The Paranormal Activity movie franchise is making a comeback – with horror filmmaker James Wan set to produce the latest installment. The series will be returning for its eighth entry following the release of 2021’s Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.
The 2021 entry was considered a failure by fans and critics – even by Blumhouse‘s own Jason Blum. Now things seem to be headed in a positive direction with Paranormal Activity 8. As shared via THR, the newest sequel is set to be produced by James Wan, Jason Blum, and franchise creator Oren Peli. Likewise, Paramount is also involved as a partner to co-finance, co-produce, and distribute.
Here’s what Wan shared in his statement:
“I’ve been a huge admirer of Paranormal Activity since the brilliant first movie, with its creeping slow burn and subtle ability to make the unseen terrifying. I’m looking forward to expanding on its legacy and helping shape the next evolution of this scary found-footage franchise,” Wan shared.
Blum added his own statement:
“Diving in with James for this exciting rebirth of the franchise that started it all for Blumhouse is exactly what we dreamed of when we merged with Atomic Monster. I’ll be actively involved with him to introduce this new chapter,” he began. “Thankfully, we’re able to spend a little more than the $15,000 we had on the first movie, but one thing will remain the same — do not see it alone.”
It’s definitely surprising to see how far the Paranormal Activity brand has come. It’s been nearly twenty years since the first film changed the found-footage genre in 2007. Since then, however, many franchises have tried to copy its success. For Paranormal Activity, however, the original film and its sequels have so far grossed over $800 million at the worldwide box office.
It’ll be exciting to see how this eighth film installment can live up to that success – or whether it’ll follow the same trajectory as Next of Kin. With The Conjuring‘s James Wan attached, however, we can hope that this new Paranormal Activity sequel will be more successful than not. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.