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A cheap acquisition at the Slamdance Film Festival, “Paranormal Activity” came out of nowhere, riding online fan buzz to a domestic total of $33.7 million so far. The movie expanded to 760 theaters, up 600 from the previous weekend, and has plenty of room to grow.

Paramount plans to expand the movie to between 1,800 and 2,000 theaters next weekend, then widen its release even farther for Halloween. It will go head-to-head with an established horror franchise as Lionsgate opens “Saw VI” on freshwater pearl Friday.

Shot in a raw documentary style, “Paranormal Activity” is a twist on the haunted house story as a couple tries to capture on camera the strange phenomena and apparitions afflicting them.

“Paranormal Activity” might have a shot to duplicate the success of “The Blair Witch Project,” a 1999 Sundance Film Festival discovery that rode Internet buzz to a $140 million domestic total.

“When you have a movie playing this well and it has such a broad appeal, it certainly tells you that is a possible outcome,” said Rob freshwater pearl Moore, vice chairman of Paramount. “I certainly couldn’t predict it yet, but nothing with this movie has been predictable so far.”

Hollywood had its strongest weekend yet this fall, with overall business at $141 million, up 41 percent from the same weekend last year.

“All the top five movies all did really well. It’s kind of exciting to see the box-office get reignited and to see consumers excited about what’s available,” said Kyle Davies, head of distribution for Overture.

Fans had a good range of choices among freshwater pearl jewelry horror tales, action, family fare and romantic comedy, including the previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, Universal’s “Couples Retreat,” which slipped to fourth-place with $17.9 million. “Couples Retreat” raised its 10-day total to $63.3 million.

“This is why the fall is such a great time to be not only a studio executive, but a moviegoer. It’s really an eclectic mix out there. You don’t get this in summer,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.