The Conjuring Universe Movies In Order
Summary The Conjuring Universe is one of the most consistently successful horror movie cinematic universes.
Watching the movies in release order allows viewers to follow a steady flow of the storyline and understand the hints and callbacks between films.
The recommended viewing order begins with The Conjuring movies, followed by the Annabelle trilogy, The Curse of La Llorona, The Nun and its sequel, and finally the third Conjuring movie. This order provides the most enjoyable and comprehensive experience.
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.
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Conjuring Movies In Release Order
There's A Decades Worth Of Movies In The Conjurverse
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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.
Move Release Year 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
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 Conjuring Universe timeline.
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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.
Movie In-Universe Year The Nun 1952 Annabelle: Creation 1955 The Nun 2 1956 Annabelle 1967 Annabelle Comes Home 1969 The Conjuring 1971 The Curse of La Llorona 1973 The Conjuring 2 1976 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It 1981
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.
Related The Conjuring: The Creepiest Items In The Warren's Occult Museum In The Conjuring movies, the Warrens come across some rather creepy items and artifacts that were actually based on real things.
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.
Movie Release Year In-Universe Year The Conjuring 2013 1971 Annabelle: Creation 2017 1955 Annabelle 2014 1967 Annabelle Comes Home 2019 1969 The Curse of La Llorona 2019 1973 The Nun 2018 1952 The Conjuring 2 2016 1976 The Nun 2 2023 1956 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It 2021 1981
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 Conjuring Universe will let them rest.
Related The Conjuring: Every Warrens Case Future Movies Could Use The Conjuring universe is flourishing with the latest Devil Made Me Do It installation, so here are all the Warrens cases future movies can use.
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.
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