‘Paranormal Activity’ Becomes Most Profitable Movie Ever

First Published: October 29, 2009 5:34 PM EDT Credit: Paramount

Caption Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat in a scene from sleeper hit ‘Paranormal Activity’

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- “Paranormal Activity” has just surpassed “The Blair Witch Project” to become the most profitable movie ever.

The box office hit was made for less than $15,000 and as of Wednesday has grossed a whopping $65.1 million, TheWrap.com reported.

The movie’s box office success has reaped a staggering 414,233 percent return on its initial investment.

“Paranormal” has gradually expanded from 12 to 33 to 160 to 760 to this weekend’s 1,945 theaters – a move that some criticized – but one that Executive VP of Distribution for Paramount, Don Harris, credits as a key to the horror film’s success.

“Everybody else thought we should be going faster than we were,” he told TheWrap. “But I thought we were doing a pretty good job of seeding the ground as we went. I don’t know that we would have done a lot more last weekend if we would have added a bunch of runs then.”

The studio has reportedly spent less than $10 million to market the movie.

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