really doesn't need any more money rewarding their trite marketing scheme.

Third, because it really isn't that groundbreaking of a film and IN THIS ECONOMY your ten bucks should go to a movie that is seriously scary like REC, or the Orphanage.

And forth, because setting is everything. The movie is so simple, that you really need to be able to suspend your sense of disbeleif. If you end up with an annoying screeching giggling audience, you just wasted your money and ruined the potential of this movie. It will either get under your skin, or just provide a vapid two hour excuse to laugh at some bad acting and an overabundance of feet shots.