What started on July 19, 2013, when The Conjuring opened nationwide to terrify audiences, involves an finish with the discharge of The Conjuring: Final Rites, the ultimate installment of the primary franchise of movies. It is a important time for the IP as a result of, whereas a universe of spin-offs has been created within the wake of the franchise’s success, they’ve coincided with the primary movies nonetheless operating alongside them. Given the universe’s profitability, Warner Bros. is unlikely to have any curiosity in ending the franchise fully. However with out the Warrens on the periphery, the place can all of it go from right here?
Exterior the 4 Conjuring movies which have been launched, the Conjuring Universe additionally contains Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle Comes Residence, The Nun, and The Nun II. There’s additionally some debate over whether or not The Curse of La Llorona is a part of the Conjuring Universe. The MCU of horror movies has confirmed to be extremely profitable for Warner Bros., grossing over $2 billion globally on a mixed funds of $208 million, and that is not one thing that can go gently into that good evening. James Wan and the studio have mentioned there’s a Section 2 to all of this, with the mainline movies coming to an finish, however additionally they admit it is a great distance off. There’s a world of spin-offs which have already been launched, which they may concentrate on, or they will discover new territory. The query is, what route are they extra prone to take?
Are ‘The Nun’ and ‘Annabelle’ Worthy of Carrying the Torch?
The Nun franchise seems to be the best wager for a number of causes. With the primary film happening in 1952 and The Nun II following in 1956, there may be lots of time to play with that permits for extra films in that collection to be made. Certain, The Demon Nun was banished on the finish of the second film, however that should not be onerous to get round for even a 3rd or fourth movie in that franchise. Moreover, the picture of the Nun, alongside Annabelle, has gained widespread recognition amongst horror followers since its introduction in The Conjuring 2. A key query is whether or not Bonnie Aarons may return because the titular character. She beforehand sued Warner Bros., New Line, and Scope Productions for breach of contract, alleging unpaid merchandising royalties utilizing her likeness.
The issue with the Nun franchise is that it hasn’t lived as much as its promise creatively. Each movies have been financially profitable, with The Nun grossing $366 million worldwide on a $22 million funds and The Nun II pulling in $269.5 million globally on a $38.5 million funds, however they don’t seem to be precisely beloved critically. The primary movie acquired a 24% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas the second improved to a nonetheless subpar rating of 52%. Does the studio wish to dangle the franchise’s hat on an IP that hasn’t actually registered on a inventive degree? Though the movies have been financially profitable, the second film earned lower than the primary, suggesting that future installments may even see declining returns until enhancements are made.
The Annabelle franchise is an fascinating blended bag. The primary film made appreciable cash, but it surely was additionally creatively bankrupt, with a 28% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. Fortunes have been reversed with the discharge of the prequel, Annabelle: Creation, which improved to a 70% on the aggregator web site and is taken into account by many followers to be the most effective of the spin-offs up to now. Annabelle Comes Residence dropped a number of notches to 64%, but it surely’s clear that past the primary two Conjuring movies, the Annabelle franchise has some inventive life left in it, ought to it’s explored properly.
The longer term Annabelle franchise appears simple to navigate, as they should provide you with a compelling motive for the doll coming into contact with somebody new. On the finish of Annabelle Comes Residence, the doll is locked away in its case as soon as once more, however that looks as if a minor nuisance to get round to creating one other story surrounding the haunting instigated by the titular doll. After Annabelle Comes Residence was launched, the studio expressed curiosity in persevering with the collection, supplied there was a compelling story to inform.
May Judy Warren and Extra Prequel Tales Be the Reply?
Judy Warren, portrayed by Mia Tomlinson in The Conjuring: Final Rites, is one other strategy to hold the franchise getting in some capability. It will have to differentiate itself in a significant means from the earlier Conjuring movies. Nonetheless, together with her being gifted (or cursed) with Lorraine’s (Vera Farmiga) capability to attach with supernatural forces, she may characterize a brand new era of circumstances that she takes on alongside her husband, Tony Spera (Ben Hardy).
Ought to this not proceed in movie kind, an HBO Max collection was beforehand introduced, and that may very well be one other strategy to hold the universe going. There has additionally been curiosity expressed by Madison Lawlar and Orion Smith, who painting younger Lorraine and Ed in Final Rites, in persevering with in that capability for prequel initiatives, which may embody their investigation of the Amityville Haunting.
There’s nonetheless potential for a Crooked Man spin-off, which was initially thought of for a theatrical launch after its introduction in The Conjuring 2. The challenge was in growth, starting in 2017, and even had Mike Van Waes hooked up as a screenwriter, who would work from an authentic story created by Wan. The movie has languished in growth since its announcement, with The Nun receiving precedence over tales that includes The Crooked Man. By 2022, the challenge was revealed to not be transferring ahead, however Wan just lately expressed that he would like to get the movie again on monitor.
Wherever The Conjuring Universe goes subsequent, the franchise is just too profitable for Warner Bros. to depart dormant. The wheels are probably turning as they attempt to decide Section 2 of the universe, and let’s hope they deal with it with some new concepts that can make the franchise really feel recent and, most significantly, scary once more. The Conjuring: Final Rites is in theaters now.
The Conjuring: Final Rites
2
/5
- Launch Date
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September 5, 2025
- Runtime
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135 Minutes
- Director
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Michael Chaves
- Writers
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David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Ian B. Goldberg, Richard Naing, Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan
- Producers
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Peter Safran, James Wan