In fact, if Warner Bros. and New Line have their way, there will certainly be more. According to The InSneider, a prequel movie is now in development.
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Details are somewhat scarce on the movie so far, but we do know that Rodrigue Huart, who has seen success in the short film arena, is in talks to direct.
Right now, the story is a mystery, beyond the notion that it’ll turn the clock back to the early days of Ed and Lorraine Warren, as played in the main ‘Conjuring’ franchise by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
Whether either actor will be back for bookend scenes, it seems more likely that new people will be stepping into the roles.
What we do know is that Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg, who co-wrote 2023’s ‘The Nun II’ and this year’s ‘Last Rites’ are aboard to script this new movie.
What else is happening in the ‘Conjuring’ universe?
A TV spin-off of the movies has been in the works for some time, and recently hired Nancy Won, a veteran of shows such as Apple TV‘s ‘Sunny’, Netflix‘s ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ on Hulu to be showrunner, executive producer and head writer for the series.
Plot information is unavailable right now, but the show will apparently continue the story in some fashion, likely without using the Warrens (but we won’t count them out).
The movie series’ Peter Safran remains onboard as an executive producer, with James Wan’s Atomic Monster company also producing. Wan, of course, launched the movie series with 2013’s ‘The Conjuring’.
Also hired for the show were writers Peter Cameron and Cameron Squires, who have Marvel shows and other genre work on their resumes.
When will this ‘The Conjuring’ prequel movie be in theaters?
With none of the deals officially in place yet, we wouldn’t expect this next chunk of scare tactics to be out much before 2027 at the earliest.
(L to R) Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in ‘The Conjuring’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
A ‘The Conjuring’ TV series is in development.
Nancy Won will be showrunner.
The series will be on HBO Max.
With the most recent entry of ‘The Conjuring’ cinematic horror franchise, ‘Last Rites’, delivering giant box office results, you knew there was going to be more.
And the news feels like the right time for an update on the gestating TV series that has been in development at HBO Max since 2023.
There are few details available about the show right now, though Variety’s report mentions that the show will continue some aspect of the ‘Conjuring’ storyline.
Whether that means any appearances of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the main characters (based on real-life supernatural investigators) remains to be seen, but we can imagine the show exploring its own corner of the universe.
There is, let’s not forget other avenues the show could exploit, including ‘The Nun’ and ‘Annabelle’ movie spin-off timelines, but chances are it’ll plough its own row.
The movie series’ Peter Safran remains onboard as an executive producer, with James Wan’s Atomic Monster company also producing. Wan, of course, launched the movie series with 2013’s ‘The Conjuring’.
Also hired for the show were writers Peter Cameron and Cameron Squires, who have Marvel shows and other genre work on their resumes.
What other movie spin-offs are headed to HBO Max?
(L to R) Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in ‘Lanterns’. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO.
Alongside the ‘Conjuring’ show, fellow horror franchise ‘It’ has its own spin-off hitting HBO Max starting October 26th called ‘IT: ‘Welcome to Derry’. It’s a prequel set in the 1960s.
And while it’s not strictly a spin-off from an existing movie, superhero series ‘Lanterns’ is part of the DC Studios universe and will include appearances from Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, whose character was introduced in ‘Superman’.
When will the ‘Conjuring’ series be on HBO Max?
Since it’s at such an early stage, there is no information yet on when the show might hit the streaming service.
Opening in theaters on September 8th, ‘The Nun II’ attempts to wring more scares out of the demonic habit-wearer first glimpsed in 2016’s ‘The Conjuring 2’.
Unfortunately, despite some expressive performances from the likes of Taissa Farmiga, Storm Reid and Jonas Bloquet, it falls back on some very tired tropes and giant plot contrivances.
‘The Nun II’, as you might expect, picks up the story of 2018’s ‘The Nun’.
1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The film follows Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun (Bonnie Aarons).
Given that Valak was not defeated at the end of ‘The Nun’, it’s in no way surprising that the demonic entity is back to cause more chaos, especially since we learned that Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) was possessed by the creature, and also returns here, this time working as a handyman at a girls’ boarding school in France.
At this point, almost anything from the main ‘Conjuring’ franchise (which, in case you forgot, sees Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing real-life paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, who come up against some scary situations) that is even slightly popular with audiences ends up getting its own franchise.
So far, we’ve seen doll Annabelle spin-off for three movies, and demonic Nun Valak is now on her (its?) second. The first ‘Nun’ movie was directed by Corin Hardy, but for the second, we have ‘Conjuring’ franchise veteran Michael Chaves, who has so far shot spin-off ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ and third main ‘Conjuring’ entry ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’.
