Paranormal Activity Movie Tops Box Office Hits

Releasing Paranormal Activity just before Halloween was a stroke of genius on Paramount's part. Add to that the incredible viral effect the internet, Twitter in particular, has had on the low-budget horror movie. Twitter is buzzing with "Paranormal Activity". Twitter's trending topics has seen Paranormal Activity in its top 10 spots for days. Everyone is excited to see it, and some are waiting until Halloween weekend. Imagine what that will do for ticket sales?

Paranormal Activity is an exception to the rule. When Hollywood is pumping out hundreds of movies that barely make their budget, Oren Peli, an Israeli-born video game designer shot the almost no-budget film in a week, for about $11,000. Peli produced the horror movie with a cast of unknowns, a motley crew of friends and a hand-held video camera. Yet, Paranormal Activity continues to climb the charts, screaming past Saw VI at almost double the ticket sales.

The North American box office has seen its share of Halloween movies scream to the top of the charts in previous years. Since Paranormal Activity's limited release on September 25, the low-budget horror film reached the #1 spot. With double the theaters showing the movie this past weekend, Paranormal Activity has still managed to bring in another $22 million, bringing the total ticket sales to a whopping $62.5 million. Not bad for an $11,000 investment.

The Los Angles Times says, "Hardly any micro-budget movie ever escapes its creator's basement, and to travel all the way to the slate of a studio that releases "Star Trek" and "Transformers" -- that's beyond exceptional."

Now that Paranormal Activity is doing so well, the question is, "Could there be a sequel in this?" "We have the rights on a worldwide basis to do Paranormal 2 and we're looking to see if that makes some sense," said Paramount studio chairman Brad Grey. If Paramount can get it together in a hurry, it looks like there may be a second Paranormal coming just in time for Halloween 2010.

Top Box Office Hits for October 23-25

1. Paranormal Activity - $22 million
2. Saw VI - $14.8 million
3. Where the Wild Things Are - $14.4 million
4. Law Abiding Citizen - $12.7 million
5. Couples Retreat - $11.1 million

Check Out These Related Movie Articles:

• Stephen King's Scariest Movies
• Zombieland: Woody Harrelson Obsessed with Twinkies and Zombies
• Zombieland Makes a Killing at the Box Office with $25M
• Where The Wild Things Are Movie
• Where The Wild Things Are - Book to Movie to Halloween Costumes (Video)

Sources: latimes.com; aceshowbiz.com

Written by Donna Diegel
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