History/Intended Audience: The Nun is a big inspiration for our movie since it revolves around a demonic entity that haunts the main character, exactly what we’re hoping to create with Hear No Evil. The Nun was actually inspired by true events which makes it just that much more creepy! The movie was based on real case files of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, who came in contact with a phantom nun while visiting a haunted English church in the 70’s. The nun had apparently been buried alive in the church walls as punishment for having an affair with a monk. The producer of the film James Wan stated that The Nun was inspired by a demon that haunted Lorraine Warren’s home, which she had once described as a “swirling tornado vortex with this hooded figure”. The producer built off of the description and created the nun character. The Nun is rated R mainly for violence and disturbing/bloody images, therefore it is intended for those eligible to view rated R films and gravitates towards an audience that enjoys watching scary/horror films.
Production: The Nun‘s production budget was $22 million, and the production companies for the film include New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions. The principal photography for the film began on May 3, 2017 at Castel Film Studios in Romania and wrapped up on June 24, 2017. All of the filming locations were in Romania, including Corvin Castle as the ‘Romanian Abbey’ and Palace of the Parliament. There isn’t too much information regarding the production process, however according to IMDb the film was shot using an Arri Alexa as well as Leica Summilux-C lenses.
Distribution: The Nun was distributed in theaters and IMAX by Warner Bros. Productions. Tom Molter, Head of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures, stated, “‘The Nun’ continues to scare up audiences around the world, and records are being broken in every region—particularly in Latin America and Mexico, where the popularity of star Demian Bichir has drawn fans to the cinema in big numbers. We applaud the whole cast, as well as all of the filmmakers behind ‘The Nun,’ on this tremendous success.” The Nun crossed $200 million at the global box office in its second weekend of release, and has currently reached $365.5 million USD.
Marketing: The main marketing strategy used was the official trailer released during summer of 2018. YouTube had banned a six-second ad for the movie that played before select videos because it violated YouTube’s “shocking-content policy” which made headlines, however the film’s full length trailer was appealing enough on its own to promote the movie.
Cross-Media Convergence & Synergy: The Nun doesn’t appear to have any specific cross-media convergence or synergy, although it’s a smart tactic that most films should invest in. The filmmakers would collaborate with other brands or businesses to promote their film, which would expand the audience it reaches as well as create additional profit.
Sources:
“The Nun.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 5 Sept. 2018: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/
“The Nun.” Box Office Mojo: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1493206529/
Bonner, Mehera. “The True Story Behind ‘The Nun’ Will Haunt Your Nightmares Forever.” Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan, 24 Oct. 2019: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a23639243/the-nun-movie-real-life/
Hear No Evil 