$54 million weekend premier for 'Paranormal Activity 3'

Is it just me or is their a scary-movie shortage at the theaters this year. With only a week till Halloween, I was expecting a plethora of squeals to movies like 'Saw' and 'Halloween'.  It seems the studios were aiming for quality not quantity this year.

'Paranormal Activity 3' over-performed at the box office on opening weekend, bringing in $54 million. The film is actually a prequel to the original, taking place in the 80's.

The studio reported this was the highest movie premier ever for a horror film.  Not bad for a franchise that started with a $15 thousand budget.

'Paranormal Activity' gained national attention in 2009 when audiences across the nation voted for a national release of the film. Refresh your memory by reading this blog post.

For those brave souls who watched it this weekend, what did you think? How does the prequel measure up to the first two films?

Paranormal Activity gets nationwide release thanks to voters

After a million online votes, Paramount Pictures is releasing Paranormal Activity nationwide. Just goes to show that Americans love their scary, freaky movies.

This is the first time the public got a chance to vote on the films released by movie studios. I think this was a really smart promotional move on behalf of Paramount Pictures.

Voting has always been used to engage and interact with the public, so why not try it with movies? Genius.

Most of the hype over this movie has come from the option to vote on a nationwide release. That is definitely what attracted my interest in the film.

Of course the good reviews and scary trailers had something to do with it too. E! Online said the movie was "one of the decade's scariest films."

This movie has made some serious money considering its budget and limited release. Right now it is at number four at the box office with $8,280,000.

So for those who voted to see the film, congratulations, democracy has served you well. Celebrate your victory by attending the nationwide opening of the film this Friday, Oct. 16.

To get more info on the movie and see trailers visit http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/. I also recommend Facebook.com/ParanormalActivity to read reactions/reviews from fans.