Conjuring Movies in Order: Release and Chronological

The Conjuring movies in release order begin with The Conjuring (2013), directed by James Wan, and run through ten theatrical films to The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025), directed by Michael Chaves. Four are main saga films about Ed and Lorraine Warren, and six are spinoffs built around a haunted doll, a demon nun and a weeping ghost from folklore. Release order is the sequence in which audiences met the stories, so every connection between the films lands the way it did in theaters.

1. The Conjuring (2013), main film, directed by James Wan
2. Annabelle (2014), spinoff, directed by John R. Leonetti
3. The Conjuring 2 (2016), main film, directed by James Wan
4. Annabelle: Creation (2017), spinoff, directed by David F. Sandberg
5. The Nun (2018), spinoff, directed by Corin Hardy
6. The Curse of La Llorona (2019), spinoff, directed by Michael Chaves
7. Annabelle Comes Home (2019), spinoff, directed by Gary Dauberman
8. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), main film, directed by Michael Chaves
9. The Nun II (2023), spinoff, directed by Michael Chaves
10. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025), main film, directed by Michael Chaves

Spinoffs arrive between the main films rather than after them. Annabelle (2014) came just over a year after the first film, directed by John R. Leonetti, who had shot The Conjuring (2013) as its cinematographer, with Peter Safran and James Wan producing. Michael Chaves then directed four entries between 2019 and 2025.

Each main film is built on a case the Warrens claimed to have investigated: the Perron farmhouse in Rhode Island, the Enfield council house in north London, the Brookfield, Connecticut exorcism and the Smurl family home in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Those are claims made by the Warrens and dramatized by the filmmakers, and none of them is established proof of anything paranormal. If you want the background on what was claimed, the Conjuring true story page covers it case by case.

What comes after the tenth film? The next release will be The Conjuring: First Communion, which TheWrap reported Warner Bros. dated for September 10, 2027. Variety reports Rodrigue Huart directing from a script by Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg, with Garrett Wareing and Amanda Fix cast as Ed and Lorraine Warren. For the full run of titles, see how many Conjuring movies are there.

In my opinion, a first time viewer should start with release order and press play on The Conjuring (2013). That is a recommendation rather than a rule, and the chronological order has its own appeal for a rewatch.

Why release order? The first film introduces Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Perron family and the slow, patient scare style that Wan set for the saga. The chronological list opens instead with The Nun (2018), where Sister Irene leads and the Warrens are cameo level presences, so the couple the series is built around only turn up properly as the fifth film. It could be argued that this is a fine way to meet Valak, but I would rather know the Warrens first.

Do you need to watch Conjuring 1, 2, 3 before 4? Not strictly, since Last Rites opens with its own 1964 story. Even so, I would watch the first three main films if you can, because Last Rites brings back Judy Warren, Drew Thomas and Father Gordon, and those characters carry more weight if you have met them in earlier films. The main films together are The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring 2, The Devil Made Me Do It and Last Rites, and that is the shortest path that still tells the Warrens' story.

If one creature is what draws you in, the spinoffs split cleanly. For the doll, watch Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Home. For the demon nun, watch The Nun (2018) and The Nun II. The Curse of La Llorona stands apart, and I would treat it as optional unless you want everything.

That being said, you will get more out of the spinoffs once you have seen at least the first two main films. When you are ready to argue about which entry is best, our Conjuring movies ranked page gives my verdict on all ten, and the Conjuring characters page covers the Warrens and the creatures. Start tonight with The Conjuring (2013), and decide after the Enfield film whether you want the spinoffs.