The Nun II Box Office Previews Pull in $3.1 Million

The Nun sequel is off to an unholy start at the box office.

By Cameron Bonomolo

The Nun II is preying on the September box office. Warner Bros.' gothic horror, the ninth installment in The Conjuring Universe, took in $3.1 million in Thursday previews from 3,200 theaters. The R-rated sequel to 2018's The Nun fared better than its predecessor on Rotten Tomatoes — a 52% "rotten" versus 24% — but is so far behind the original, which scared up $5.4 million in previews before going on to gross $365 million at the global box office. Directed by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), The Nun II is looking at an opening weekend between $30 million to $33 million.

The first Nun movie remains the highest-grossing entry in the Conjuring Universe, with its $53.8 million opening still standing as the best opening of the decade-old franchise. The Nun II's projected opening weekend would top 2019's Annabelle Comes Home ($20.3 million) and  La Llorona ($26.5 million) and the pandemic-era release The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ($24 million), which was released into theaters and on HBO Max in 2021.

Set in 1956, France, The Nun sequel follows Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun, to stop a spreading evil. The cast includes Jonas Bloquet (Tirailleurs, The Nun), Storm Reid (The Last of Us, The Suicide Squad), Anna Popplewell (Fairytale, The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy) and Bonnie Aarons (reprising her role from The Nun). 

"The movies are always scary, and they always deliver on that core experience," Chaves, who has now directed three films in the Conjuring Universe, told The Hollywood Reporter about the longevity of the hit horror franchise. "The other things that really make them work is that there's a lot of heart in them. There are characters that you really love, and there's also the element of faith. Faith is always an element that runs through these films – and sometimes more directly than others – but it's the combination of those three things that's the Holy Trinity of the universe."

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Looking for horror movies to stream? View our list on the top horror movies on Paramount+, see the full list of horror hits on Paramount+, and our guide to 30 horror movies now streaming on Max, including films from The Conjuring Universe.

The Nun II is now playing only in movie theaters.

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