There was nothing viral about it this time, but it still worked.
On Monday, final box-office estimates confirmed that "Paranormal Activity 2" indeed had the best domestic opening for a horror movie ever. The Paramount film's actuals came in at $40.67 million — narrowly edging out the February 2009 $40.57 million performance of Warner Bros.' remake "Friday the 13th."
"If you had told me (a year ago) that we would make a prequel to this movie, and it would make over $40 million, I would have had you committed," said Paramount distribution G.M. Don Harris.
So how did this happen anyway?
Especially since the stellar debut — which even exceeded optimistic tracking estimates in the mid-$30 million range — didn't exactly come at a white-hot moment for the horror genre.
Every horror film released during this pre-Halloween season has bombed, with Universal's Wes Craven movie "My Soul to Take" ($6.8 million), Paramount Renee Zellweger flick "Case 39" ($5.4 million) and Overture's foreign-film remake "Let Me In" ($5.1 million) all failing well below the $10 million range in their debuts.
Sure, filmmaker Oren Peli's original "Paranormal Activity" grossed $193.4 million on an outrageously small pre-sweetening budget of $15,000. But while "The Blair Witch Project" provided precedent for "Paranormal 1's" internet-fueled viral-marketing success last year, there was no benchmark for a follow-up working out well, too.
"Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows" grossed a middling $47.7 million worldwide on a negative cost of $15 million.
Jason Blum, who produced the two "Paranormal" movies alongside creator Peli, believes having more cooks in the kitchen actually helped on the prequel, with Paramount production chief Adam Goodman — an early champion of the homemade franchise — offering up daily input. Paramount production VP Ashley Brucks also was involved day-to-day.
"It was beyond just giving good advice — they were instrumental in creating this movie," Blum said. "This was key, because second movies are never easy."
Blum said the small budget — $3 million — also kept the film true to its camcorder-esque roots. "I think having limited resources pushes you to think in creative ways," he said.
According to Blum, screenwriter Michael Perry jumpstarted production of the follow-up late last year by introducing a story that served as an organic follow-up.
"It fit perfectly — we weren't just making a prequel to make a prequel," he said. "That's what got everyone going."
While Goodman and his team helped Peli, Blum and prequel director Tod Williams craft a story that appealed to the film's young, web-savvy demographic, the marketing approach stayed also stayed true to the franchise.
As one theater-chain put it, "Paramount had a plan and they followed it to a tee. They are realy owning the fanboy/Comic-Con crowd these days."
For example, boutique marketing firm Eventful — which last year created "Paranormal's" "demand to see it in your town" campaign — was re-enlisted for the prequel.
Also not hurting the film was the fact that "Paranormal 2" trailers soundly hit their targets the weekend prior, when "Jackass 3D" overperformed to $50 million.
"That was a direct hit to their core audience," noted one exhibitor.
