Latest news with #OrenPeli
India.com
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This 1 hour 26 minute horror film wasn't released in theatres; made on a budget of Rs 2 crore, it earned Rs 1600 crore in just 7 days, not Conjuring or Annabelle, film is…
If you are a fan of horror films then this film is for you. Although it has got a rating of only 6.3 on IMDb, despite this it remains one of the highest grossing horror films in history. There are neither any big stars in it nor any grand visuals, but its magic at the box office was such that people have not been able to forget it to date. The best horror film to watch online We are talking about the Paranormal Activity film, which was shot with a single camera. Yet, it created a legacy by scaring millions of people. It was a 2007 supernatural thriller film starring Katie Featherston and Mika Slott in the lead roles. It was written, directed, and produced by Oren Peli. This was director Oren Peli's first film, which he shot at his home. There was no money spent on location nor much pomp and show. There was only one camera. He took care of everything from direction to editing. The actors of this film are no strangers. Initially, the cost of this film was only about 12 lakh rupees. But later it increased and reached 2 crores. What was the budget of Paranormal Activity? The budget of the Paranormal Activity film increased because famous director Steven Spielberg, after watching the film, reshot some scenes, especially the climax. This increased the total budget of the film to $215,000 (about Rs 2 crore). What makes Paranormal Activity so scary? Talking about the story of the Paranormal Activity film, a young couple is haunted by an invisible ghost. Doors move on their own, footsteps in the dark, things like these gradually increase the tension. Without bloodshed, without scary sounds, the makers have scared the audience by showing a simple setup and normal life. This is why people find it very connecting. Why was Paranormal Activity not released in theatres? The film was not released in all theaters simultaneously. It was initially shown in college towns. People who watched the film started talking about it online. The makers took advantage of this excitement, and Paramount Pictures gradually increased the number of theaters. Brilliant marketing behind the Paranormal Activity box office collection It told the fan, 'If you want to see this movie in your city, ask for it.' This new kind of marketing skill was seen. It was eventually released in 1945 theaters and became a blockbuster, earning $193 million (about Rs 1,660 crore) worldwide. This was a new turning point in the history of horror films. Firstly, the budget was low, and on top of that, the earnings were super high. However, despite the average IMDb rating, 'Paranormal Activity' changed the trend of horror films. It proved that a big budget is not required to scare or be a hit. Where to watch Paranormal Activity? 'Paranormal Activity' (2007) is now available for streaming on OTT platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Horror movie lovers can enjoy it on OTT, but keep in mind that it is quite scary and may disturb you.
India.com
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This horror movie earned Rs 1600 crore, was made in 7 days with budget of Rs 2 crore, has IMDb rating of 6.3, movie is..., lead actors are...
Horror films have their own world. Horror films have their own fan base. Then in the world of OTT, there is a tremendous demand for horror content. But 18 years ago, a horror film was released that created a stir all over the world. But this film showed that if the concept is strong, the working style is strong and you understand the pulse of the audience, then you do not need a big budget or stars. The horror film we are going to mention is one such film that earned Rs 1600 crore on a budget of Rs 1 crore 70 lakh. Not only this, but this film was shot within seven days. Which Horror Film Is This? We are talking about Hollywood's supernatural horror film 'Paranormal Activity', released in 2007, which created history at the box office on a low budget. The writer, director and producer of this film is Oren Peli. It was made in just 15,000 dollars (about 12 lakh rupees). Oren Peli shot it in his house in seven days, in which he played the role of director, cameraman, editor and producer, while Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat featured as actors. 