Despite the film still being in theaters, Paramount Pictures is already hoping to capitalize on the unexpected success of Paranormal Activity after the film’s run is over.
Paramount’s chairman has announced the company has acquired the rights to a potential Paranormal Activity 2, and is looking for a plot that would make sense as a sequel to the hit of this fall.
In just a month at theaters, Paranormal Activity has grossed $62.5 million–not bad for a movie that was made for only $15,000. In addition to being made on a low-budget, Paramount also bought the movie for a fairly low price, and has spent less than the usual amount on marketing for the movie as well.
With those factors in play, plus the continued box office success of the film, Paranormal Activity could easily end up being one of the most profitable films in Paramount’s history. Thus, it’s no surprise that Paramount would want to continue bringing in that kind of profit with a sequel.
However, making sequels in general is a risky move, particularly when the precursor has been successful. With a flick like Paranormal Activity, whose success came out of nowhere, trying to match the appeal that brought that success is even more difficult than usual.
Paranormal Activity has continuously been compared to 1999’s The Blair Witch Project which was, like Paranormal Activity, a low-budget horror film that saw unexpected success. A sequel to the film was attempted the following year and brought in less than $30 million–a drastically lower take than the $140 million seen by the first film. The same type of box office drop could easily happen with a follow-up to Paranormal Activity.
It’s not set in stone that Paramount will go ahead with a Paranormal Activity sequel, just that they own the rights to do so. For now, we can expect to see Paranormal Activity continue to thrive at the box office, now with the possibility of a follow-up on the horizon.
