20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

13. Paranormal Activity

The Movies: Paranormal Activity (2009), Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), Paranormal Activity 5 (2014) It's a sound business enterprise to make low-cost, high-reward features and this tactic has made the Paranormal Activity series incredibly lucrative, but for a so-called 'horror' franchise there is almost no tension or suspense, everything important plot-wise usually happens in the last ten minutes and for me at least, these interchangeable movies are just plain dull. The first Paranormal Activity came out of nowhere to become one of the most profitable movies ever made, grossing over $190m from a budget of just $15,000. And just like that, the newest quick cash-in horror franchise had arrived. Sequels arrived just in time for Halloween for the next three years, and the franchise has proven to be one of the most lucrative in history. The first four movies were produced for a little over $18m, and have grossed over $700m at the worldwide box office. No wonder found-footage became Hollywood's latest trend... With no Paranormal Activity movies released during 2013, we have the pleasure of two this year. Spin-off The Marked Ones was released last week, with early buzz hyping it as a minor return to form for the franchise, albeit with disappointing box office returns. Will October's Paranormal Activity 5 reinvigorate the series or continue the repetitiveness of the previous few movies? Judging from the track record of major horror franchises, the outlook is bleak.