Paramount gets 'Paranormal' director's next

Paramount Pictures scored a solid deal with Oren Peli's surprise horror hit "Paranormal Activity," and the studio has now acquired the distribution rights for the filmmaker's next low-budget project, "Area 51."

"Activity" cost less than $15,000 to make, but it grossed more than $100 million in the U.S. alone. "Area 51," according to Peter Bart and Michael Fleming, cost about $5 million. Peli wrote and directed the pic.

"51" tells the story of three teenagers who experience scary things when they reach Area 51 at the Nellis Air Force Base in the Nevada desert. The film will follow the same style and structure of "Paranormal."

Paramount made a seven-figure deal for this project. A release date has not been announced yet, but the film is expected to open in theaters next year. "Paranormal Activity 2" may also soon go into development.