It looks like we’re going to have to wait a little while longer to see the next movie inThe Conjuringuniverse, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. have officially pushed back the release ofThe Nunby nearly two months. Instead of hitting theaters on July 13, the spin-off will now arrive on September 7. Sometimes, bumping a movie back by a couple of months this close to release could be possible cause for concern. However, in this case, it actually just seems like a brilliant move, from a financial standpoint at least, by the studio.
In its original release date,The Nunwould have been facing a lot of direct competition. Universal and Legendary are releasing Dwayne Johnson’s action flickSkyscraperon July 13, which debuted its first footage recently during theSuper Bowl. Given what’s happened at the box office withJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it’s doubtful anyone wants to go toe-to-toe with The Rock right now. Sony is also releasingHotel Transylvania 3on that date, which should serve as a good bit of counterprogramming forSkyscraper, but that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for any other major releases. Hence, the release date move.
Not only isThe Nunmoving away from competition directly, but the summer months are so crowded that it’s tough to be able to make money week after week. However, on September 7,The Nunis the only major release currently slated for that date and, perhaps more importantly, that’s the same weekend that New Line and Warner Bros. releasedITduring last year. Considering thatITgrossed more than $700 million worldwide and is now the highest-grossing horror movie ever, it stands to reason that this could potentially be a great time to release a horror movie. AssumingThe Nunis aquality horror moviebut, given the track record so far forThe Conjuringmovies, that’s likely going to be the case.
The firstAnnabelleaside, all ofThe Conjuringmovies have delivered in a big way, both in terms of quality and at the box office. To date,The Conjuringmovies have grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office, which makes this one of the few cinematic universes in Hollywood that’s actually working quite well.The Nunserves as aspin-off/prequeltoThe Conjuring 2and will center on thedemon nun Valak, who was a last-minute addition to the movie. Valak was teased in last year’sAnnabelle: Creation, which also featured a post-credit scene that helped set upThe Nun.
It’s also worth pointing out that Warner Bros. and New Line haveIT: Chapter Twocoming out next year on September 6. There seems to be a pattern developing and that could be their new favorite place to drop abig horror movieevery year.The Nuncomes from director Corin Hardy (The Hallow) and stars Demián Bichir as Father Burke, Charlotte Hope as Sister Victoria and Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene, with Bonnie Aarons as Valak. The question becomes, when isWarner Bros.going to release a trailer forThe Nunnow that the release date has been pushed back?
