# The Nun (2018 film)
**The Nun** is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Corin Hardy, in which a priest and a novitiate sent by the Vatican to investigate a nun's suicide at a cloistered abbey in Romania confront a demonic nun. It is the fifth entry in [The Conjuring Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-conjuring-universe), following *The Conjuring* (2013), *Annabelle* (2014), *The Conjuring 2* (2016), and *[Annabelle: Creation](https://www.edgepedia.org/annabelle-creation)* (2017), and it works as a prequel to *The Conjuring 2*, creating a backstory for the demon Valak, who appeared in that film in nun form.[1](https://itsastampede.com/2020/06/03/key-questions-about-the-nun/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/the-nun-review-conjuring-franchise-prequel)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Corin Hardy (director); Gary Dauberman and James Wan (writers)[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) |
| Producers | James Wan and Peter Safran; production companies New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, and Atomic Monster[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Nun-The-%282018%29) |
| Principal cast | Demián Bichir as Father Burke, Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene, Jonas Bloquet as Frenchie, Bonnie Aarons as The Nun[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) |
| Release | Wide release September 7, 2018 by Warner Bros.; earliest release September 5, 2018 (Indonesia); running time 96 minutes; rated R[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Nun-The-%282018%29) |
| Box office | $366,082,797 worldwide on a $22,000,000 budget; domestic $117,481,222 (32.1%), international $248,601,575 (67.9%)[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) |
| Critical reception | 24% Tomatometer from 206 reviews and 35% Popcornmeter from 5,000+ ratings on Rotten Tomatoes[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018) |
| Franchise standing | The highest-grossing entry in the Conjuring franchise, with a global total of over $365 million[6](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The film opens with an on-screen announcement that the events occurred in 1952.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/the-nun-review-conjuring-franchise-prequel) When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, the Vatican sends Father Burke (Demián Bichir), a priest with a haunted past, and Sister Irene ([Taissa Farmiga](https://www.edgepedia.org/taissa-farmiga)), a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows, to investigate. Together with Frenchie ([Jonas Bloquet](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonas-bloquet)), a local villager, they uncover the order's unholy secret and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) The demon is Valak, the same entity that first appeared in *The Conjuring 2* tormenting the paranormal investigators [Ed and Lorraine Warren](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-and-lorraine-warren) (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga); the Warrens appear in brief cameo in *The Nun*.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/the-nun-review-conjuring-franchise-prequel) • [6](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/) The film ends with the spirit avoiding permanent banishment to hell, leaving the door open for later entries.[6](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/)
### Sequel
A sequel, *The Nun II*, directed by Michael Graves and starring Taissa Farmiga and [Storm Reid](https://www.edgepedia.org/storm-reid), opened in September 2023. It earned an estimated $32.6 million in its first North American weekend from 3,728 theaters, well below the first film's $53.8 million debut, and added $52.7 million from 69 international markets for a global debut of $85.3 million. The story jumps ahead four years to 1956, with Valak using Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) as a vessel for murders across Europe.[13](https://apnews.com/article/505a5e69303495cb8958b6965cbca45b) • [6](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/)
## Place in the Conjuring Universe
The Conjuring Universe is a shared horror franchise built around the films of director [James Wan](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-wan), who directed *The Conjuring* and *The Conjuring 2* and produces the spin-offs through his company Atomic Monster with [Peter Safran](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-safran)'s Safran Company.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) • [7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGmDCTNQc8g) *The Nun* was the fifth entry in release order and, set in 1952, the earliest in the internal chronology.[1](https://itsastampede.com/2020/06/03/key-questions-about-the-nun/) Director Corin Hardy said at a press event that he felt it important to respect what James Wan had done in the Conjuring world while telling a fresh, different type of story for a Conjuring movie.[8](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/the-nun-conjuring-prequel-ties-corin-hardy-james-wan/) An Empire feature around the release described the film as possibly the most lurid entry in the series to date, and noted Hardy's stated touchstones for the script: *The Name of the Rose*, *Black Narcissus*, and *The Exorcist*, with *Indiana Jones* at the top of his list.[9](https://flexiblehead.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/nun-conjuring-empire-september-2018-owen-williams.pdf)
