Tag: Bonnie Aarons

The Nun II Box Office Prediction

Five years ago, The Nun upended conventional wisdom (get it??) with a larger than anticipated opening. At the time, it was the fifth feature in the Conjuring Universe and it set the opening weekend record for the horror franchise at $53 million. The sequel out September 8th is now the ninth entry with Michael Chaves directing (he also made The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It). Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, and Bonnie Aarons (as The Nun) reprise their roles with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell joining the cast.

Whether its The Conjuring and its sequels, Annabelle and her follow-ups, or The Nun, Warner Bros has made massive profits in the past decade from this series. Nun II‘s predecessor, in addition to the highest premiere, holds the second best overall domestic gross ($117 million while the first Conjuring took in $137 million). Each direct follow-up for Conjuring and Annabelle has seen slight to fairly substantial decreases in their debuts. 2013’s Conjuring made $41 million while part 2 made $40 million and the third slid to $24 million (with COVID complications to be fair). Annabelle started with $37 million while its sequel hit $35 million and the third did $20 million (a series low).

You’ll note that the second installments hold up rather well. The Nun II would need to top the original Conjuring‘s $41 million for the #2 beginning. That’s certainly doable, but I’ll project high 30s.

The Nun II opening weekend prediction: $38.7 million

For my My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 prediction, click here:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Box Office Prediction

The Nun Movie Review

We aren’t exactly blessed with a new horror classic in The Nun, the latest entry in the seemingly endless possibilities for spinoffs in the Conjuring Cinematic Universe. It does, however, manage to rise above the Annabelle creations before it with some style points and an occasional identity of its own. While both Annabelle and its sequel often felt like unnecessary cash grabs, I’ll give director Corin Hardy a bit of credit for creating something a little different. Let’s call it maybe a B- for trying.

The title character here first appeared in The Conjuring 2. She’s a demonic nun possessed by evil spirit Valak. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) had to put up with her sister acts of violence in that picture. This prequel and spin-off (preoff?… spinquel??) takes it back two decades earlier to the 1950s in Romania. A nun has committed suicide in a monastery after making the acquaintance of Valak and the Vatican enlists Father Burke (Demian Bechir) to look into it. He’s paired up with Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), who’s still in the novitiate (or training) stage before taking her vows.

Once they reach the scene of the death, Father and Sister are subject to lots of shadowy lurking, visions of terror, and charming local Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) who provides a couple moments of genuine comic relief. That’s not something often found in this particular Universe and it’s welcome because these pics aren’t worth taking seriously.

2013’s The Conjuring was a very entertaining and scary genre exercise. The direct sequel and the offshoots haven’t come close to its power. And The Nun is nowhere near as entertaining or scary. Yet I wouldn’t classify this one as lazy. The monastery setting creates a sometimes effective claustrophobic feel. We know this franchise is all about jump scares and they’re in bountiful supply. I’ll give Taissa Farmiga props for her ability to act as terrified as her big sister Vera in the main series flicks. Calling this the best spin-off thus far isn’t praise of the highest power, but I’ll confess to it holding my interest better than the doll.

**1/2 (out of four)

The Nun Box Office Prediction

Blogger’s Note (09/05/18): I am revising my estimate up from $38.4 million to $45.4 million

The Conjuring Cinematic Universe rolls along when The Nun debuts next weekend. The fifth entry in the highly successful Warner Bros horror franchise is a prequel to all four previous pictures. Our title character was first glimpsed at in 2016’s The Conjuring 2. Corin Hardy directs a cast that includes Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga (sister of Conjuring star Vera), Jonas Bloquet, and Bonnie Aarons.

Just a couple of weeks back, The Nun received some unexpected publicity when YouTube pulled one of its trailers off the site due to its frightening jump scares. If anything, that notoriety could help peak the curiosity of moviegoers. Not that it necessarily needs it. The opening weekend grosses of this series have been remarkably consistent. Here’s the rundown:

The Conjuring – $41.8 million

Annabelle – $37.1 million

The Conjuring 2 – $40.4 million

Annabelle: Creation – $35 million

I don’t see any compelling reason why The Nun would change that range. You could say it seems pretty (ahem) black and white to me. I’ll predict this scary sister act hits high 30s.

The Nun opening weekend prediction: $45.4 million

For my Peppermint prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/08/28/peppermint-box-office-prediction/

For my God Bless the Broken Road prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/09/02/god-bless-the-broken-road-box-office-prediction/