Paranormal Activity 3 is a big-budget entry in the horror franchise, in that it cost $5 million when the first film cost $11,000. And yet, the latest scarefest still managed to make back its budget through midnight screenings alone. Deadline reports that PA3 brought in $8 million from midnight screenings last night, nearly $2 million more than the second film in the franchise did last year, and even more than the first film made in the first weekend it opened in limited release (remember, before it was an enormous franchise, Paranormal Activity was just a little plucked-from-Sundance sleeper success).

That's not good news just for those of you who only want to see Paranormal Activity 3 in theaters packed with fellow horror fans, but for the movie industry in general, which hasn't seen a real, new hit since Rise of the Planet of the Apes-- yes, you're right, that movie did come out forever ago. Sure, they managed to mint money with the re-release of The Lion King 3D, but if 3D re-releases start becoming the only kinds of movies that make money, we're all in for grim times. Whether or not you like the surveillance cam, jump-scare styles of the Paranormal Activity franchise, the series is one of the more original and enduring ideas out there, and is pretty much the opposite of the bloated Hollywood idea of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on toy/comic book adaptations that nobody wants.

Paramount is projecting a $35 million opening weekend for Paranormal Activity 3, but Deadline suggests it'll be way more than that. Congratulations, Hollywood! People like you again!