The Curse of La Llorona may not be an official chapter in the Conjuring Universe, but Annabelle Comes Home certainly is. We just got our first trailer for the next chapter in what is already the biggest-grossing R-rated horror series of all time. We got our third Annabelle movie before we got our third Conjuring movie which would be if we got three The Trench movies before we got an official Aquaman trilogy.
Nonetheless, what’s interesting about this sequel to the prequel to the Conjuring prequel (got all that?) is that it also stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the fame Warrens. So, yeah, in a skewed way, this is both an Annabelle sequel and a Conjuring sequel. The plot concerns the title doll ending up back at the Warrens’ abode where it set its sights on their ten-year-old daughter, played by Ghostbuster-in-training Mckenna Grace (who clearly ain’t afraid of no ghosts), and her babysitters played by Katie Sarife and Madison Iseman (from Goosebumps 2).
Depending on how this plays out, it could be a full-blown “dessert topping and floor wax” Conjuring Universe entry or it could be a glorified Spy Kids movie where the youngsters get an adventure while their more famous parents are otherwise occupied. Either way, considering it’ll have been just over three years since Conjuring 2, this third Annabelle is positioning itself as at least a taste of the genuine article while we wait for a traditional Conjuring 3 presumably next summer. This will be Gary Dauberman’s directorial debut following his successes penning Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation along with adapting It and It: Chapter Two.
I’m guessing we’re getting that trailer either next week during Cinemacon or just before the aforementioned Curse of La Llorona opening on April 19). While the mid-April release might not “count” toward Conjuring’s overall totals, this one will. When Annabelle Comes Home passes just $64 million worldwide when it opens on June 28, it’ll pass The Matrix trilogy’s unadjusted $1.633 billion combined cume as the biggest R-rated franchise of all time.
Technically the five Terminator movies earned $1.849 billion total, but the last two of those were PG-13. Annabelle Comes Home (which is not a Lassie movie) needs only $280 million global to pass that franchise. The Nun earned $356 million last September, and only Annabelle ($256 million in 2014) earned less than $300 million worldwide among the first six (!) Conjuring movies. Your move, Terminator Dark Fate!
