Lionsgate's The Possession gets a poster aping a key image in the Haunting In Connecticut poster...

Prior to The Expendables ($34.8 million) and The Hunger Games ($152 million), The Haunting In Connecticut had the second-biggest opening in Lionsgate history outside of the Saw sequels and Tyler Perry films.  With $23 million, it lagged only behind Fahrenheit 9/11 ($23.9 million) up until just two years ago.  As of today, it's still Lionsgate's 14th biggest debut and their fourth-biggest debut outside of those two franchises.  And with a final domestic gross of $55.3 million, it ranks as Lionsgate's 12th biggest grosser, and the fifth-biggest earned for Lionsgate outside of the above-noted Saw sequels/Tyler Perry projects.  Only The Lincoln Lawyer ($58 million), The Expendables ($103 million), Fahrenheit 9/11 ($119 million) and The Hunger Games have topped it among Lionsgate 'originals' (the Perry films that earned more were Why Did I Get Married Too?, Madea's Family Reunion, and Madea Goes to Jail).  I bring this up because we now have a poster for The Possession, which brazenly mimics the core imagery of The Haunting In Connecticut (which, I should add, is a surprisingly good character-driven ghost story).  We may decry the obvious thievery and probable misdirection, but looking at the numbers, I can't really blame them..

Scott Mendelson

Paranormal Activity 3 gets a surprisingly revealing teaser.

Considering how completely enshrouded in mystery the second film is, it's a little surprising that Paramount basically ups and reveals the primary plot in this moody and effective teaser.  This time around, it's being helmed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who broke out last year with the somewhat questionable (in regards to its 'non-fiction-ness') documentary Catfish.  I have no objection with the third film in this franchise being an 80s-set prequel, but I have to wonder where they will go after they'd allegedly explained much of the mystery in this alleged 'here's how it all began' third chapter.  I am genuinely curious to see A) if they actually shot the film on old-fashioned VHS camcorders and B) whether this series can maintain the consistency of the Saw franchise, which was flying high for five straight installments before crashing with the sixth (and ironically best) chapter back in 2009.  It took direct competition from the first Paranormal Activity to bring down Jigsaw.  What will be the next October-scheduled franchise to take down the poltergeists/demons from this series in a few years?  Anyway, this one opens on October 21st, which is the same weekend as the wide releases of the first two films.  As always, we'll see...

Scott Mendelson