The Conjuring Universe Movies In Order (2024)

There are several ways to watch The Conjuring Universe movies in order. The horror franchise is one of the most consistently successful cinematic universes, having spawned several high-grossing individual series amid an expanded canon that continues to grow. The Nun 2, which premiered in 2023, is the ninth movie in the overarching franchise and sequel to the first The Nun movie that came out in 2018. This will be followed by the fourth movie in The Conjuring Universe movie series, The Conjuring: Last Rites.

Watching The Conjuring Universe movies in order is tricky because the actual timeline is scattered across a number of sequels and prequels. Some are filled with crucial information, while others only contain the slightest hint they're part of something greater in the story of the Warrens and the demonic entities they've encountered. To help make the most out of their horror viewing experience, three distinct watch orders for the movies can be deduced, with each having its own advantage in terms of understanding the complete Conjuring Universe timeline.

Conjuring Movies In Release Order

There's A Decades Worth Of Movies In The Conjurverse

The Conjuring movies in release order span 9 movies from 2013 through to 2023, starting with The Conjuring and ending with 2023's The Nun 2. This is the order many fans will have already seen the films, at least on first viewing. While the actual story-telling here is scattered — The Nun is an origin story for the villain in The Conjuring 2, for example — there is a steady flow that's easy to follow. There are currently 3 movies in the core The Conjuring trilogy, with the remaining 6 films in the franchise being spinoffs.

Viewers can see everything expand outward from The Conjuring, and all the hints and callbacks between the various movies are placed with this progression in mind, which is the main advantage of watching The Conjuring movies in order of release date. This is the way the writers intended viewers to experience the complete ConjuringUniversetimeline.

Conjuring Movies In Chronological Order

The Movies In The Conjurverse Take Place Between 1952 And 1981

There's been a new movie in The Conjuring universe almost every year without exception since the first arrived in 2013. However, The Conjuring timeline doesn't follow the cinematic release order at all. There are numerous prequels and time-jumps between the main The Conjuring trilogy and the three sequels. What's more, the real Ed and Lorraine Warren mainly operated in the 1950s through to the 1980s, meaning that none of the movies are set during the year of release.

Though not altogether the best, seeing The Conjuring movies in order of chronology is preferred by franchise purists. The problem with this order lies in the ties Annabelle and The Curse of La Llorona have to The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The Annabelle trilogy is largely self-contained, and with Annabelle being what bridges The Curse of La Llorona to everything else, audiences essentially get a trilogy and a quadrilogy that are only related because the doll from one is visible in the other. Unfortunately, this lessens the impact and feeling of a larger world.

Recommended Conjuring Movies Viewing Order

The Best Way To Enjoy The Movies Isn't The Chronological Or Release Order

The most enjoyable way to take in the franchise is viewing the spinoffs book-ended with The Conjuring movies. With how much The Conjuring sets up what comes after, it really has to go first to absorb the narrative in totality. Next is the Annabelle trilogy in chronological order, followed by The Curse of La Llorona, which plants the seed of a multicultural universe waiting for the Warrens. The Nun comes next, followed by The Conjuring 2, The Nun 2, and, finally, the third Conjuring movie.

Everything flows from and back to the Warrens and their paranormal studies, until the exorcism of Arne Cheyenne Johnson in The Conjuring 3. Viewing The Conjuring movies in order of both chronology and how they were intended to be released provides the best experience. As The Conjuring: Last Rites is already in the works, Ed and Lorraine Warrens' battle against the forces of evil has a few more rounds to go before The ConjuringUniverse will let them rest.

The Future Of The Conjuring Universe

There Are More Conjuring Movies To Come

The most recent Conjuring movie was 2023's The Nun 2. However, there are still more movies planned in The Conjuring franchise, and there is also a possible TV show in the works too. The next confirmed movie is the fourth in the main series. The Conjuring 4 will be titled The Conjuring: Last Rites, and will be a direct sequel to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. At time of writing, the script was still being developed, so a release window is unclear.

There is also a The Conjuring TV show reportedly in the works. Peter Safran and James Wan are set as executive producers, and it's being developed as a streaming exclusive for Max. Little is known about the plot, though it's been hinted that it will be set after the events of the movies. Outside the TV show and Last Rites, there have been many rumored projects — such as the now-canceled The Crooked Man spin-off – though nothing has been confirmed yet beyond the various directors and producers of The Conjuring movies stating they'd be interested in developing the various ghosts and demons of the franchise further.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a multi-film franchise that started in 2013 with James Wan's The Conjuring. Since then, it has expanded with spinoffs like Annabelle, The Nun, and sequels to the original film. Due to the popularity of the movies, The Conjuring has become one of the most profitable franchises in Warner Bros.' portfolio.

Created by

James Wan

First Film

The Conjuring

Cast

Patrick Wilson , Vera Farmiga , Ron Livingston , Lili Taylor , Joey King , Mackenzie Foy , Madison Wolfe , John Noble , Ruairi O'Connor , Ward Horton , Annabelle Wallis , Alfre Woodard , Tony Amendola , Anthony LaPaglia , Miranda Otto , Brad Greenquist , Lulu Wilson , Talitha Bateman , Grace Caroline Currey , Mckenna Grace , Taissa Farmiga , Bonnie Aarons , Demián Bichir , Jonas Bloquet