Atomic Monster and New Line Cinema’s cinematic universe continues to thrive, proving that theatergoers will show up for high-quality, well-crafted horror films. In typically a slow month, the studio grabbed the final weekend before kids heads back to school to get them in cinemas for Annabelle: Creation, the second film in the franchise spun off from James Wan‘s The Conjuring. This one, directed by David F. Sandberg, was celebrated by fans and critics alike, resulting in a huge box office opening. Sunday estimates show a $35 million domestic opening, $71 million worldwide. The reported budget is a mere $15 million, which puts the total release costs in the $25-30 million range. After just one weekend it looks as if the film is close to 100% recouped meaning that it’s going to be a profit beast from here on out.
Looking back at the first Annabelle, released in 2015, it opened to $37 million and god awful reviews. It ended with $85 million, which looks to be the median for the franchise with a high point of about $100 million. A $250 million worldwide gross is highly probable. Holy shit. Next up is The Nun in 2018 with The Conjuring 3 and The Crooked Man arriving in 2019. A third Annabelle by 2020? Probably.
In Annabelle: Creation, “Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.”
[Related] We Visited the Gothic Set of Annabelle: Creation
The full cast includes Stephanie Sigman (Spectre), Talitha Bateman (The 5th Wave), Lulu Wilson (Ouija 2), Philippa Anne Coulthard (After the Dark), Grace Fulton (Badland), Lou Lou Safran (The Choice), Samara Lee (The Last Witch Hunter), Tayler Buck, Anthony LaPaglia (TV’s Without a Trace) and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy).
