Paranormal profit for scary movie

The film was shot in the director's home in San Diego in 2006

By Tim Masters
Entertainment correspondent, BBC News

The director of Paranormal Activity has said he is "overwhelmed" by the movie's success in passing the $100m (£60m) mark at the US box office.

Oren Peli's ghost story, filmed on a video camera in his own house for just $15,000 (£9,000), has become one of the most profitable movies of all time.

"I'm pleased and overwhelmed and a bit shocked," Peli told BBC News on Friday.

"The whole thing has been kind of crazy, so this is just one more crazy thing that's going on."

Paranormal Activity first opened in the US in September with midnight-only screenings in 12 college towns, but quickly developed a nationwide buzz via word of mouth and an online marketing campaign.

'Primal fear'

The fictional movie, shot like a homemade documentary, follows a young couple coping with supernatural phenomena in their home.

Budget horror film is US smash

The film took $22m (£13.5m) in its first weekend on nationwide release at the end of October, trouncing the sixth instalment of the horror franchise Saw.

The film is released in the UK on 25 November.

First-time director Peli said: "People say it's the first movie that's really scared them in a long time. What happens at night while you are asleep, that's a primal fear that everyone has in common."

But he remained tight-lipped about talk of a Paranormal Activity sequel.

"I'm not discussing the possibility of any future projects. I'm not going to comment on anything until it's done," he said.

He also refused to discuss his previously-announced follow-up thriller Area 51, filming in Utah this autumn.

Fan commitment

Paramount Pictures said the film would cross the $100m (£60m) mark at the North American box office on Friday after only five weekends of national release.

In so doing, Paranormal Activity has become the top grossing R-rated thriller of the past decade, Paramount said.

It is a success story to rival that of the Blair Witch Project, which set box offices alight in 1999.

Made for less than $100,000 (£60,000) and shot in a documentary style, the low-budget horror went on to make $250m (£150m) worldwide.

Paramount chairman Brad Grey said: "What is truly amazing about Paranormal Activity is the depth of commitment from fans who demanded to see it.

"Adam Goodman, our head of production, believed in the film and championed it from the very first screening."