Paranormal Activity 7 Reportedly Gets New Title & R-Rating
Paranormal Activity 7 reportedly has a new title and official rating. Announced in June 2019, Paramount had been working on a new Paranormal Activity film originally planned for a theatrical release in March 2021. However, with a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of a new streaming service, the company decided to release the seventh installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise exclusively on Paramount+.
Paramount confirmed the film would release before the end of 2021, and in July 2021, producer Jason Blum confirmed that filming on Paranormal Activity 7 had been completed. The film is reportedly set to release in time for Halloween on Paramount+, alongside a feature documentary showcasing the making of the film. With October fast approaching, it was expected that news of the upcoming installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise would be coming soon, and now an official title has been revealed.
According to the site Film Ratings, Paranormal Activity 7 is now titled Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. The film will reportedly be rated R, like the previous entries in the franchise. The R rating is due to violence, bloody images, and language throughout.
A subtitle fits with the Paranormal Activity naming convention. The first four installments all featured numbers at the end of their titles, but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, originally planned as a spin-off, adopted a subtitle as a way to distinguish itself from the mainline series. The follow-up film, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension tied into The Marked Ones and made it part of the mainline series. The title Next of Kin implies the passing of the torch for the franchise, as the new spirit could be haunting a new family related to the original series.
With a rating and new title now set, it is only a matter of time before the studio releases a trailer and release date announcement for Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. Four of the previous films opened about a week and a half before the Halloween holiday, indicating that the film could release on Paramount+ on October 22, 2021. However, given the film is not reliant on box-office numbers and more on people tuning in, the film could release on October 29, 2021, which is three days before Halloween. While it gives it less time to be relevant to audiences, it also could make it a hotter ticket item with people wanting to watch it before or even on Halloween night. The release of a sequel to a popular horror franchise on the weekend of Halloween available to people from the comfort of their homes could draw serious attention to the streaming service and the film and compete with Peacock's release of Halloween Kills.
Source: Filmratings.com