Paranormal Activity Grosses $535,000 At Midnight In 33 Cities, Expands Next Week

When Paramount Pictures announced that they were planning a viral limited release for the indie horror film Paranormal Activity, most people wrote it off as the studio dumping the film in a few theaters before the enviable dvd/blu-ray release. At /Film, we immediately saw the potential of the Demand it campaign, especially when it comes to small film distribution. This even prompted Derrick Comedy to launch their own Demand It campaign for the indie comedy film Mystery Team (Demand that Mystery Team come to your city now!).

This weekend, Paranormal Activity expanded to 33 cities. The campaign worked and the Thursday through Saturday midnight screenings sold out in all venues, earning a per screen of $16,000 for a total estimated gross of $535,000. Hundreds of thousands of fans across the country have voted for their cities on the Eventful Demand It website, prompting Paramount to expand to over 40-markets. Beginning next Friday, October 9th, Paramount will begin offering the movie at all hours, including the previous midnight only venues.