Despite dismissive reviews and criticism from fans on social media, The Nun is shaping up to be the biggest horror film of the year. The film is the fifth offering in Warner Bros’ The Conjuring Universe which loosely follows the work of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and now has two spin-off film franchises. The first is based on the possessed Annabelle doll and the second kick-started with the release of The Nun.
The latest installment follows a priest and young novitiat who are sent to Romania by the Vatican to investigate the death of a nun young possessed by a demon. While, The Warrens do not feature directly in the plot, The Nun ties in to the first Conjuring film which has a third film due for release next year.
The horror proved a hit with audiences over its opening weekend, as it earned $53.5 million in the US, making it the ninth biggest film debut this year, and $77.5 million internationally. It has now also become the biggest opener for the franchise in UK cinemas, with a $5 million box office opening.
This year has been good one for horror films, as offerings such as A Quiet Place and Hereditary were released to critical acclaim – but neither come close to The Nun’s astounding debut. However, despite its huge success in comparison to other films released this year, The Nun is still not close to outperforming the 2017 remake of It (which was released around the same time last year) when it comes to US opening weekend sales, although it did perform better internationally.