Time to feel the chills with Paranormal Activity 2

While Jackass 3D stole the show last weekend by posting the best weekend figures for an October release at $50 million, it is time for comedy now to take a back seat. Shift from humour to horror, all in a week! This weekend sees the release of a highly anticipated sequel to the 2007 surprise hit Paranormal Activity. The original movie had caused quite a sensation in the industry with its 'raw footage' style of camerawork wherein the creepy happenings in a house are caught by a video camera placed on a tripod. The movie of course invoked memories of the cult classic The Blair Witch Project.

The Blair Witch Project, released in 1999, was presented in the style of a documentary, following the adventure of three students who enter a mysterious forest to search about the local legend of the Blair Witch. The movie is reported to have been made on a production budget of as low as $0.6 million and went on to gross $248 million in worldwide revenues, reporting what could arguably be one of the best return on investments. The Blair Witch Project continues to have a strong following amongst horror-movie lovers till date. A sequel was eminent. But what followed in 2000, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was a mere gentle breeze compared to the hurricane that the original was. Made on an increased budget of $15 million, the sequel earned only $48 million in worldwide revenues, almost one-fifth of its original.

Ten years since the release of The Blair Witch Project, another movie created a similar stir in the industry. Paranormal Activity was initially released at a Horror Movie Festival in 2007 and subsequently it reached the attention of people at DreamWorks who cut a deal with director, Oren Peli. While there were plans to direct a movie on similar lines with a higher budget, the same was later scrapped and Peli's original film (with some re-editing) was released in September 2009. Reportedly made on a production budget of a mere $15,000 (no use of 'millions', here), the movie earned rave reviews and $197 million worldwide. A mind-boggling return on investment! When you earn so much on such a low cost, it is likely that you are not going to simply sit still and bask in its glory. Sequels become imperative. And so here is Paranormal Activity 2, a movie that will continue to attempt to scare the most lion-hearted of men. The production budget has increased manifold to $3 million. Oren Peli has shifted to the role of producer. But the chills remain the same. If there were any doubts on whether the sequel would collapse like the sequel to The Blair Witch Project did, the same have been kept at bay by a strong response on the opening day. The movie has already collected $20 million on its first day of release, i.e. Friday. While the fall could be steep on account of the Fanboy Effect, the movie should have earned close to $50 million on its opening weekend. Enough to keep the producers happy! And maybe enough to set the stage for another sequel... and another chilling tale about 'ghosts in your closet'...