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Summary: Dollmaker Samuel Mullins and his wife Esther, whose daughter died twelve years earlier, open their home to Sister Charlotte, a nun, and several girls from an orphanage that has been closed. The dollmaker's possessed creation, Annabelle, sets her sights on the girls, turning their shelter into a storm of terror.

Director: David F. Sandberg

Writers: Gary Dauberman

Cast:

• Stephanie Sigman as Sister Charlotte

• Talitha Bateman as Janice/Annabelle Higgins

• Lulu Wilson as Linda

• Philippa Coulthard as Nancy

• Grace Fulton as Carol

• Lou Lou Safran as Tierney

• Samara Lee as Annabelle "Bee" Mullins

• Tayler Buck as Kate

• Anthony LaPaglia as Samuel Mullins

• Miranda Otto as Esther Mullins

• Mark Bramhall as Father Massey

• Adam Bartley as Officer Fuller

• Alicia Vela-Bailey as Evil Mrs. Mullins

• Lotta Losten as the adoption agent

• Joseph Bishara as Annabelle Demon

Rotten Tomatoes:

Metacritic:

After Credits Scene? Yes, two

Note: There is an after credits scene

Synopsis: 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.

Director: David F. Sandberg

Writer: Gary Dauberman

Cast:

• Stephanie Sigman as Sister Charlotte

• Talitha Bateman as Janice

• Lulu Wilson as Linda

• Philippa Coulthard as Nancy

• Grace Fulton as Carol

• Lou Lou Safran as Tierney

• Samara Lee as Annabelle "Bee" Mullins

• Tayler Buck as Kate

• Anthony LaPaglia as Samuel Mullins

Rotten Tomatoes:

Metacritic:

I didn't believe the hype when it first came out because Annabelle sucked frankly. I finally got around to it on HBO and was pleasantly surprised. That demon is awesome.

I am a fan of the conjuring movies, they’re not amazing but I do enjoy them. I recently watched Annabelle Creation and I must say, out of all of the interlinked movies, This was by far the best one in the bunch. The creepy undertone and mystery they keep throughout the film is great and it builds up at a good pace. It’s not super cheap with trying to get a scare off like the others and I genuinely felt very unsettled at times, which is rare since I watch so many horror/ scary movies. I was surprised at how good this movie was.

Notable Box Office Stories:

• This week saw another shining example of not only the power of horror films in the current box office landscape but also the interesting rise of the concept of the horror cinematic universe, as Annabelle: Creation became the fourth Conjuring film in a row to open over $30M, opening at #1 with $35M. All four Conjuring films have managed this rather high opening and they collectively have now grossed over $350M domestic against a total combined budget of $81.5M. The success overseas has been just as striking, as Annabelle: Creation opened to $36.7M in foreign markets this weekend which has pushed the total worldwide gross of the Conjuring franchise to a massive $966.9M. The film as to be expected carries a rather small budget ($15M) and was directed by redditor , or David F Sandberg as he's know to normies, who last year delivered another incredible ROI with Lights Out which made $148.8M on a budget of $4.9M. With this film Sandberg has become a new James Wan, delivering well reviewed horror films at a low budget and finding incredible returns, though like Wan now Sandberg is moving on to bigger things as he is directing the Shazam movie. Overall Conjuring has been an incredibly rewarding franchise, one that is one of the most profitable in the business currently. With the film The Nun, a movie about the demon nun from Conjuring 2, in the works and more planned spin-offs and sequels it seems clear that this odd but extremely popular franchise is one of the secret wonders of Hollywood, a cinematic universe that's actually working with 100% efficiency.

• Yes there is a film called The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, and yes it does exist and yes this week it did open to an appalling #3 spot with $8.9M. Notably this is the third film this summer to beat a very inauspicious record, namely the worst opening for a film in over 4,000 theaters. The previous "winner" of this prize was none other than The Emoji Movie which set the record with $24.5M which beat previous record holder The Mummy (2017) which started this whole trend with an opening of $31.7M. [FILM TITLE] (I refuse to write that title more than once, even through copy and paste) manage to thoroughly trounce those numbers and will likely hold the record for, I dunno, at least two months? With such a terrible opening it's very unlikely [FILM TITLE] will make even enough to justify its $40M budget. [FILM TITLE] is also the latest in a series of horrible bombs for Open Road films who the last two years have distributed such monster hits as Spark, The Promise, Sleepless, Bleed for This, Triple 9, and Fifty Shades of Black. Guess it shouldn't be surprising to anyone that Open Road is about to be sold off to China.