Here’s what we liked about ‘The Nun II’: the performances, by the returning likes of Taissa Farmiga (sister of Vera, though their onscreen roles are seemingly not connected beyond appearing in the same movie universe) and Bloquet are certainly committed, and Storm Reid, playing a fellow nun, is also a welcome presence in the film. Even if later on, they mostly just have to look wide-eyed in terror.
Chaves and cinematographer Tristan Nyby also bathe their movie in an effective wash of dark, European colors and the environs (shot in France) are convincingly creepy. The boarding school setting works for a horror movie, and also provides a batch of suitably scream-happy youngsters to respond to Valak’s terrifying tricks.
And talking of her actions, one or two of the scares are effective, one moment in particular involving a hook working to get the blood pumping. Unfortunately, there the praise ends.
Between Chaves and writer Akela Cooper (who has delivered genre fun via movies such as ‘Malignant’ and ‘M3GAN’), you might think that the stage was set for some original horror action. But that’s not really the case.
It seems churlish to castigate a horror movie for keeping to the tropes of its genre, but ‘The Nun II’ rolls out a laundry list of basic cliches that stop being entertaining after a while and will have you start to check your watch.
There are only so many times that Valak can pop up, either as itself or in some other form without warning and you wonder why people keep on screaming when all they have to do is wait a few minutes for the habitual horror to return.
Other scenes are even less effective, particularly one depiction of what is supposed to be the Devil, but which falls foul of what could be dubbed “satanic convenience” –– the creature is seemingly the prince of Hell, but at one point is stopped by a bunch of schoolgirls locking a big door.
Likewise, early in the movie, Valak slays a priest by setting him on fire (it’s this act that partly sends Sister Irene on her latest mission to track the demon down), but later on when it tries the same trick with someone more important, the convenient creature starts much slower, so that they can survive.
It’s just one frustrating element that derails the power of the film; for most of it, you feel like you’ve seen all of these moments a hundred times before and pulled off to more successful effect.
How many times, for example, have we seen a character roll or kick a ball into a dark corner in a seemingly empty, only to get a fright when it is kicked back by something or someone unknown? ‘The Nun II’s version, played out during an early scene, feels like nothing new on that front.
Likewise, the entire plot grinds to a halt when Irene seeks out Father Ridley (Hudson), a friend at the Papal archives (well, the ones in France) that has been researching Valak and other Hellspawn. While getting such information across to the audience is an unfortunate necessity, this scene has Ridley serve as Father Exposition, dishing out the details in such a way that it feels as though it’s being dumped on you.
Outside of the terror elements, even the schoolchildren feel like their story is straight from the Big Book of Movie Stories, with mean girls, young outsider heroines and the dedicated teacher all present.
‘The Nun II’ will certainly appeal to dedicated fans of this giant horror franchise, but feels unlikely to convert newcomers with a basic, often tired series of horrid happenings. We’re having none of it.
With each “Mission: Impossible” movie, Tom Cruise puts himself further in harm’s way. In “Fallout,” now available on Digital HD, he jumps out of planes, races across Paris on a motorcycle, runs across rooftops (and breaking his ankle in the process), and flies a helicopter. At this point, aside from being one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, he’s also probably one of its top stuntmen.
The movie arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 4 (and is already available on Digital HD).
Watch Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie talk about how they pulled off that crazy rooftop scene:
“The Conjuring” universe just keeps getting bigger and scarier. In this spinoff, a priest with a haunted past and a novice are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a nun in Romania. They uncover an unholy secret and are forced to confront a malevolent force. Not only are their lives at risk — so are their very souls. Don’t watch this at night.
The movie arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 4 (and is already available on Digital HD).
This black comedy combines two things we never thought would go together: murder and puppets. Produced by The Jim Henson Company, the film follows a former puppet cop and his human partner (Melissa McCarthy) investigating the deaths of former sitcom stars. The movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on December 4.
Watch an exclusive clip of the cast’s “ad libs” below:
Why isn’t Oscar Isaac the hero of every movie? He takes his rightful place on center stage in this drama based on the true story of Israeli spies in the ’60s seeking to capture former Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley).
The movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on December 4.
This faith-based movie centers on a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter alone. When an up-and-coming race car driver enters their lives, she has to decide whether to join his fast-paced life or follow a path provided by God. Available on Digital HD.
