The low-budget franchise that keeps on giving for Paramount, Paranormal Activity has generated $890 million at the box office for the studio. We learned early this year that Paranormal Activity 7 was expected on Paramount+ at the end of 2021, and it’s now been confirmed that the film will be available for Halloween, following the release strategy of previous entries.
Speaking as part of the company’s TCA tour, ViacomCBS Streaming’s Tanya Giles announced the planned schedule, and that we’ll also be getting a behind-the-scenes documentary on the feature:
“A new Paranormal Activity from Paramount Players should bring fans an unexpected reimagining of the beloved horror franchise. We’ll also be launching a documentary on the making of the Paranormal Activity. Both of which will be coming to the service in time for Halloween.”
Although plot details are not yet known, it’s not a big stretch of the imagination to predict that there’ll be a fresh haunting and some inventive uses of found footage. Given that Jason Blum has indicated how he wanted the producers to reinvigorate the property after 2015’s pretty lackluster Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, it’s hoped that the seventh go-around won’t just retread the other sequels.
The creative team for Paranormal Activity 7 is promising, though, if not deviating too much from expectations. Underwater‘s William Eubank is directing, while series veteran Christopher Landon is returning for script duties. With Landon having penned the successful Happy Death Day mini-franchise and Freaky since 2014’s Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, we’re confident that he can shake up a formula that had more or less run out of steam after the first couple of movies.
Paranormal Activity 7 was originally set for a March 2021 release, before the pandemic pushed it back to 2022. The decision to go to streaming shows the determination of Paramount to compete with HBO Max, Disney Plus, and Netflix in providing exclusive content, with the brand-name value of Paranormal Activity and the Halloween window likely resulting in a decent audience of old fans and new viewers brought in by the appeal of a high-profile horror title.