14 DAY TRIAL // After setting a new record for midnight R-rated screeners, “Paranormal Activity 2” went on to surpass even the most optimistic expectations, making over $40 million in its opening weekend and, this way, writing history again.
As Deadline can confirm, the sequel to last year’s sleeper hit made $41.5 million in its opening weekend, playing in 3,216 US theaters, thus officially becoming the biggest horror opening ever.
The sequel followed the same “recipe” as the original movie, even if it boasted a more impressive budget and clearly more support from the movie studio, Paramount Pictures.
In the end, it more than paid off, taking the top spot ahead of fans’ favorite “Friday The 13th,” which held the previous record of a $40.5 million opening weekend.
“It logged a ‘B’ Cinemascore, and the audience was 61% under age 25 and 54% female. The director of the first Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli, stayed on as producer along with Akiva Goldsman and Jason Blum,” Deadline says of “PA 2.”
“Paramount set Tod ‘Kip’ Williams to direct the sequel after first choice Kevin Greutert departed when Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures enforced an option that made him the director of Saw 3D, the film that opens against Paranormal 2 on Halloween weekend,” the same report reads.
As also noted above, the sequel stuck with the tried-out marketing plan used for the first film, including viral videos and word of mouth, unlike other films that opt for the obvious media tour.
“The production and its viral and online marketing campaign stayed true to the original, even down to the intimate handheld style of the first with its so-called ‘found footage’ positioning and a media budget half of what a studio would normally spend to get film to this gross,” Deadline says.
The runner-up for this weekend is also somewhat of a surprise: “Jackass 3D,” also from Paramount Pictures, which made another $21.6 million for a cume of $87.1 million.
“RED,” starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren, made another $15 million over the weekend, bringing its total gross in the US after 2 weeks to $43.5 million.
Matt Damon’s “Hereafter” made $12 million, while “The Social Network” proved its strong grasp on the audience with another $7.3 million.
The rest of the films ruling the US box office over the weekend are: “Secretariat” ($6.9 million), “Life as We Know It” ($6.1 million), “Legend of the Guardians” ($3.1 million), “The Town” ($2.7 million) and “Easy A” ($1.7 million).