‘Paranormal Activity’ Marking It’s Place At The Box Office

Paramount Pictures’ latest supernatural horror film, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, debuted in theaters last night with a solid $1.2 million for Thursday screenings.

The film is centered around Jesse, the film’s lead protagonist, during the Summer of 2012 in Oxnard , CA.  After a woman dies in an apartment below where a party is being held, Jesse and a group of friends decided to investigate the crime scene with their camera.  The group finds evidence of black magic, a photograph of Jesse and tapes from Paranormal Activity 3.  As a result, Jesse is inhabited by the same being that previously overcame Kristi and Katie, all the while his friends scramble to save his life.

Instead of being called a sequel or remake, The Marked Ones is being considered a “cousin” of previous releases from the series.  The film features the directorial debut of Christopher Landon for the series, a screenwriter who wrote the scripts for Paranormal Activity 2, 3 & 4.  This is also the first time the series has primarily targeted a Hispanic audience with the storyline.

Industry analysts are current predicting a mid-teen ($14-17 million) release for the films.  So far, The Marked Ones has been receiving mostly positive reviews from fans of the series.