2016 American supernatural horror film
The Conjuring 2 (known in the United Kingdom as The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case) is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay is by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, Wan, and David Leslie Johnson. It is a sequel to 2013's "The Conjuring", the second installment in "The Conjuring" series, and the third installment in "The Conjuring" Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first film. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfield council house in 1977, which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.
In July 2013, before the release of the first film, it was reported that New Line Cinema was already developing a sequel with both Farmiga and Wilson signed on to reprise their roles. By October 2014, it was announced that Wan would return to direct the sequel and would make his first contribution as a writer in the franchise. Principal photography began in September 2015 in Los Angeles and concluded in December 2015 in London.
"The Conjuring 2" had its world premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 7, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 10, 2016, by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $320million worldwide. A spin-off prequel, "The Nun", was released in September 2018, and a sequel, "", was released in June 2021.
Plot.
In 1976, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the Amityville murders at the Amityville house, to determine if a demonic presence was truly responsible for Ronald DeFeo Jr. killing his entire family on November 13, 1974, and the subsequent haunting incident involving the Lutz family. During a seance, Lorraine is drawn into a vision where she encounters a demonic nun figure and witnesses Ed being impaled.
One year later, the Hodgson family begins to experience strange occurrences in their home in the London borough of Enfield after Janet, the second-oldest of four children, plays with a ouija board. Janet sleepwalks and converses with the entity of an angry elderly man. When the media attempts to interview the family, Janet is possessed by the elderly man, Bill Wilkins, who previously lived and died in the house. The Warrens are requested to prove whether or not Janet's demonic possession is a hoax. Lorraine, fearful that her vision of Ed's death may become reality, has another vision of the demonic nun in which the demon says its name. She scratches the name into her Bible in a trance.
While staying at the Hodgson residence, Ed and Lorraine consult other paranormal investigators, including Maurice Grosse and Anita Gregory, on the legitimacy of the case. Gregory presents video evidence of Janet wrecking the kitchen on purpose, thereby discrediting the haunting. Ed and Lorraine leave, believing the family is lying for fame. However, they discover that the spirit of Wilkins is only a pawn being manipulated by the true demon, the nun, who is seeking to break Janet's will. Lorraine's abilities had been blocked by the nun, preventing her from grasping the truth of Janet's possession.
The couple quickly returns to the Hodgson residence and find Janet possessed, standing at the window, ready to commit suicide. Ed grabs Janet but is close to falling. Lightning strikes the tree in the yard, turning it into the stump that impaled Ed in Lorraine's vision. Lorraine finds the Bible in which she wrote the demon's name – Valak. She addresses the demon by its name, gaining dominion over it and successfully condemning it back to Hell. Janet is freed of its possession, and Lorraine pulls her and Ed to safety.
After returning home, Ed adds an item to his and Lorraine's collection – a haunted "Crooked Man" zoetrope toy owned by Peggy's youngest child – placing it beside April Perron's music box and the Annabelle doll.
Cast.
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Production.
Development.
In July 2013, prior to "The Conjuring"'s release, "Variety" reported that New Line Cinema was already in the early stages of development of a sequel with Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes writing the script, following the positive test screenings and reviews of the first film. "Final Destination 5" writer Eric Heisserer would later be brought in to doctor the Hayes' script, focusing mainly on dialogue. In January 2015, David Leslie Johnson was hired for rewrites. The film deals with the case of the Enfield poltergeist, which took place in the London Borough of Enfield from 1977 to 1979, and involved the alleged haunting of two sisters, aged 11 and 13, at their mother's council house. "The Conjuring 2" also touches on the Warrens' most famous and most documented case, "The Amityville Horror".
Pre-production.
In July 2013, it was reported that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson had signed on to reprise their roles from "The Conjuring". This was confirmed in February 2014. On October 21, 2014, it was announced that James Wan would return to direct the sequel, and production would begin in mid-2015. Speaking to his decision to return for the sequel, Wan stated:
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In early July 2015, lead actors Farmiga and Wilson visited Lorraine Warren at the New England Paranormal Research Center in Connecticut in preparation for their roles. On July 28, 2015, Wan officially began pre-production for the film. In August 2015, the film was granted $5.6million in tax credits from the California Film Commission for bringing the production to the state.
On September 13, 2015, Don Burgess was confirmed as the film's director of photography. In September 2015, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, newcomer Lauren Esposito, and Madison Wolfe joined the cast. Franka Potente, Simon Delaney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and newcomers Patrick McAuley and Benjamin Haigh were also reported to have been cast in late September 2015. In November 2015, it was announced that Abhi Sinha had joined the cast of the film. On December 1, 2015, it was confirmed that Sterling Jerins would reprise her role as the Warrens' daughter Judy.
Filming.
