Bonnie Aarons Is Suing Warner Bros. For Using Her Likeness As The Nun Without Proper Pay
The demon Valak, aka The Nun, is among the most infamous faces in "The Conjuring" universe. Aside from perhaps the doll Annabelle, Valak's image looms over the franchise more than any other. According to a lawsuit put forth by actress Bonnie Aarons (via The Hollywood Reporter), who played the character in "The Conjuring 2," "The Nun," and "The Nun 2," the character shows up on official merch a lot, too. Now, Aarons is asking for a cut of royalties she says she's owed, alleging via a suit obtained by THR that Warner Bros. has been exploiting her "talent, creativity, and likeness."
"The Princess Diaries" and "Mulholland Drive" actress is reportedly suing Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, and Scope Productions for breach of contract, citing a clause in her contract that ensured her a "pro-rata share" on all merch with her likeness, which her suit alleges has included "toys, dolls, decorations, pins, jewelry, t-shirts, socks, bedding, costumes, drinkware, and posters." It's true that Valak has been a hugely recognizable icon in the franchise. A quick search for "The Nun" online returns results for a $59.99 Spirit Halloween costume, an official Funko POP!, assorted figurines, and more. It's not immediately clear how much of the available merch is officially licensed, though, as The Nun frequently pops up on unofficial merch and fan-made art as well.
While Aarons says she received base compensation and a box office bonus for her role, her suit alleges that "Warner Bros. has refused to account intelligibly and to pay Ms. Aarons her contractually required share of merchandising revenues." Per the suit, Aarons questioned the accuracy of merchandising revenue information that was sent to her in 2022, and in December received "a single PDF spreadsheet" from the company that she alleges included "only a fraction of the known licenses."
WB has been accused of questionable accounting before
It's clear that the 2018 film "The Nun" has been extremely lucrative for the studio, earning over $365 million worldwide against a budget of just $22 million (per Box Office Mojo). Aarons' suit makes a pretty great point about how her performance is integral to the franchise's success, stating, "unlike most horror movie monsters who hide behind masks or are CGI creations, Valak is based on Ms. Aarons' physical features." While the demon Valak was finally revealed in full in "The Nun," she appeared briefly back in 2016's "The Conjuring 2," with Aarons credited simply as "Demon Nun."
This certainly isn't the first time Warner Bros. has made headlines for alleged creative accounting. In 2010, the company earned scorn for a leaked receipt showing that "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was listed as $167 million in the red despite making nearly a billion dollars at the global box office (per Deadline). In 2017 Sylvester Stallone claimed in a suit that his company was subjected to "outright and obviously intentional dishonesty" related to payment for the film "Demolition Man" (the suit was settled in 2019), while a 2016 claim about misrepresented "Goodfellas" profits was ultimately resolved. Even John Wayne once accused the company of shady accounting, with biographer Scott Eyman noting that the actor butted heads with Jack Warner himself over alleged Hollywood accounting techniques used on some of his projects.
Per the suit filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Aarons is seeking "actual and compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at the trial," as well as prejudgement interest. At the time of THR's reporting, Warner Bros. and New Line had not responded for comment.