Fifteen years ago this week, Paranormal Activity 3 arrived as the third chapter in the found-footage horror series. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman and written by Christopher Landon, the prequel follows young sisters Katie and Kristi as their family begins experiencing escalating paranormal activity. It went on to become the franchise’s biggest hit.
The franchise’s biggest hit
Paranormal Activity 3 grossed $104,028,807 in the United States and Canada, along with $101,675,011 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $205,703,818. That made it the highest-grossing film in the Paranormal Activity series.
The tapes start in 1988
In the story, Katie delivers a box of old videotapes to her pregnant sister Kristi Rey and her husband Daniel in March 2005. The VHS footage, filmed in 1988, makes up the rest of the film. A year after that delivery, Kristi and Daniel’s house is ransacked and the tapes are missing.
A dust cloud gives the spirit away
Dennis notices that strange things have been happening since Kristi’s imaginary friend Tobi appeared. After Dennis and Julie attempt to film a sex tape, an earthquake interrupts them. Reviewing the footage, Dennis sees an invisible figure revealed by falling dust, and his friend Randy advises him to place cameras throughout the house.
Shot under a fake title
Principal photography began on June 6, 2011 and ended on August 5. During production, the film was known as Sports Camp. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who had directed the documentary Catfish, directed the film, and Jason Blum, Oren Peli and Steven Schneider produced. Akiva Goldsman served as executive producer.
The marketing turned screams into tweets
Following the social media success of the first two films, the prequel created the ‘Tweet Your Scream’ campaign on Twitter in preparation for its release. It also launched the Paranormal Activity 3 Demon Summoner app. The film opened on October 21, 2011.
Opening weekend set new records
The film grossed $8 million from midnight showings, setting another record for a horror film. Its Friday total was an estimated $26.2 million, the best opening day gross for a 2011 film since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July. The weekend brought the total to $52.6 million, surpassing Paranormal Activity 2’s $40.6 million and setting new opening weekend records for October and the fall season.
Reviews split, scares still worked
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 67% based on 123 critics, with an average rating of 6.1/10. CinemaScore audiences gave it a C+ grade. Roger Ebert gave the film one star and said the appeal had worn threadbare, while Kim Newman of Empire gave it 3 out of 5 and wrote that the scares still work.
The tapes got a chronological edit
Paranormal Activity 3 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 24, 2012 with an unrated director’s cut, lost tapes, the theatrical version, and a digital copy. That month, the first three films were edited in chronological order and released as Paranormal Activity: The Chronology. A one-disc theatrical DVD followed on February 14, 2012, and the film grossed $3.6 million in home sales.
The activity led to a fourth
In January 2012, Paramount announced a fourth film in the franchise, again to be directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Filming began in late June, and the sequel was released on October 19, 2012. Its first trailer arrived on August 1, 2012 with the tagline ‘all the activity has led to this’.
Tell us which Paranormal Activity 3 scare or number you still remember best.
Facts from Wikipedia: Paranormal Activity 3, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.