The Nun 2 Scares Off The Equalizer 3 With $32 Million Opening Weekend

Despite the billions of dollars that have been invested in DC movies over the last decade, the most successful cinematic universe that doesn't have "Marvel" in the name is actually the one that spawned from James Wan's 2013 movie "The Conjuring." Alongside the primary movies about demon-hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (a fourth, titled "The Conjuring: Last Rites," was announced at CinemaCon this year), the franchise has also expanded into spin-offs. Corin Hardy's 2018 film "The Nun," based around the demonic nun first seen in "The Conjuring 2," scored the biggest opening weekend for any "Conjuring" universe so far: an impressive $53.8 million that immediately eclipsed its $22 million production budget.

A sequel directed by Michael Chaves, simply titled "The Nun II," hit theaters this weekend, and while it won't quite reach the heights of the first movie, it's still on track to be another major horror hit for Warner Bros. Pictures. Per The Wrap, "The Nun II" grossed $13.1 million on Friday (including Thursday previews) and is now heading for an estimated $32 million weekend, though it could climb higher. 

Compared to openings for other movies in the franchise, that puts "The Nun II" between "The Curse of La Llorona" ($26.3 million) and "Annabelle: Creation" ($35 million). Though those two movies had similar domestic debuts, "Annabelle: Creation" ended up with a much larger global box office take ($306.5 million) thanks to a strong showing in international markets. "The Nun" was also a hit overseas, grossing almost 68 percent of its $365.5 million worldwide total in foreign markets. So despite a smaller opening, "The Nun II" is in with a good shot at breaking the $300 million mark by the end of its run. 

Though "The Equalizer 3" has been knocked off the top spot in its second weekend by that darn demon nun, it's still a win for Sony — particularly when it comes to drawing out underserved demographics. That includes not only Black moviegoers, who made up 34 percent of opening weekend ticket buyers according to PostTrak (via THR), but also older audiences, who tend to be more difficult to tempt into movie theaters, even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last weekend, moviegoers aged 45 and older made up 50 percent of ticket buyers for "The Equalizer 3," and 26 percent of ticket buyers were 55 or older. It's official: grandparents love Denzel Washington.

Washington's latest equalizing efforts were bumped down to second place this weekend by the return of Valak the demon nun. The Wrap reports an estimated second weekend total of $13 million, a drop of 62.5 percent from its $34.6 million three-day opening. That's almost exactly aligned with the 61 percent drop and $14 million second weekend for "The Equalizer 2," continuing a trend of "Equalizer" box office runs being almost eerily equal. 

Overseas, "The Equalizer 3" scored a franchise-best opening weekend of $60.6 million last week. If that strong international performance continues, it could ultimately surpass the $190.4 million worldwide total of the previous entry and pass the $200 million milestone — which would be a first for the "Equalizer" movies. This is supposedly Washington's final outing as Robert McCall, and it looks like he could be going out on a high note.