Paranormal Activity 3 Gets a Release Date
Posted 11.18.10 by Ryan
It looks like Paranormal Activity has replaced the Saw movies as the perennial October horror franchise. After the $156 million worldwide box office success of Paranormal Activity 2 (on a $3 million budget), Paramount Pictures has announced that Paranormal Activity 3 will open on Oct. 21, 2011.
The Oren Peli written and directed original surprised at the box office, making Saw VI the first Saw sequel to earn less than $30 million on its opening weekend. Tod "Kip" Williams directed the Paranormal Activity 2 sequel, which earned $41.5 million on its opening weekend. Saw 3D, the seventh and supposedly final installment in the series, earned $24.2 million, stronger than Saw VI, but was helped by the added 3-D surcharge.
No word was given whether Williams and screenwriter Michael R. Perry will return for Paranormal 3, which will open up against director Steven Soderbergh's global virus thriller Contagion which stars Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and practically the entirety of Hollywood. This could be a concern for Paranormal 3's producers, but this year Damon's Hereafter opened next to Paranormal Activity 2, and landed in fourth for the weekend. So scare power may again trump star power.
Lionsgate, the studio that distributed the Saw franchise, isn't done with releasing horror movies in October. A week after Paranormal 3 opens, Lionsgate will release Dibbuk Box, which follows a family tormented by an evil curse. Sam Raimi will produce Dibbuk Box, which will be directed by Ole Bornedal. Fans will have to wait until next October to see if Dibbuk Box will become Lionsgate's next Saw.