Viewing order · Paranormal Activity
The Paranormal Activity movies in order
A $15,000 film shot in one house became a seven-film series worth close to $900 million. Box office and chronology per Wikipedia.
By the Horror Planet editors · Updated November 9, 2026
Release order
| Year | Film | Director | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Paranormal Activity | Oren Peli | $194.2M |
| 2010 | Paranormal Activity 2 | Tod Williams | $177.5M |
| 2011 | Paranormal Activity 3 | Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | $207.0M |
| 2012 | Paranormal Activity 4 | Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | $142.8M |
| 2014 | Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones | Christopher Landon | $90.9M |
| 2015 | Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension | Gregory Plotkin | $78.9M |
| 2021 | Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin | William Eubank | Paramount+ |
Chronological order
Part 3 is set in 1988 and Part 2 runs alongside the first film, so the original story order is (Wikipedia):
Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 4, The Marked Ones, The Ghost Dimension. Next of Kin is a reboot and stands alone.
How we'd watch them
Release order. Part 2 and Part 3 are built to reward people who have seen the first film. If you only watch two, make it the original and Part 3, the biggest earner in the series.
The 2027 film
The eighth film, a second reboot written and directed by Ian Tuason (Undertone), returns to the house from the 2007 original. Paramount moved it from May 21 to October 22, 2027, back into the pre-Halloween slot the series was built on (Bloody Disgusting). It is on our 2027 calendar.