Paranormal acitivty case study

A perfect example of a successful low-budget horror film that made millions in profits is..

 Paranormal activity. It was a hit phenomena that went on to make 6 films including the most recent; Ghost dimension (2015).

 The film cost just $15,000 and was first shown at the Slamdance film festival where it caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, the well-known Hollywood film director. His initial plans were to make a big-budget remake of the film however he then decided to take the film to Paramount/DreamWorks, where it took off beyond imagined. The movie was marketed as a unique "experience" for its audience. The trailer was a bit far fetch as it did not reveal the scariest moments as the film was based upon a slow build up of terror. This worked particularly well and put it in high demand for the midnight viewings available. The high demand led to Paramount releasing the film in cinemas on a normal schedule rather than just the late showings. The film created an online buzz which meant marketing for the film was cheap! Social media was used for marketing as well as research when Facebook and Twitter accounts were set up purely to see peoples reactions to the film!

 3 main reasons for Paranormal Activities success;

1. It let the consumers dictate the demand, once demand hit 100,000 the film was distributed within a radius of everyone's home who wanted to see it.
2. They did not require a high budget for marketing as they let the fans market on their behalf.
3. The film did not have high expectations and so there was no false-hype, viewers expectations were exceeded.
4. As the film was low-budget, distributers could play around with marketing and experiment different ways to advertise the film for example by portraying the true aspects of the slow building film within the trailer rather than giving the audience everything by jumping to the climax.