Looks like The Nun doesn’t just haunt abandoned abbeys, she can also become a nightmare for film producers when they neglect to give her fair financial compensation.
Bonnie Aarons, the actress who played the creepy demonic sister from the horror franchise ‘The Nun’, is taking Warner Bros to court for not providing her with the fair share of earnings from the film’s merchandise.
According to the lawsuit filed on August 15 in Los Angeles, the contract signed between Aarons and Warner Bros stated she would receive $71,000 from the the film ‘The Nun’ which released in 2018, along with box office bonuses, but the studio missed out on a key part stated in the actor’s contract: the right to receive “gross receipts from merchandise” featuring her likeness as the demon nun.
Aarons had featured in the film ‘The Conjuring’ where she played the demon Valak, then went on to reprise her role in the film ‘The Nun’ which became a box office hit, grossing around $365 million worldwide. A sequel, ‘The Nun 2’, is releasing across theatres in a few weeks.
The suit has argued that Warner Bros exploited Aarons by refusing to give her the complete amount they had made from the merchandise of ‘The Nun’:
“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,” the suit reads.
It noted that Aarons had not relied on prosthetics to don the role of the terrifying creature, but it was the actor’s particular features that boosted merchandise. A significant portion of the merchandise alludes to Valak, as she’s the most popular character from The Conjuring cinematic universe.
The shocking revelations of actors exploited by studios has arrived in the light of the SAG-AFTRA strikes currently happening across Hollywood, as actors and writers have together protested against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers regarding contracts and low residuals offered despite how popular franchises had gotten. Actor Mara Wilson, who had been the lead of the popular movie ‘Matilda’ and then ‘Mrs Doubtfire’, took to Twitter to reveal she was never able to make enough to qualify for SAG-AFTRA healthcare.
“I haven’t acted much as an adult, but I WAS on a recurring character on one of the most critically acclaimed animated shows of all time, as well playing an actual Disney villain. But thanks to streaming, I have never once made enough to qualify for SAG-AFTRA healthcare.”
Actress Mandy Moore, who starred in the critically acclaimed series ‘This Is Us’ shocked social media users when she revealed her residuals amounted up to 81 cents only.