## Box office
**Commercial performance.** The film opened domestically at $53,807,379, about 45.8% of its eventual domestic gross, and finished with $117,481,222 in the United States and Canada and $248,601,575 internationally, for a worldwide total of $366,082,797 against a production budget of $22,000,000, roughly 16.6 times the budget.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Nun-The-%282018%29) Two-thirds of the total came from international markets.[10](https://live.screendollars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SCREENDOLLARS-NEWSLETTER-2023.09.10.pdf) By the time of the 2023 sequel, *Time* described the original as the highest-grossing entry in the franchise.[6](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/) Estimated home video sales added about $8.5 million, split between DVD ($2,982,230) and Blu-ray ($5,550,749).[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Nun-The-%282018%29)
## Reception
Critical response was largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 24% on the Tomatometer from 206 reviews and 35% on the audience Popcornmeter.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018) The site's critics consensus credits the film with strong performances, spooky atmospherics, and a couple of decent set-pieces, while naming inconsistent logic and narrative slackness among its sins.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018) Peter Bradshaw's review in *The Guardian* called it a clueless Conjuring cash-in that summons zero scares and a tedious prequel in which the characters encounter every cliche in the book.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/the-nun-review-conjuring-franchise-prequel) Other critics singled out the reliance on jump scares; a Salon review described the film's approach to fear as mechanical rather than a more profound understanding of terror.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018) Later assessments have been warmer in places: a 2025 review at Horror Movie Talk scored it 7/10, saying it executes the tropes of a haunting and demon story better than most.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018)
## Censorship classifications
In the United Kingdom the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) passed the film with the advice "strong supernatural threat, horror, injury detail", noting lengthy scenes in which supernatural entities threaten or attack adults, injury detail including cuts that form a five-pointed star on a woman's back, and a scene in which a woman hangs herself with limited detail.[11](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-nun-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00odk4njc) In Australia it was classified MA 15+ for strong horror themes and violence, with a classification date of 22 August 2018 and a listed duration of 96 minutes.[12](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/nun-0)
## References
1. [Key questions about The Nun, It's A Stampede!](https://itsastampede.com/2020/06/03/key-questions-about-the-nun/)
2. [Peter Bradshaw, "The Nun review – a clueless Conjuring cash-in that summons zero scares", The Guardian, 7 September 2018](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/07/the-nun-review-conjuring-franchise-prequel)
3. [The Nun (2018), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5814060/credits/)
4. [The Nun (2018) – Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Nun-The-%282018%29)
5. [The Nun (2018), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nun_2018)
6. [Breaking Down the Ending of The Nun II – And Its Place in the Conjuring Universe, Time, 8 September 2023](https://time.com/6311090/the-nun-2-ending-conjuring-universe/)
7. [THE NUN – "The Conjuring" Universe Featurette, Warner Bros. (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGmDCTNQc8g)
8. [How 'The Nun' Fits in 'The Conjuring' Universe, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/the-nun-conjuring-prequel-ties-corin-hardy-james-wan/)
9. [Owen Williams, "The Uncanny Origins of The Nun", Empire, September 2018](https://flexiblehead.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/nun-conjuring-empire-september-2018-owen-williams.pdf)
10. [Dick Walsh's Weekend Update, Screendollars Newsletter, 10 September 2023](https://live.screendollars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SCREENDOLLARS-NEWSLETTER-2023.09.10.pdf)
11. [The Nun, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-nun-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00odk4njc)
12. [THE NUN, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/nun-0)
13. ['The Nun II' conjures $32.6 million to top box office, AP News, 10 September 2023](https://apnews.com/article/505a5e69303495cb8958b6965cbca45b)
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