'Paranormal Activity' was shot with a simple camera, which kept its cost and production value low. How Was The Reception Of Paranormal Activity? Later, on the suggestion of Steven Spielberg, another two lakh dollars were spent to shoot a new ending and for sound design, taking the total budget to $215,000 (approximately Rs 1.84 crores). The film opened in a limited release on 25 September 2009. The film slowly reached 1,945 and collected around Rs 1600 crore worldwide. How Did Paranormal Activity Gain Huge Success? The success of 'Paranormal Activity' is attributed to its scary story, sound design and unique marketing strategy. Paramount Pictures created excitement among audiences through cheap tickets in college towns and social media campaigns. It not only gave birth to a franchise but also started the trend of found-footage films in the horror genre. Meanwhile, this horror flick was not released on DVD or Blu-ray until December 29, 2009, more than two years after the film was made. The home release includes one alternate ending to the theatrical version.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Soul Searching Begins at Blumhouse After Cold Streak Capped by ‘M3GAN 2.0': 'Not the Sequel Audiences Wanted'
Jason Blum — who struck out on his own as an independent producer in the early 2000s after leaving Harvey Weinstein's Miramax — was haunted during those years by the fear that he would never succeed on his own. That's when he received a DVD of a tiny horror film titled Paranormal Activity that was shot for less than $15,000 by unknown filmmaker Oren Peli. Blum and others believed the film could be a hit and tried to find it a distributor. One door after another was slammed shut, but Blum wouldn't give up and eventually helped garner the interest of none other than Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks. Spielberg himself watched the movie and was thoroughly spooked, according to Hollywood lore. More from The Hollywood Reporter Box Office: 'F1' Zooms to $55.6M Opening and $144M Globally, 'M3GAN 2.0' Bombs With $10M U.S. Start How 'M3GAN 2.0' Star Violet McGraw Kicked Off a Wave of Good Fortune for Blumhouse 'M3GAN 2.0' Team on Delivering a "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" Version of Their Killer Dancing AI Robot DreamWorks and its then-partner Paramount Pictures first released the film in more than a dozen college towns in late September 2009 before rolling it out nationwide as Halloween approached. Paranormal would go on to earn $107.9 million domestically and $194.2 million globally to become one of the most profitable titles in Hollywood history. It also put Blum's banner, Blumhouse, on the map and ushered in the Golden Age of the micro-budgeted horror pic that scared up multi-million dollar franchises such as Paranormal, Insidious and The Purge. Blum made Universal his home studio per a lucrative deal that allows him creative autonomy, as well as the freedom to work with other studios. Among his many successes for Universal, he helped revive the Halloween franchise, and also returned to his prestige roots when producing Oscar winners such as Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017) and Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018). Now, however, Blum's long-ago fear of failure has returned in a reversal of fortune that began in 2024 and has continued in earnest this year, with all four of its 2025 releases becoming major box office misses, beginning with Wolf Man ($34. 1 million globally), The Woman in the Yard ($23.3 million globally) and Drop ($28.6 million globally). But by far the most shocking failure was M3GAN 2.0, which bombed over the June 27-29 weekend and stunned Hollywood, considering it is a sequel to an unqualified hit. Released in January 2023, M3GAN — about an AI doll who takes on a life of her own with horrendous consequences — launched to $30.4 million domestically on its way to grossing $181.7 million globally against a mere budget of $12 million. M3GAN 2.0, which cost at least $25 million to produce before marketing, opened to just $10.2 million domestically and $17 million globally. So, what happened? Director Gerard Johnstone, Blumhouse and partner Atomic Monster, run by James Wan, decided to go in a different direction and make the M3GAN sequel more of a sci-fi action pic, whereby the doll becomes the protagonist in the style of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Audiences simply weren't interested in the about-face. Box office pundits and Hollywood insiders also question the wisdom of releasing the sequel in the far more competitive summer corridor. Insiders at Blumhouse tell The Hollywood Reporter that the soul-searching within the company has already commenced. It is absorbing lessons from this tough year, and is reevaluating its slate through the lens of whether a horror film qualifies as a cinematic event in an era where the market for such fare is oversaturated. There's also a recognition that Blumhouse's ambition to release as many as 10 titles a year theatrically may be too grand, with Blum agreeing that the box office cannot withstand as many horror films as it used to, especially smaller single and titles. Most importantly, a course correction is required in terms of remembering what the Blumhouse horror brand means, with a key takeaway being that what has worked in the