Blumhouse Productions has expressed interest in potentially rebooting the Paranormal Activity franchise. The series was originally created by Oren Peli, who had directed the first film, Paranormal Activity, as an independent production and screened the horror movie at film festivals throughout 2007. The movie was later picked up by Paramount Pictures and was given a nationwide release in October 2009. Paranormal Activity was an overwhelming critical and commercial success, grossing an astronomical $193.4 million worldwide against an estimated production budget of just $15,000.
Paranormal Activity proved fruitful not only for Paramount Pictures but also for the film’s production company, Blumhouse, which has financed and produced each installment in the franchise ever since. So far, both studios have produced and released four sequels - which released in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015 - and one spinoff, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which released in 2014. While the franchise has remained on ice for the past two years, it now looks like there’s interest from Blumhouse to possibly reboot the series in the near future.
Blumhouse Productions head honcho Jason Blum has been busy promoting the studio’s latest horror film, Happy Death Day, and in an interview with Cinepop, the producer and studio executive revealed that they are very interested in hearing about Christopher B. Landon’s ideas for a Paranormal Activity reboot, thus indicating an interest in reviving (and rebooting) the franchise. He said: “Paranormal Activity is on hiatus, but if Chris over here, who’s done four Paranormal Activity movies - if he has an idea to reboot it, we’re very open to hearing it.”
Although Blum doesn’t explicitly confirm plans to reboot the franchise, it’s strange that he would bring it up without a solicited question specifically asking about reboots. Then again, Blumhouse has been riding high off recent breakout films, such as Get Out, and they already planning multiple reboots and sequels to franchises that have been on hiatus for quite some time. For instance, Blumhouse is producing David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel, which sees the return of Jaime Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, while also working alongside Todd McFarlane to finally give audiences the R-rated Spawn reboot they’ve been waiting for.
As for the Paranormal Activity series, the story came to an end with the franchise’s fifth installment, The Ghost Dimension, and considering that each chapter since Paranormal Activity 4 has failed to break $100 million at the worldwide box office - despite costing the studio less than $10 to produce - it isn’t the most viable property under Blumhouse’s belt. Still, Paranormal Activity has its fair share of fans, and if a reboot falls more in-line with the original film, then it might be a worthwhile venture for the acclaimed horror studio.
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Source: Cinepop
