Paranormal Activity

ACK, it's been three weeks since I last posted. So, I am going to make this post, and the next, and the next...with EXTRA EXTRA CARE.

Paranormal Activity II just released in theater last week. For those who don't know what the series is about, it is basically the lovechild of The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project. The premise is that a couple experiences "paranormal activities", and captured them on home video. I haven't seen the new one, but I saw the first one, and it is more creepy than most of the recent horror flicks released. But...whatever.

What is really interesting about Paranormal Activity, is not so much about the movie itself, but rather its promotion campaign which generated $193 million in gross revenue from a budget of  $15,000!!!  This is a movie studio's wet dream coming true - a movie that made more than 10000% profit. So now I have your attention, ask me, how did they do it?

Well, there are several things that the promoters did differently and hit home-runs on. First of all, they targeted college students. Okay, you'll probably say, "that's not unique." But you see, not only did they target college students, they opened it in thirteen college towns only. Now, this would only be effective if their product is superb, and it is. People were walking out of the theater midway because they were so frightened. And, let's see, what do college students looove to do? They love to communicate - facebook, blogs, emails, etc. Soon, the phenomenon that is call Paranormal Activity is going viral over the internet. Fueling this viral sensation is the trailer for Paranormal Activity, which didn't focus on the movie itself as much as the reaction video (in night cam) of the audience scared shitless. The director of the film, Oren Peli, invited users to "demand it" that this movie be shown in their town. After twelve of the initial thirteen openings sold out, PA was opened in twenty major markets, such as L.A. and N.Y., and they sold out. Within two weeks of the initial release, the "demand it" campaign received over 1 million hit. This movie, which was initially thought of by movie studios as useless and only salvageable through a complete remake, soon received wide release then international release. The rest is history.