• This week saw several films pass major domestic milestones. First up is Wonder Woman which finally managed to inch its way past $400M domestic, with a current haul of $402.2M. This of course marks the first female superhero and female directed film to pass this milestone, but frankly every number Wonder Woman passes would be a record on those two fronts at that point. Now the the final question remains of where Wonder Woman will end up on the . Currently it stands at #8 but the three films above it are only within $7M: Spider-man ($403.7M), Captain America: Civil War ($408M), and Iron Man 3 ($409M). It's most likely Wonder Woman will pass Spider-man (also making it the highest grossing superhero origin film) but the other two may be trouble. Still Wonder Woman has managed to make $1.4M in its 11th weekend so it's not impossible, just unlikely. Also since it's passed the $400M point and just days away from passing $800M worldwide, don't expect WB to push for any more marketing or re-releases. Those are the major figures that matter to them, the rest is just stuff for us nerds.

• The other major superhero film passing a milestone this week was Spider-man: Homecoming which despite a rough second weekend has held well enough to now pass $300M domestic, the first Spider-man film to do so since 2007's Spider-man 3. A mentioned the film faced a very steep 62% drop its second weekend but has managed to hold okay enough. As it stand in the MCU the film is currently the 9th highest grossing domestic MCU film and should easily pass Iron Man 2 ($312.4M) and Iron Man 3 ($318.4M) to become #7 on the list. Right now its worldwide gross tops out at $702.1M, the 8th highest grossing MCU film worldwide. It's clear now that Spider-man: Homecoming is a definite success that's manage to hold well enough and make enough worldwide to show that despite warning signs at the start, the general public just isn't sick of Spidey yet.

• This week Baby Driver managed to inch its way past $100M domestic. This is the first Edgar Wright film to make it to the nine figure range and, if like me you count Spider-man: Homecoming as a co-production, the first solo Sony film to pass $100M domestic this year. It's been a pretty remarkable run for Baby Driver, which didn't open to incredible numbers but has dropped less that 40% for its first 6 weeks. Passing this milestone means a great second life for the film in streaming/VOD/TV deals and finally secures Edgar Wright as a box office success as well as a critical one.

• This week saw the release of several independent films trying to eek out some profits in the fairly weird and dead month of August. First up is The Glass Castle which opened in 1,461 theaters to $4.8M at #9. The film starring Brie Larson and Woody Harrelson was clearly sold to Lionsgate as an Oscar play but it seems Lionsgate was expecting the bad reviews the film inevitably got and buried it in August. Next up is the hottest sequel of the year (get it, I made a lame joke about serious issues) An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, the follow up to the massively successful An Inconvenient Truth which at the time was the second highest grossing documentary in history with $24.1M (don't make docs to make money kids). The sequel is not fairing as well. Despite gaining 370+ theaters this weekend the film made less money than the last, only grossing $800K which is a terrible per theater average of $1,439. Finally this week saw the release of Ingrid Goes West in 3 theaters with a fantastic $141,216, a per theater average of $47,072. That makes it one of the best PTAs of the year and should bode well for the film's expansion. The film is fairing well with targeted marketing at people under the age of 25, but it will be interesting to see if this will just be a coastal play or be a success elsewhere.

Films Reddit Wants to Follow

This is a segment where we keep a weekly tally of currently showing films that aren't in the Top 5 that fellow redditors want updates on. If you'd like me to add a film to this chart, make a comment in this thread.

Notable Film Closings

As always is a great place to share links and other conversations about box office news.

Also you can see the archive of all Box Office Week posts at .

After watching Half in the Bag tonight I must honestly say this is one of the most overtly subversive things I've heard Warner Brothers do...Not to mention something that actually hurts indie filmmakers trying to get into the game.

I had to see this for myself, so I went ahead to the website just like Mike and read into it.

The first thing I see is "two (2) round-trip, economy-class airfare tickets" for the prize. (to meet up with the director and executives.) They surely cannot spare the money for first-class...

Secondly, I see that the ARV (Approximate Retail Value) is 5,000 dollars from a New York Departure. Since the 4 plane tickets are worth about 1400 USD, and the entrant is given two nights stay, either this hotel stay is worth 1,500 dollars a night or they are adding value upon the privilege of meeting these people.

And here is the important parts, most have been already highlighted by the video...

One thing I would like to highlight is "Sponsor will have the right to...(ii) publish Entrant Content (including the Video) in an online gallery or from a social-media account operated by Sponsor or its representatives and allow third-party visitors to view and share such Entrant Content in order to administer and promote the Contest. Entrants hereby forever waive and relinquish all so-called “moral rights” (droit moral) now or hereafter recognized in connection with his or her Entrant Content." This is absolutely fucking disgusting. The Entrant is not able to even claim connection between themself and the submission. The Entrant cannot publish their submission. The sponsor will make money off of publishing this short film on YouTube most likely, for absolutely no cost of production etc. etc. (Not to mention this applies to all entrants' content not just the winner.)

