The partnership will allow fans of the upcoming horror franchise release to watch the film free in 25 cities around the world using Facebook’s Want It application. It also gives the studio a three-month start on building awareness through the viral platform of social media.

Devotees can vote for Paranormal Activity 4 to come to their city for a one-off show before the film launches officially on Oct 19.

Want it recognises the geographical location of voters. At time of writing the film’s fan page had registered more than 5,200 votes and the leading cities included Baltimore, Indianapolis and Houston.

“There’s a very special connection between Paranormal Activity and Facebook,” Facebook’s head of market development Matt Jacobson said. “Four years after the initial success of the franchise and the establishment of a passionate fan community, we’re excited to see continued iteration on a franchise that was born on Facebook.”

Paramount’s evp of interactive marketing Amy Powell added that fans had championed the franchise through social media “from the very beginning.”

Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman directed Paranormal Activity 4. Paranormal Activity 3 (pictured) grossed more than $205m worldwide.

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