New Line’s The Nun officially became the highest-grossing title in The Conjuring universe this weekend with a running global total of $330M, besting the $320M worldwide haul of The Conjuring 2 which previously owned that record. While critics have been more or less unimpressed by the film, fans have flocked to the theaters to see the latest Conjuring entry, giving The Nun some impressive box office numbers over the past few weeks following its release. Directed by Corin Hardy, it was made on a budget of only $22M, which means it was a monstrous success.
James Wan‘s The Conjuring ended its box office run with $319M worldwide, while his 2016 sequel hit $320M. Wan also produced all of the spinoffs, with Annabelle pulling in $257M worldwide and its sequel Annabelle: Creation jumping to $306M. These are massive numbers for a franchise that’s built on the lower budget model, proving how important it is for studios to have reasonable budgets in order to set themselves up for success.
Much of The Nun‘s success has been driven by Spanish-speaking markets abroad with Mexico being the top with $21.5M followed by Brazil second with $17M. Spain is up in the top territories as well with $10.5M while Columbia has grossed $6.2M. In the US, Hispanic audiences have accounted for close to a third of Nun‘s $109M business
It’s in the realm of possibility that The Nun could land somewhere in the $340M-$350M range by the end of its full theatrical run, setting up the third Annabelle for a huge run come its July 3, 2019, release. Waiting in the wings are a planned The Crooked Man spinoff and a third Conjuring film. Wan’s Atomic Monster and New Line Cinema also have The Nurse in development. Not officially part of the Conjuring Universe, but produced by New Line and Atomic Monster, is The Curse of La Llorona, which will hit theaters on April 19, 2019.
Source: Deadline
