Paranormal Activity 7 will be arriving on Paramount+ by the end of this year. The original Paranormal Activity was filmed for $15,000 as a small independent production that was picked up by Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures. The studio released the film in 2009 and the film went on to gross $193.4 million at the worldwide box office and kickstarted a new horror franchise.
Paramount released five sequels with Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, and Paranormal Activity 4 all releasing in the consecutive Octobers of 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. The franchise tried to expand with a spin-off film in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which was released in January 2014. But due to its underperformance, the studio wrapped up the franchise in 2015 with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, which is currently the lowest-grossing installment in the franchise. Despite that, Paramount has tried to revive the franchise with a cast announced for Paranormal Activity 7.
In a report from THR, a new Paranormal Activity will arrive on the service before the end of 2021. The release date was given but considering the franchise's history, there is a chance the film could land in October on the streaming service. The film is one of many high-profile film projects coming to Paramount+ this year that started with Spongebob: Sponge on the Run and will continue with the Mark Wahlberg film, Infinite.
CBS-Viacom has big plans for Paramount+, hoping to make it a must-watch service for viewers on the same level as competitors like Disney+ and HBO Max. Big summer tentpoles like A Quiet Place 2, Snake Eyes: G.I Joe Origins, and Paw Patrol: The Movie will all stream on the service 45 days after their theatrical window. Paranormal Activity isn't the only franchise the studio is looking to in hopes of bringing people in, as they have turned to titles like Flashdance, The Italian Job, and Love Story to turn into new series for the streaming service.
Paranormal Activity was a major horror franchise for Paramount at the turn of the 2010s and became a Halloween season staple. Its arrival coincided with the Saw franchise seeing a dip in numbers and in 2009, Paranormal Activity beat Saw VI at the box office. The following year, the Saw franchise would release what was at the time its final installment, Saw 3D, as it seemed Paranormal Activity replaced it as the new horror Halloween franchise. Yet, Saw has been revived twice, once in 2017 with Jigsaw and with the upcoming Spiral: From The Book of Saw, which will see a summer theatrical release. Lionsgate still sees the Saw franchise as a viable theatrical draw, while Paramount's view of Paranormal Activity is a title to draw viewers into their streaming service. The Paranormal Activity budget tends to be on the cheap side, so it is a smart investment for the company, as the brand name may draw in new subscribers to the service. It will be interesting to see how Paranormal Activity 7 holds up to the other films in the popular franchise.
Source: THR