While it was no Poltergeist, I think the original is vaguely remembered by children of the 80s, if more for the Ramones song, a minor MTV hit.
Huh, looking for info on King's involvement I found this: "The film earned $57 million in 1989, bigger than any prior Jason, Freddy, Chucky, Leatherface, Pinhead or Michael Myers flick of that era. Adjusted for inflation, it earned $134m, meaning that in 1989 it had sold more tickets than any zombie movie since 1980 and any R-rated horror flick save for Friday the 13th, Predator, Carrie, The Shining, Halloween, Aliens, The Omen, Alien, The Amityville Horror and The Exorcist." So bigger hit than I remembered.
Every article mentions King, tho, so I'm guessing he still has some rights. Probably puts the kibosh on this.