past does not necessarily work in today's changing landscape. The company is now looking ahead to October's Black Phone 2, which is a pure horror feature, and December's Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which test audiences are said to have responded enthusiastically to. The first Freddy's grossed a massive $297.1 million at the global box office to become the top-earner in Blumhouse's history against a $20 million budget, not adjusted for inflation. Insiders at both Blumhouse and Universal are hopeful that the pic will restore the luster to the house that that Blum built. One pressing matter facing Blumhouse is M3GAN 2.0 spinoff SOULM8TE, which hits theaters Jan. 9, 2026, and tells the story of an adult AI robot companion. While it's to soon to say whether plans for the film will change, insiders say discussions are underway regarding the entire upcoming slate, including SOULM8TE, but add that the spinoff has tested incredibly well. Blum himself decided to speak out proactively about M3GAN 2.0 and Blumhouse's slump in a podcast interview with The Town's Matt Belloni during the weekend of the film's opening. He owned up to what may have gone so wrong. 'We all thought Megan was like Superman. We could do anything to her. We could change genres. We could put her in the summer. We could make her look different. We could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy. And we classically over-thought how powerful people's engagement was with her,' Blum said, reiterating that the audience wasn't ready to genre-swap. (He also admitted to being in 'pain' all weekend.) One horror producer familiar with the inner workings of Blumhouse couldn't agree more, telling THR the film's failure boiled down to hubris. 'They thought they were being all clever changing the dates and the genres,' the person said. Adds another horror producer: 'This was not the sequel audiences wanted. It was the movie that the director wanted.' The good news: no one at Universal is freaking out about M3GAN 2.0 or Blumhouse's recent slump, since its titles are far more modestly budgeted than most studio pics. 'We would be having a different conversation if they weren't responsible,' says one studio insider. 'At the end of the day, every one of these movies will make money.' All told, the 42 releases from Blumhouse since it was founded in 2002 have grossed more than $6 billion at the worldwide box office (not all belong to Universal). The vast majority cost less than $20 million to produce, and in many cases, notably less. 'I said to [Blumhouse employees] this morning that if you look at any massive talent, whether they are a movie star or whether they are a production company or whether they are a studio, every one of your favorite people have gone through slumps. And that applies to Blumhouse, too,' Blum said in his The Town interview. Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian says no one is immune to the traffic jam taking place currently at the summer box office, whether it's family films going up each other or genre films such as 28 Years Later and M3GAN 2.0. He adds, 'It's playing out more like a cinematic gladiator school or a Dickensian marketplace, where it's the best of times for some and the worst of times for others.' —Borys Kit contributed to this story. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Time Out
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
A stage adaptation of horror classic ‘Paranormal Activity' is coming to London's West End
Found footage horror classic Paranormal Activity isn't necessarily the most obvious candidate for a stage adaptation: Oren Peli's film is famously based upon largely static camera shots as it traces the calamitous misadventures of a couple who move in together only to have their should-be domestic idyll disrupted by some sort of demonic presence. But if there's anyone who can make this sort of thing work in the theatre it's Felix Barrett, who as the driving force behind immersive theatre gods Punchdrunk has specialised in making impossible possible in a very creepy way for almost a quarter century now. Written by US playwright Levi Holloway – who scored a solid Broadway hit with the similarly spooky Grey House – it's a heavily reimagined version of the story, that sees Chicago couple James and Lou move to London only to discover that something dark has followed them. The show premiered in Leeds last summer: press weren't invited but word of mouth for the run seems strong, and it'll have an autumn tour of the US before settling into the West End for a 12-week limited season, where it'll replace the shutting Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Horror doesn't always work in the West End – it wasn't so long ago that the Ambassadors Theatre played host to the execrable Catherine Tate vehicle The Enfield Haunting – but the signs are there that this should be satisfyingly chilling.