"Unrelated to the selection of a winner in this Contest, Sponsor, and its parent companies, divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates, may (but are under no obligation to) evaluate Videos during and after the Contest for potential inclusion as part of the “bonus” content included with the home video release of Sponsor’s Film...Each entrant agrees to execute further documents as requested by Sponsor should Sponsor elect to include his or her Video (or a derivative work therefrom) among the bonus content in the Film’s home video release. Depending on their respective union and/or guild status, entrant and any others appearing or depicted in the Video may also be required to execute applicable union or guild documents." So imagine you put your heart into this short film and it wins...its lost forever to this company. Couple years later now you have to associate with these hacks and give them whatever documentation they need around the production. Not only that, but the DVD/Blue-ray cover now boasts about the humble origins of their new movie and has the entrant content in the bonus features.

And next of course... "EACH ENTRANT AGREES THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE LICENSE GRANTED ABOVE, SPONSOR (OR ANY OF SPONSOR’S PARENTS, AFFILIATES, OR SUBSIDIARIES) MAY, UPON WRITTEN NOTICE TO ENTRANT AT ANY TIME WITHIN APPROXIMATELY THREE (3) MONTHS OF THE VERIFICATION OF THE WINNER IN THIS CONTEST, ACQUIRE FROM ENTRANT AN EXCLUSIVE AND IRREVOCABLE OPTION TO PURCHASE ALL RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST IN AND TO HIS OR HER ENTRANT CONTENT (“OPTION”) IN EXCHANGE FOR FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50 US). " Whoever wins this contest is gonna go to the nearest pub, ask for a bottle of their mid-shelf booze, ($50 US isn't top-shelf.) and think about that $700 DSLR camera they bought, and how they rented a location, payed a couple of actors fifty bucks, etc. etc.

"(d) IN THE EVENT THAT SPONSOR EXECUTES ITS OPTION, THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE CONSIDERATION PROVIDED TO ENTRANT IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PURCHASE OF ALL RIGHTS IN HIS/HER ENTRANT CONTENT WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50 US)." Oh okay, at least this sad filmmaker can afford for some top-shelf booze that night. Warner Bros. is generous.

SO THIS IS THE KICKER...

"TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE, DISCHARGE, HOLD HARMLESS, AND INDEMNIFY EACH OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIMS, DAMAGES, DISABILITIES, ATTORNEYS' FEES, AND COSTS OF LITIGATION AND SETTLEMENT...BY ENTERING THE CONTEST, ENTRANT AGREES THAT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (1) ANY AND ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THE CONTEST, OR ANY PRIZES AWARDED, WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY, WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION; (2) ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS AND AWARDS WILL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL THIRD-PARTY, OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED (IF ANY) NOT TO EXCEED TEN DOLLARS ($10.00), BUT IN NO EVENT WILL ATTORNEYS’ FEES BE AWARDED OR RECOVERABLE."

...

...

Ten fucking dollars, you cannot sue us, you really cannot even disparage us, everything is out of court...and for hiring that attorney that cost thousands probably...you get...ten fucking dollars.

That's it, everything else is repeating or unimportant...I reaffirm my thesis that this is one of the most subversive and evil acts the cesspool of Hollywood has ever pulled, especially on a bunch of amateur filmmakers that have bright shiny puppy eyes and are just spending money out of pocket to get noticed by these kinds of filthy executives.

I agree Sandberg had no idea what he was getting behind by doing promotion for this. Just going off of last nights tweets. I hope he sees this or reads the contest rules and causes some shit on social media or something. If I was even associated with this contest at all, I would feel guilty.

EDIT: Hey I'm not sure if I have to do this according to Rule 4, but here's the link to the source...

So I saw an early screening of Annabelle: Creation. Sooooo much better than the first. Great story, well acted, and scary. Horror fans, please see this, it will knock your socks off. The first movie was literally a piece of trash, this one is the exact opposite.

In case you forgot or missed it completely, here's HITB episode 130 (14 minutes, 20 seconds in):

Director David F. Sandberg adresses the controversy sparked by RLM around the 1 hour mark (almost exactly) in the latest Shock Waves podcast #103:

Here is my recording of the clip that was shown before the movie. Please no hate. I know the quality is trash, but I had to film inconspicuously as to avoid detection. The film quality is bad, but the sound is okay. You cannot really see Pennywise in the clip and you can absolutely not see him in my recording, but you can hear him. If you want to see a better recording, you can buy a ticket for Annabelle, or wait until September or for someone to record it better. Until then, here is my small offering to you IT fans out there.

From the acting to the direction this movie is amazing and easily one of the most frightening films I have ever watched. The directors' ability to use the pitch black to scare the audience was second to none. And the jump scares while they are there are super solid! I can't wait to see the new one next week I hope its as good as this one. I will admit I wasn't a fan of the first one though. Honestly, this is probably my favorite entry in the Conjuring Universe next to the Conjuring 2....thoughts?