Bonnie Aarons, star of The Nun and its upcoming sequel, The Nun 2, first appeared as the character in The Conjuring 2. Now Aarons is suing Warner Bros. for allegedly “hiding” her share of merchandise revenue for her role as the Nun character.
As shared via The Guardian, Aarons’ suit names Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and Scope Productions. “She alleges that she was paid ‘fixed compensation of $71,500 to play her role in The Nun, plus a $175,000 bonus that was tied to box office performance, which she received after the film grossed more $365m against a $22m budget.”
Additionally, as for the issues with merchandising, Bonnie Aarons’ contract is said to include a stipulation that she’d receive “a share of Warner Bros’ gross receipts from merchandise exploiting Ms Aarons’ likeness.” This is because Aarons’ actual face makes up a large portion of the character’s distinct looks and, as pointed out by the suit, her importance is “undeniable.”
The deal is specifically said to include a “pro-rata share of 5% of 50% of the gross receipts” of said merchandising rights. This includes “toys, dolls, decorations, pins, jewelry, T-shirts, socks, bedding, costumes, drinkware, and posters all using Ms Aarons’ likeness.”
Naturally, this would suggest Aarons would receive a healthy share of the profits from merch for the New Line Cinema and Warner Bros film. However, she claims to have received statements from Warner Bros “inconsistent with the extensive merchandising activities” between 2019 and 2022. Furthermore, she alleges that the studio only gave her an additional “spreadsheet that contained line items corresponding to only a fraction of the known licenses.”
The lawsuit, in which the Nun star is suing WB for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and accounting, also states the following:
“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.”
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates on this lawsuit as we have them.