Two days ago we hit you with the news that the next film in the successful PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise was rumored to be undergoing a date shift from the originally scheduled October 25th release date to January 2014. We followed that up yesterday with a confirmation of sorts when Exhibitor Relations sent out the following tweet:
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5 will now drop 1/3/14 instead on 10/25/13. Horror has a new hotbed…
— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) July 17, 2013
Now The Wrap is reporting that PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5 doesn't yet exist, with no script or director attached, but may be moving forward with an October 2014 release planned. Instead, January will bring us the Latino-targeted spin-off formerly known as THE OXNARD TAPES, according to sources close to the project.
The as-of-yet untitled spin-off – a found-footage flick targeted at Latino audiences that's directed by PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 writer Christopher Landon – is finished and has been testing well. It was once deemed a "cousin" to the franchise, but now those close to the project say it is very much a spin-off. One individual said the film ends with people standing outside the same house where the first PARANORMAL ACTIVITY film began.
Sources close to the project stated that PARANORMAL ACTIVITY will still be featured prominently in the marketing of the spin-off, but because the film remains somewhat separate from the PA series of films, it will open in January instead of the October slot traditionally slated for direct sequels to the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY films.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5, meanwhile, doesn’t even have a script, according to The Wrap, let alone cuts for the studio to see. Supposedly Paramount and producer Jason Blum have not found an idea they like, though Greg Plotkin, who edited the last three films in the franchise, is likely to direct.
We'll keep you posted on news regarding the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY sequel and its January-slated spin-off as we hear it.