Paramount to credit fans on Paranormal Activity

PHYSICAL: Those who register on the film's Web site will be listed on DVD, Blu-ray

By Laurence Lerman -- Video Business, 11/5/2009

NOV. 5 | PHYSICAL: Paramount Home Entertainment will give fans of breakout horror film Paranormal Activity credit for the film’s runaway theatrical success by putting their names in the credits on the film’s DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions.

In a marketing gimmick reminiscent of New Line Home Entertainment’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which the names of charter members of the LOTR online fan club were included on the credits of the DVD releases, Paramount will credit the names of everyone who registers at ParanormalActivityProject.com before Nov. 9 at 12 p.m. PST.

“The success of Paranormal Activity would not have been possible without the million-plus fans who went to the ParanormalMovie.com official Web site and demanded the movie in their home town,” said Amy Powell, Paramount’s senior VP of interactive marketing. “They demanded the movie, and they got it. So now we are giving them credit where credit is due.”

As of Nov. 4, Paranormal Activity has grossed $87.9 million in wide release on more than 1,900 screens, following an initial limited release in late September. Debuting writer/director/producer Oren Peli’s horror feature, which concerns a young couple’s encounters with a demonic presence in their new suburban home, cost a reported $15,000 to produce.

The studio hasn’t divulged the disc release date, but it is likely to be issued on DVD and Blu-ray in the first quarter.

The Rings fan-filled credits added nearly 20 minutes to each film’s DVD running time. With similar fandom, the lean, 86-minute Paranormal Activity could find itself 20% longer on disc.