Filmmaker James Wan, director of the record-setting horror hits “The Conjuring” and “The Conjuring 2,” explores another dark corner of that universe with “The Nun.” Directed by Corin Hardy (“The Hallow”), the new fright-fest is produced by Wan and by Peter Safran, who has produced all the films in “The Conjuring” franchise.

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.

“The Nun” stars Oscar nominated Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”) as Father Burke, Taissa Farmiga (TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Sister Irene, and Jonas Bloquet (“Elle”) as local villager Frenchie.

The cast also includes Charlotte Hope (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) as the abbey’s Sister Victoria, Ingrid Bisu (“Toni Erdmann”) as Sister Oana, and Bonnie Aarons, reprising her “Conjuring 2” role as the title character.

Hardy directs “The Nun” from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman (“It”), story by James Wan & Gary Dauberman. Dauberman, Todd Williams and Michael Clear are the executive producers.

Joining Hardy behind the scenes are director of photography Maxime Alexandre (“The Voices,” “Annabelle: Creation”), production designer Jennifer Spence (“Annabelle: Creation,” “Lights Out,” the “Insidious” films), editors Michel Aller (“Lights Out,” “Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension”) and Ken Blackwell ( “Ouija” “Friday the 13th”), and costume designer Sharon Gilham (TV’s “Black Mirror”). The music is by Abel Korzeniowski (“Nocturnal Animals”).

New Line Cinema presents an Atomic Monster / Safran Company production, “The Nun.”

Opening in theaters on September 7, 2018, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

For the fifth weekend in a row Warner Bros. will rule the top of the box office, this time with New Line’s Conjuring spinoff The Nun which is expected to bring the Burbank, CA studio moola from heaven with an estimated $36M-$45M start at an estimated 3,700-plus locations. Two out of three tracking services have The Nun north of $40M, and there’s a very good chance that the Corin Hardy-directed pic will rep a record debut for The Conjuring universe, besting the first 2013 installment’s debut of $41.8M. Total awareness, first choice, and unaided awareness on The Nun is best with females under 25. Already we’re hearing that advance ticket sales are ahead of Annabelle: Creation and The Conjuring 2.