Saw Movies in Order: Release and Chronological

The Saw movies in order of release run from Saw (2004), directed by James Wan, to Saw X (2023), directed by Kevin Greutert, ten theatrical films across 19 years (nine main films plus one spinoff). Release order is the one to use for a first watch, and the spinoff Spiral: From the Book of Saw arrives between Jigsaw and Saw X. Every film on the Saw movies hub appears below.

1. Saw (2004), directed by James Wan: photographer Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon wake up chained by the ankle in a filthy bathroom, with a dead man between them and tapes that explain the rules.
2. Saw II (2005), directed by Darren Lynn Bousman: Detective Eric Matthews arrests the Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, only to find his teenage son Daniel among eight people locked in a house filling with nerve gas.
3. Saw III (2006), directed by Darren Lynn Bousman: a man named Troy must tear chains out of his own body to escape a bomb, and Detective Kerry is soon kidnapped and fitted with a harness hooked into her ribs.
4. Saw IV (2007), directed by Darren Lynn Bousman: an autopsy on Jigsaw's body finds a tape recorder inside it, and police officer Rigg is pulled into a new set of tests.
5. Saw V (2008), directed by David Hackl: Detective Mark Hoffman is hailed as a hero, Agent Strahm begins to doubt the official story, and five strangers wake up in a grim facility.
6. Saw VI (2009), directed by Kevin Greutert: Hoffman carries on Jigsaw's work while insurance executive William Easton faces games built around his company's habit of denying medical coverage.
7. Saw 3D (2010), directed by Kevin Greutert: Hoffman kidnaps Bobby Dagen, a self help author who became famous by lying about surviving a Jigsaw trap.
8. Jigsaw (2017), directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig: five strangers wake in a barn with buckets on their heads while a recording in John Kramer's voice, ten years after his death, sets the tests.
9. Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021), directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (spinoff): Detective Zeke Banks, played by Chris Rock, is paired with a rookie to work a case in which police officers become targets.
10. Saw X (2023), directed by Kevin Greutert: John Kramer, with terminal brain cancer, travels to a clinic outside Mexico City hoping for an experimental cure.

The original film cost $1.2 million to make and grossed more than $104 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, after Lions Gate bought the worldwide rights ahead of its Sundance midnight screening (Screen Daily). That return helps explain why a new Saw followed every October from 2005 to 2010, and the full numbers sit on the Saw box office page. Several of those early sequels open directly on the fallout from the film before them, such as Saw IV beginning with Jigsaw's autopsy, so skipping one costs you context. A further film, Saw XI, is announced but undated, which means it belongs to neither order yet (the Saw 11 page tracks its status).

Release order is the best way to start the Saw movies, and chronological order suits a second pass. In my opinion the series keeps rewarding you for remembering what came before. Saw (2004) is a contained puzzle set mostly in one bathroom, and Saw II widens it into a house full of strangers while putting John Kramer across a table from a detective. That jump in scale lands best when you have seen the small version first.

On a second pass you already know the story, and watching Saw X slot in as the second chapter, rather than arriving near the end, changes how the early films read.

What if you only want a short run? It could be argued that Saw (2004), Saw II and Saw III make the tightest opening act, and from there Saw X is the one later film I would add, since it puts Tobin Bell back at the center of a single story. Perhaps leave Spiral for last, as it is a spinoff with a new lead in Chris Rock's Zeke Banks, and it closes the chronological order anyway. If you want to know who is who before you press play, the Saw characters guide covers the main players.

The full run is 974 minutes across ten films, about 16 hours, so two films a night finishes it in five nights. As of November 3, 2026, Saw X streams on Netflix in the US and Australia, according to JustWatch via TMDB, and the where to watch Saw guide lists the rest by country. If you would like opinions on which entries earn the evening, Saw movies ranked has them. Start with Saw (2004) tonight, and decide after Saw II whether you want the rest.