# The Blair Witch Project

> A found-footage horror film and its missing-person myth grossed $248 million worldwide.

- Owner: Haxan Films; Artisan Entertainment (original distributor)
- Kind: Film
- Sector: Entertainment
- Seed date: 1999-01-24
- Peak proxy date: Week of Jul 30, 1999
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 60 (Viral, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Mystery & lore, Underdog, Platform jump, Press loop, Controversy

## Summary

The film debuted at Sundance, then opened in US cinemas in July. A fictional missing-person website, television special and fan forums carried its story. Its first wide weekend earned $29.2 million; the original release grossed about $248 million worldwide.

## Timeline

- 1999-01-24 — Daniel Myrick / Eduardo Sánchez (Box office) — The film debuted at Sundance just after midnight Sunday.
- 1999-04-03 — Ain’t It Cool News (Open web) — AICN premiered the filmmakers’ first teaser and linked the official site.
- 1999-07-12 — Sci-Fi Channel (TV) — Sci-Fi aired the promotional mock-documentary Curse of the Blair Witch.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/the-blair-witch-project

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “The Blair Witch Project.” Case HIS-01239. Spread Score v1.2: 60/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01239