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ (December 5)
The Emmy-winning Amazon series returns for a second season to follow the continuing adventures of Midge (Rachel Brosnahan), a housewife turned aspiring stand-up comic. Her roller coaster life takes her to Paris, brings a new day job, and even finds a new love interest (Zachary Levi). Available to stream on Amazon Prime on December 5.
It’s all big hair, big smiles and big Southern charm in this dramedy, which follows follows Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald), the plus-sized daughter of an overbearing Texas pageant queen (Jennifer Aniston). She decides to enter the local Miss Teen Blue Bonnet competition, with an an assist from drag queens (“the closest thing you can get to Dolly Parton around here”).
Director Andy Serkis puts his motion capture acting experience to good use in this “dark and gritty” retelling of “The Jungle Book.” A boy, who has never truly belonged in either the wilds of the jungle or the civilized world of man, must must navigate the inherent dangers of each on a journey to discover where he truly belongs. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch and Serkis provide voices and performance capture for the various jungle creatures.
‘Nailed It! Holiday’ (December 7)
‘Tis the season for festive dessert fails! The baking show returns for a seven-episode holiday special where Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres host, judge, and mentor the amateur, not-very-good bakers competing to make the not-worst cookies, cakes, pies, and desserts.
‘Top Chef: Kentucky’ Season Premiere, Bravo (December 6)
The 16th season of the reality cooking competition show heads to the Bluegrass State, where 15 talented chefs slice, dice, roast, and fry their way to winning the ultimate title.
‘The Flash: Elseworlds – Part 1,’ The CW (December 9)
The CW’s annual DC crossover event with three shows kicks off, first with “The Flash,” followed the next night by “Arrow,” and then finally “Supergirl.” The “Elseworlds” crossover will introduce Batwoman and Lois Lane to the universe and bring back Superman.
Jamie Lee Curtis‘ return as Laurie Strode earned $77.5 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office. That makes it the second-best horror opening of all time, after “It” with $123.4 million. “Halloween” also had the second-best ever October opening after “Venom,” which just set that record with $80.2 million.
Considering “Halloween” was made off a reported production budget of $10-$15 million, there is going to be A LOT of champagne popped over this result, which topped early expectations by quite a bit.
Universal
“The Nun” just opened to $53.5 million — the best of The Conjuring Universe so far — so R-rated horror is doing very well at the moment. According to Deadline, the top domestic horror film openings are now “It” ($123.4M), “Halloween” 2018 ($77.5M), “World War Z” ($66.4M), “Hannibal” ($58M), and “The Nun” ($53.8M).
Fans seem pretty pleased with the new “Halloween,” which arrived 40 years after the first film: “Halloween” got a B+ CinemaScore, while the other new wide release — “The Hate U Give” — earned an A+ from polled moviegoers.
Jamie Lee Curtis had tweeted support for early “Halloween” watchers as they attempted to knock “Venom” down off the No. 1 spot it had owned for the past two weeks. She followed with a “boast post” on the successful opening:
In other fun news, “A Star Is Born” also topped “Venom” this week, for the first time since they both opened.
Here are the top 10 weekend estimates for October 19-21 at the domestic box office:
1. “Halloween” – $77,501,000 2. “A Star Is Born” – $19,300,000 3. “Venom” – $18,105,000 4. “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween” – $9,715,000 5. “First Man” – $8,565,000 6. “The Hate U Give” – $7,500,000 7. “Smallfoot” – $6,615,000 8. “Night School” – $5,000,000 9. “Bad Times At The El Royale” – $3,300,000 10. “The Old Man & the Gun” – $2,050,000
Both “The Hate U Give” and “The Old Man & the Gun” are newcomers to the top 10. Welcome!
20th Century Fox
And pity poor “First Man.” It tanked in its opening last weekend and got only half of that in its second week. It was made for roughly $59-$70 million and has only picked up $55 million so far — and that’s including the worldwide gross, not just domestic. Ouch.
A direct spinoff of “The Conjuring 2,” “The Nun” is the fifth movie in The Conjuring Universe. That universe has more titles ahead, but for now “The Nun” is Nun-ber 1. (Get it? Nun-ber? Here all week!)
Over the final weekend of September, “The Nun” passed $330 million worldwide, surpassing “The Conjuring 2” global tally of just over $320 million.
As Deadline noted, much of “The Nun’s” success has been driven by Spanish-speaking markets abroad, with Mexico being the top with $21.5 million. The world loves horror, and we really love the believable horror of scary nuns.
