Daily Post by Nick

Daniel Frankel of thewrap.com has crunched some numbers and come to the conclusion that ‘Paranormal Activity’, the recent horror box office smash, has officially become the most profitable film ever. The previous title-holder was (no surprise, here) The Blair Witch Project. Check out this comparison:

Image source: www.thewrap.com

In “The Haunted History of Paranormal Activity” John Horn sheds some light on the film’s humble beginning:

“Paranormal Activity” was hardly a typical studio production. Peli, an Israeli-born video game designer who had no formal film training, shot the $15,000 movie in a week in 2006 with a no-name cast, a crew of several San Diego friends and a hand-held video camera.

Over at Entertainment Weekly, the film’s viral marketing strategy is discussed, in reference to the film’s website allowing visitors to demand Paranormal Activity be shown in their city:

What’s ingenious about the marketing campaign for Paranormal Activity is the notion that it’s putting the power of movie distribution in your hands. That’s a very bottoms-up, invitingly democratized thing to do.

In the late October weekend head-to-head battle with Saw VI (seriously? 6?) Paranormal Activity emerged as the winner. According to MSNBC:

Paramount’s upstart chiller “Paranormal Activity” went into nationwide release and took over the No. 1 spot with $22 million. That compares to just $14.8 million for the debut of “Saw ,” a franchise that has been an annual fixture before the October Halloween holiday since 2004.

It was the worst opening ever for Lionsgate’s “Saw” series, whose previous low was $18.3 million for the original movie. Subsequent installments of the “Saw” franchise all opened at $30 million or better.

That’s pretty impressive for a film that was created on a shoestring budget, by an unknown producer, starring no-name actors and marketed mostly virally. Perhaps the Saw series has finally been cut off for good. One can only hope. The next question is how well will The Fourth Kind do, on the heels of the much-ballyhooed Paranormal Activity? And has this movie re-awoken the handy-cam, DIY-style of horror films?