Anyone worried that horror was in trouble thanks to the poor box office performances of flicks like LET ME IN and MY SOUL TO TAKE can take a deep breath now, as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 has proven that audiences still want to be spooked during the Halloween season (by something not called SAW). The sequel to last year’s surprise hit mopped up the competition with an estimated $41.5 million domestically. That’s good for the best opening of all time for a supernatural horror movie. Oh, and its budget was in the $3 million range. Think it’s safe to call this profitable yet?
Obviously, with numbers like that, a third entry is almost guaranteed. In a quote over at The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount exec vp distribution Don Harris said, “The company is certainly going to take a look at making a third but will be exceedingly careful in how to go about it.”
Yeah, as in, “Do we start pre-production now, or next week?”
In other box office news, Clint Eastwood’s HEREAFTER took in around $12 million in its first week of wide release. Not bad, considering it’s sitting in only 2,181 locations, but not great considering its budget is in the neighborhood of $50 million.
Next week should be a very interesting showdown between PARANORMAL in its second frame and the debut of SAW 3D, which, it’s now obvious, was quite wise to move from its initial October 22 release date.
PARANORMAL star Katie Featherston