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Following the success of The Conjuring: Last Rites, a prequel movie is officially in the works. There's no better time, then, to catch up on the hit horror franchise before it embarks on a whole new direction.
Consisting of 10 movies (yes, we count The Curse of La Llorona around these parts), the series is one of the most successful in the history of genre cinema – and has given us some of the best horror movies of all time. The latest entry saw Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson bow out as Lorraine and Ed Warren, but we've not seen the last of the paranormal investigators yet. Over the last 12 years, The Conjuring Universe has, well, conjured up a staggering $2.7 billion... so it's hardly surprising that Warner Bros. is keen to have another pair of actors continue the Warrens' spooky shenanigans onscreen.
Recently we've been looking back on the film that started it all in 2013, as well as the sequels and spin-offs it paved the way for. If you're feeling nostalgic, too, and have been thinking about revisiting the sinister cinematic universe, you've come to the right place. On the flip side, if you're looking to watch the series for the very first time, you've also come to the right place. Below, we've outlined the best ways to watch all of The Conjuring movies (through your fingers, or not), from order of release to chronological. So grab your rosaries and crucifixes and let's get cracking...
How to watch The Conjuring movies in release order
Recommended for: newcomers to The Conjuring Universe.
If you're just starting out your Conjuring journey, we'd suggest watching the horror series in release order, given the interesting way it introduces certain characters and lore. You'll meet the mysterious demon nun Valak in The Conjuring 2, for example, before unravelling her origins in The Nun. Same goes for the Annabelle spin-offs, which came out after the doll scared us silly in the very first movie.
- The Conjuring (2013)
- Annabelle (2014)
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- Annabelle: Creation (2017)
- The Nun (2018)
- The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
- Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
- The Nun 2 (2023)
- The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
We've chosen to include The Curse of La Llorona, which was critically maligned when it was released, since it shares some major connectivity – even if director Michael Chaves and producer Peter Safran claim it's not an official entry.
"Peter gave his permission to let [Annabelle] be in there," Chaves told Entertainment Weekly back in 2023. "The funny thing is that it was supposed to be a secret, it was supposed to be this Easter Egg, and [when the film premiered at] SXSW, there was a slip-up. The presenter introduced the movie as the next entry in the Conjuring Universe. So that was a big kind of faux pas. It was a big mess-up, and that's the truth of how that all came together."
"You can't count it!" Safran chimed in. "It periodically gets lumped in because of Chaves and because of [James Wan's production company] Atomic Monster, but it is not officially part of the universe. By the way, I think Chaves did a great job on the movie, which is why we stole him for the Conjuring universe."
In the flick, Linda Cardellini's Anna gets so spooked by the entity that's stalking her that she seeks the help of Father Perez (Tony Amendola), a character first seen in 2014's Annabelle. During his only scene, he refers to "an incident with a doll", before a flashback shows him carrying Annabelle, as his reason for not wanting to assist and palming her off to Raymond Cruz's priest Rafael Olvera. Sorry, guys, we're calling canon on that one.
How to watch The Conjuring movies in chronological order
Recommended for: returning Conjuring Universe viewers.
So, you're aware of The Conjuring Universe... You've witnessed the Warrens face off against all kinds of sinister forces a bunch of times, and fancy looking at all from a different angle? We're here to help. Below, we have a list of the chronological order of The Conjuring movies, followed by a deeper dive into why everything sits where it sits. Prepare yourselves – it gets a little complicated.
- The Nun
- Annabelle: Creation
- The Nun 2
- Annabelle
- The Conjuring
- Annabelle Comes Home
- The Curse of La Llorona
- The Conjuring 2
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
- The Conjuring: Last Rites
The Nun spin-offs
Set in 1952, The Nun is first up in our chronological list, though it's worth noting that Annabelle: Creation opens with a flashback scene set in 1944. So if you wanting to do things the real genre nerd way, watch the latter's prologue before tuning in to the entirety of The Nun. (We're electing to ignore that The Nun features a brief flashback to the Dark Ages, because the purpose of this guide is to make things simpler).
Directed by Corin Hardy, it follows novitiate Irene (Taissa Farmiga, Vera's real-life sister, which comes more into play later on) as she teams up with a priest to investigate the death of a young nun. Did the sister end her own life, as it seems, or are their supernatural forces wreaking murderous havoc in the abbey? I'm sure you'll guess the answer to that.
The Nun 2 picks up with Irene four years later, which means it slots in at #3. There are moments in the sequel that get a little timey-wimey, like when Irene has visions of her ancestors that reveal she actually shares a bloodline with The Conjuring's Lorraine, but nothing that we feel warrants it being placed elsewhere.
Annabelle, oh Annabelle
Before that, prequel-to-a-prequel Annabelle: Creation is at #2, with the main part of the story taking place in 1955. Directed by Until Dawn's David F. Sandberg, it centers on the dollmaker who crafted the titular toy, in an attempt to embed it with their late daughter's spirit.
12 years later, the dollmaker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife (Miranda Otto) invite a young nun and several girls, who've found themselves without a place to stay following the closure of their orphanage, into their home. But it turns out, the evil entity inside Annabelle isn't too happy about their new godly guests...
Annabelle, the first prequel that details the pig-tailed puppet's bloody beginnings, is set in 1967, which means it's next on the list. Directed by John R. Leonetti, it sees expectant couple John (Ward Horton) and Mia (Annabelle Wallis) get more than they bargained for, when the former buys his wife a vintage doll and they suffer an unfortunate run-in with a Satanic Cult.
The events of Annabelle Comes Home play out shortly after The Conjuring, so you'll have to check out the Warrens' infamous case in Rhode Island before you hit play on that first. After that? You're good to watch The Curse of La Llorona.
What's up, Warrens?
From then on, things are pretty simple, as we've got The Conjuring 2, which takes place in 1976; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, in 1981, and the upcoming installment The Conjuring: Last Rites, which is set in 1986. Kind of fitting really, given that it's been 12 years since we met Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and their first and last films have 15 fictional years between them. Close enough!
Directed by Michael Chaves, who also helmed The Curse of La Llorona, The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun 2, Last Rites takes inspiration from the real-life Smurl haunting in Pennsylvania.
"We've known about this one for a long time," Wilson previously told Entertainment Weekly. "Then writers are playing around with how it affects the family and what's going on in the family's life. That's where we can really theatricalize it. We're not making a documentary."
Where to stream The Conjuring movies?
If you're based in the US, the above question has a very simple answer, since every installment is available to stream with a subscription to HBO Max. If you're in the UK, it's a lot trickier...
The Nun, Annabelle, and Annabelle: Creation can be viewed via Sky or NOW, The Curse of La Llorona is free on Prime Video, and The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 are on Netflix. Meanwhile, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Annabelle Comes Home, and The Nun 2 are only available to rent or buy digitally.
For more, check out our guide to some of the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.
