Bonnie Aarons has been a major part of The Conjuring universe, initially as an actor in The Conjuring 2, and then as the title character of the spinoff series The Nun. Unfortunately, it seems this demon isn’t being given her due.
According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Aarons claims that she is not being paid what she is owed for the use of her likeness connected to The Nun movies. The initial contract she signed to play the character supposedly guaranteed her $71,500, along with a $175,000 bonus if the film performed well at the box office, as well as a share of merchandising profits. More specifically, her contract allegedly gave her her a “pro-rata share of 5% of 50% of the gross receipts.”
The suit Aarons filed claims that “Instead of accounting and paying in a transparent fashion, Warner Bros. obscures and hides the true amount of Ms. Aarons’ rightful share of merchandising revenues, all while continuing to exploit her.” When she reached out to ask for an itemized list of all the merchandizing streams with a breakdown of the math leading to her payout, she claims that she was sent a spreadsheet that omitted multiple known revenue streams for products featuring her likeness.
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While The Nun has been out for a few years and its merchandise sales have undoubtedly gone down since its release, it was a huge film. To make matters even more egregious, the Conjuring universe has grossed $2.1 billion dollars across all of its films. That makes it the number one most profitable horror film franchise of all time.
Aarons will be seen as the Nun once again in The Nun II, which is opening in theaters on September 8.