Here’s The Conjuring Universe’s box office tally so far:
“The Nun” — Worldwide: $330,018,048 “The Conjuring 2” — Worldwide: $320,392,818 “The Conjuring” — Worldwide: $319,494,638 “Annabelle Creation” — Worldwide: $306,515,884 “Annabelle” — Worldwide: $257,047,661
Curtis is returning as Laurie Strode, 40 years after she survived a Halloween night attack by Michael Myers.
“Halloween,” which is rated R, opens October 19. Early box office tracking is in, and it looks like the 2018 film should easily make more than $40 million, possibly even $50 million, at the domestic box office over that three-day weekend.
As Deadline noted, that would certainly be the best domestic debut of the “Halloween” franchise, beating the 2007 reboot’s $26.3 million opening .
Universal Pictures
Box office tracking is often on the level of a Professor Trelawney prediction, but even she got one really good vision in. There’s a strong chance the movie WILL open above $40 million, especially with good reviews so far, lots of publicity (Jamie Lee Curtis is even on the cover of EW this week), and a long wait between films to build anticipation.
Deadline shared a breakdown of the total box office grosses for the 10 films so far in the “Halloween” franchise (not adjusted for inflation):
• John Carpenter’s first “Halloween” starring Jamie Lee Curtis, ($47M without inflation) • 1981’s “Halloween II” ($25.5M) • 1982’s “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” ($14.4M) • 1988’s “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” ($17.7M) • 1989’s “Halloween 5” ($11.6M) • 1995’s “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” ($15.1M) • 1998’s “Halloween: H20” ($55M) • 2002’s “Halloween: Resurrection” ($30.3M) • 2007’s “Halloween” ($58.2M) • 2009’s “Halloween II” ($33.3M)
“The Nun” just opened to more than $50 million, so the bar is pretty high for R-rated horror at the moment. As Deadline noted, the very top domestic opening for a horror film is “It” with $123.4 million. “Halloween” probably won’t reach that height, but it should do very well.
Shane Black‘s “Predator” debuted to an estimated $24 million, which put it toward the lower end of the $23 million-$32 million projections. Since the movie cost at least $88 million to make, and opened in 4,037 theaters, that’s … not that great. Its opening ranked third in the “Predator” franchise (not adjusted for inflation), behind “Alien vs. Predator“ ($38.2 million) and “Predators“ ($24.7 million).
“The Predator” wasn’t helped by lackluster reviews (from both critics and audiences) and a C+ Cinemascore. Plus, there was all the publicity about the registered sex offender. And of course Hurricane Florence.
Still, “The Predator” took No. 1. “The Nun“ — which opened to $53.5 million last week — took second this week with $18.2 million. That’s a drop of 66.2 percent from its huge debut.
“A Simple Favor“ took third with $16.5 million. Since that Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively film only cost about $20 million, and was released on fewer screens than “The Predator” and “The Nun,” that’s a solid opening. It surpassed its more limited projections of $12M-$15M. It’s also getting strong reviews (from both critics and audiences) and landed a B+ Cinemascore. According to Deadline, studios consider it a “word of mouth” movie that should have legs. We’ll see.
Lionsgate Films
After the top three, the box office take drops pretty dramatically. “White Boy Rick“ — starring Matthew McConaughey — opened in fourth place with about $8.8 million, off a $29 million budget. That’s rough. It was very closely followed by “Crazy Rich Asians“ picking up another $8.7 million.
There’s also “Annabelle 3,” which is set to start filming this fall and was already given a July 3, 2019 release date.
So far, “The Conjuring 3” and “The Crooked Man” don’t have release dates, and they probably shouldn’t be expected for release in 2019. But Safran sounded confident about the former at least heading into production next year. “The Crooked Man”? Eh. Maybe. We’ll see.
Here’s what Safran told CinemaBlend when asked for an update on “The Conjuring 3”:
“It’s actually coming along great. David Lindsay Johnson is working on the screenplay, and I feel pretty confident they will have that one up and running next year.”
Nice. James Wan directed the first two “Conjuring” movies, but last we heard he wasn’t expected to return for the third one. No director has been named yet, though, so there’s always hope. It’s not like “Aquaman” should get in the way at this point.
CinemaBlend also asked Safran about the other “Conjuring” spinoff in the works, “The Crooked Man,” and it sounds like they’re still figuring that one out:
“We’re still working on the script for it. The bar is set very high for the movies that we want to make in in The Conjuring Universe, and until we get to that place we’re not interested in putting one of these out there into the universe. I still think ‘The Crooked Man’ could be a very interesting and different story.”
