The leading actress of 'The Nun' sues Warner Bros.

If you've heard of The Nun, one of the horror films in Warner Bros.' Warren Dossier universe, you've seen Bonnie Aarons' face. As the titular demonic entity, Aarons is in all the ads for the film and its upcoming sequel, but now, the actress claims that Warner Bros. is hiding how much it has made from her image in order to take away from her profits.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the complaint is directed at Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Scope Productions LLC for breach of contract, breaching the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, in addition to the accounting covenant. It alleges that they "explored Bonnie Aarons' talent, creativity and image … with enormous financial success" and have failed to adequately compensate her in accordance with her contract. According to the lawsuit, Aarons' contract provided for a "fixed remuneration" of $71,500 for her work on The Nun, plus potential additional box office bonuses that ultimately netted her another $175,000, "but also required Ms. Aarons to receive a share of Warner Bros.' gross revenues from products exploiting Ms. Aarons' image."

"Instead of transparently accounting and paying," the lawsuit alleges, "Warner Bros. obscures and conceals the true amount of Ms. Aarons' legitimate share of merchandising revenue, all while continuing to exploit her." The Nun, as the lawsuit points out, has been a massive success for Warner Bros. Grossing $365 million worldwide after its 2018 release, it remains the highest-grossing film in the continually lucrative Warren Files universe. That was more than enough to warrant a sequel, with The Nun II set to see Aarons reprise her role as the Demonic Nun on September 8, 2023. However, when it comes to merchandising, Aarons' lawsuit claims the figures are less transparent.