It seemed that Paramount Pictures struck gold with the Paranormal Activity franchise. The series of horror films brought enough scares to get audiences into the cinemas just about every October, and were cheap enough to continue producing, even with diminishing returns, from now until the apocalypse.
So why would Paramount knowingly shoot themselves in the foot by switching the release date for Paranormal Activity 5 from October 25 to January 2014? No clue, but apparently that’s a likely scenario now.
The reason behind the potential switch is unclear. The Wrap reported the initial change, although Paramount has yet to confirm. Paranormal Activity 5 has done well at test-screenings so far, but the last sequel was the lowest grossing of all the films. Perhaps Paramount is concerned about the franchise. Somehow I don’t think the way to fix that is by switching from a Halloween release date to an early January one.
We still have had no word on what sort of plot Paranormal Activity 5 will even be following. The twists and turns of the franchise have become increasingly odd, stretching audience credulity to the breaking point. Are these people really filming their entire existences via video cameras, web cams, security tapes, etc.? How many more times can we jump at a pot crashing, or a door closing by itself? What started out as a clever one-off idea has turned to a web of plot strands. The scares are all the same. I’m pretty positive that the paranormal rules established by the first film have been broken or changed several times.
We can probably assume that we won’t see Paranormal Activity 5 on Halloween this year. What that will mean for the film, or the franchise, has yet to be seen, but it sounds like Paramount might be concerned.
What do you think the potential change means for Paranormal Activity 5?