Principal photography for "The Conjuring 2" began on September 21, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Due to an inexplicable series of events during production of the first film, a priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe was brought in to bless the set of the sequel by the film's producers. Production moved to London on November 18, 2015, with filming taking place in and around The Warrington, a pub in the residential district of Maida Vale. On November 22, filming took place at Marylebone station. Filming concluded on December 1, 2015. Production lasted for 50 days, with 40 days filming on sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, and 10 days on location in London. Additional photography began in March 2016 to reinvent the film's antagonist, who was initially a "demonic figure with wings". Wan felt the design did not fit and instead opted to change the demon to a nun, with Bonnie Aarons cast in the role, to make the film more grounded.
Music.
The original musical score for "The Conjuring 2" was written by Joseph Bishara and was released on June 3, 2016, by WaterTower Music. Bishara, a recurring collaborator of director James Wan, composed the score after having previously written the music for "The Conjuring" and the "Insidious" film series. Lead actor Patrick Wilson performs Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" on a guitar in the film, while songs such as the Clash's "London Calling", the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" and the traditional nursery rhymes "This Old Man" and "There Was a Crooked Man" are also featured. Composer Mark Isham's family themes from the first film, "Photograph" and "Happy Family", were also used in "The Conjuring 2".
Distribution.
Theatrical release.
"The Conjuring 2" was originally scheduled to be released on October 23, 2015, but in October 2014, Warner Bros. pulled the film from the schedule and set the film for an unspecified 2016 release date. In November 2014, the release date was pushed back from its original release date of October 23, 2015, to June 10, 2016. "The Conjuring 2" had its red carpet world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on June 7, 2016, as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival's program, three days prior to its wide release.
On June 17, 2016, a 65-year-old man died of a heart attack while watching the film at a cinema in Tiruvannamalai, India.
Home media.
"The Conjuring 2" was released as a digital download on August 30, 2016, and on DVD and Blu-ray on September 13, 2016. Bonus features include behind the scenes footage, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Reception.
Box office.
"The Conjuring 2" grossed $102.5million in the United States and Canada and $217.9million in other territories for a worldwide total gross of $320.4million. Although it earned less in North America than the first film, it fared better internationally; overall, it made 0.5% more than the first film. The film was the highest-grossing horror film of the year and the second-highest-grossing horror film overall of all time, behind only 1973's "The Exorcist" ($441.3million). It was partly credited for the success of fellow Warner Bros. horror film "Lights Out", which was released a month later. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the net profit of the film to be $98.3million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the 14th-most profitable release of 2016.
In North America, the film opened on June 10, 2016, alongside "Warcraft" and "Now You See Me 2", and was projected to gross $35 to 40million from 3,343 theaters in its opening weekend. The film grossed $3.4million from its Thursday night previews, besting the $3.3million made by its predecessor, and $16.4million in its first day. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $40.4million from 3,434 theaters (almost matching its predecessor's $41.9million opening), making it the biggest opening for a horror film since the original film in 2013, the biggest-ever for the month of June (breaking "The Purge"'s record), and the fifth-biggest for a horror film of all time, behind the first film, "Paranormal Activity 2" and "Paranormal Activity 3" ($40.6million and $52.5million, respectively), and the 2009 remake of "Friday the 13th" ($40.6million). Following a first-place finish in its first weekend of release, the film faced a steep decline of 63.2% in its second weekend (earning $14.8million from 3,356 theaters); this was a much larger drop than "The Conjuring" (46.9%) and "Annabelle" (57.3%). As a result, it slipped to third place behind newcomers "Finding Dory" and "Central Intelligence", another film from New Line Cinema. It began to lose a considerable number of theaters by its third weekend as a result of numerous newly released films. "Forbes" magazine noted that "The Conjuring 2" was falling faster than the previous film but had already made more than ', "Annabelle", and both "The Purge" and ' had done at that point in their releases. Unlike its predecessor, "The Conjuring 2" proved to be more front-loaded, earning 2.5 times its opening weekend, compared to the original film earning 3.22 times its debut number.
Outside North America, the film has been released across 60 countries. It played well in Latin America and performed exceptionally well in other Catholic countries due to its spiritual themes while it also did well in the UK, where the film is set. It was released across 44 countries the same weekend as its United States release, and grossed $51.5million in its opening weekend from 10,400 screens, debuting in second place behind "Warcraft". It added another $43.1million in its second weekend from a total of 57 countries as well as passing the $100million threshold. However, it still remained in second place at the international box office, behind then-newcomer "Finding Dory".
It recorded the biggest opening day of all time for a horror film in 24 markets, including Mexico ($1.6million), Brazil ($735,000), Australia ($401,000), and all of Latin America. Moreover, in terms of opening weekend, the film scored the biggest opening for a horror film in