A new Paranormal Activity movie is set for a spring 2021 release date. The low-budget horror film franchise kicked off with a bang back in 2007 after it was picked up by Paramount Pictures and widely distributed, with much hype behind it.
Shot on the astounding micro-budget of $15,000, Paranormal Activity ended up grossing almost $200 million worldwide, making it the most profitable film ever made, based on return investment. It utilized the found footage concept, which was popularized in 1999 by The Blair Witch Project, to great effect. That film was also a major success, having been shot on a similarly tiny budget. After receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, a sequel was something of a foregone conclusion for Paranormal Activity. So, in 2010, Paramount delivered Paranormal Activity 2, minus the film’s original director, Oren Peli. This time around, its $3 million budget meant that it was substantially more expensive to produce than its predecessor. However, the concept delivered once again, and the film grossed $177 million globally. Four more sequels followed, each of them ridiculously successful in terms of box office returns.
The most recent film in the franchise, The Ghost Dimension, arrived in 2015, and it’s been four years since Paranormal Activity fans last had something to look forward to. Clearly there’s still money to be made on this concept, meaning that another entry in the franchise was somewhat inevitable. Thanks to Bloody Disgusting, we know that a seventh Paranormal Activity film is indeed on its way from Paramount and Blumhouse. The new film is due to arrive in the spring of 2021.
At present, little is known about the seventh installment in the franchise, including who will be directing or what the plot will entail. The Ghost Dimension was originally said to be the final instalment in the long-running series when it debuted in 2015, but as anyone who pays any attention to financially successful films will know, if there’s still money to be made on a concept, the sequels will continue. Though The Ghost Dimension brought in a sizeable return on its budget, it (like all the Paranormal Activity sequels), was generally panned by critics. What’s more, at $10 million, The Ghost Dimension had the highest budget of all six films. Whether or not the upcoming sequel will push for an even bigger budget or attempt to take things back to its simpler roots remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see how the upcoming sequel fares, mainly because the concept of found footage is no longer the draw that it once was. The Ghost Dimension was criticized for its reliance on cliches, and the previous Paranormal Activity movies have tread familiar territory. But, of course, none of that has kept audiences away from the franchise. It’s very likely that Paranormal Activity 7 will continue the series’ tradition of delivering much of the same to a wildly eager fanbase around the world.
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Source: Bloody Disgusting
