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Watch order

Conjuring Universe movie watch order

James Wan and New Line’s Conjuring universe from The Conjuring (2013) through The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)—mainline Warren cases plus Annabelle and The Nun spin-offs. Release follows US theatrical premiere order. Story runs 1952→1986: The Nun → Annabelle: Creation → The Nun II → Annabelle → The Conjuring → Annabelle Comes Home → The Conjuring 2 → The Devil Made Me Do It → Last Rites. The Curse of La Llorona stays optional. Horror neighbors: Insidious and Chucky.

Updated August 2026

Release order

When each major Conjuring universe theatrical film opened in the US—from The Conjuring (July 19, 2013) through Last Rites (September 5, 2025). Best first path in 2026: watch in premiere order so the Warren farmhouse case still lands as a discovery before the Annabelle and Nun prequels reshuffle the past.

  • First watch 2026 → Release: Conjuring → Annabelle → Conjuring 2 → Creation → Nun → Comes Home → Devil Made Me Do It → Nun II → Last Rites
  • Warren-only → Conjuring → Conjuring 2 → Devil Made Me Do It → Last Rites (skip Annabelle/Nun if you only want Ed and Lorraine)
  • Prequel-first rewatch → use Story (Nun through Last Rites by year)
  • La Llorona → optional; not required for the nine-film shelf
Story order tips

In-fiction chronology used by 2026 watch guides: The Nun (1952) → Annabelle: Creation (1955) → The Nun II (1956) → Annabelle (1967) → The Conjuring (1971) → Annabelle Comes Home (1972) → The Conjuring 2 (1977) → The Devil Made Me Do It (1981) → Last Rites (1986). Same nine films; only the spin-offs move.

  • 1952–1956 → The Nun → Annabelle: Creation → The Nun II
  • 1967–1972 → Annabelle → The Conjuring → Annabelle Comes Home
  • 1977–1981 → Conjuring 2 then Devil Made Me Do It
  • 1986 → Last Rites (latest Warren year on this page)

Timeline

When each season premiered in the US. Expand a row for dates and where it fits in your watch order.

Release order

  1. The Conjuring

    The Conjuring

    TheatricalStreamingWarren caseLive-action

    James Wan’s 2013 breakout sends Ed and Lorraine Warren into the Perron farmhouse in 1971 Rhode Island—Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson lock the franchise’s investigator grammar, while the Annabelle doll and a witch’s curse invent the shared universe every spin-off still answers.

    Overview
    Haunted-house craft with period production design and a couple who treat demonology like fieldwork. Correct first watch on Release so the Warrens still arrive as strangers, not a known brand.
    Related games
    Franchise opener in theaters. Story places 1952–1967 spin-offs before this 1971 case. Horror neighbors: Insidious and Chucky.
    Where it fits
    Start here on Release. On Story it sits fifth, after the Nun and Annabelle prequels. Required before The Conjuring 2 either way.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release July 19, 2013 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  2. Annabelle

    Annabelle

    TheatricalStreamingAnnabelleLive-action

    John R. Leonetti’s 2014 spin-off leaves the Warrens off-screen for John and Mia Form—a nursing student couple whose vintage doll becomes a vessel after a cult attack. It expands the doll teased in The Conjuring into its own terror lane before Creation rewinds further.

    Overview
    Standalone doll horror inside shared continuity: cult intrusion, apartment dread, and a neighbor who knows more than she says. Proof the brand can survive without Ed and Lorraine in every frame.
    Related games
    First Annabelle theatrical chapter. Story continues into The Conjuring (1971); Release continues into The Conjuring 2.
    Where it fits
    Second on Release; fourth on Story (1967), after The Nun II. Watch here in premiere order, or meet it later on Story after the 1950s chapters.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release October 3, 2014 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  3. The Conjuring 2

    The Conjuring 2

    TheatricalStreamingWarren caseLive-action

    Wan returns for the 1977 Enfield poltergeist case in London—the Hodgson family, a croaking spirit, and Bonnie Aarons’s Valak in nun form, the image that launches The Nun spin-offs. Farmiga and Wilson deepen the Warrens’ marriage as the investigation turns personal.

    Overview
    International case structure plus the Valak reveal that seeds the Nun films. Amityville-tinged opening and crook-backed croaks keep the sequel from repeating the Rhode Island farmhouse beat-for-beat.
    Related games
    Introduces Valak for the Nun lane. Next on Release is Annabelle: Creation; next on Story is The Devil Made Me Do It.
    Where it fits
    Third on Release; seventh on Story (1977). Watch after The Conjuring; The Nun films are prequels to Valak’s lore, not required first.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release June 10, 2016 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  4. Annabelle: Creation

    Annabelle: Creation

    TheatricalStreamingAnnabellePrequel

    David F. Sandberg’s 2017 prequel rewinds to a dollmaker’s farm and orphaned girls—how Annabelle becomes a vessel years before the Forms. Stephanie Sigman’s Sister Charlotte and a locked room invent the doll’s origin that Annabelle only hinted at.

    Overview
    Rural orphanage dread and a clearer demon-host pipeline into the 1967 Annabelle chapter. Widely treated as the stronger Annabelle film; Story places it in 1955, second overall.
    Related games
    Annabelle origin chapter. Story continues into The Nun II (1956); Release continues into The Nun.
    Where it fits
    Fourth on Release; second on Story (after The Nun). Watch here in premiere order, or start Story with The Nun then this title.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release August 11, 2017 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  5. The Nun

    The Nun

    TheatricalStreamingThe NunPrequel

    Corin Hardy’s 2018 Romania chapter sends a priest and a novitiate into a cursed abbey—Taissa Farmiga’s Sister Irene faces Valak at the earliest story year on this page (1952). Highest-grossing chapter for years; it opens Story even though theaters played it fifth.

    Overview
    Gothic abbey horror that reverse-engineers Valak before Enfield. Fog, Latin rites, and a gateway myth that later films still echo.
    Related games
    Opens Story chronology. Next Story beat is Annabelle: Creation; next on Release is Annabelle Comes Home.
    Where it fits
    Fifth on Release; first on Story (1952). Watch here in premiere order, or begin Story with this title if you want the universe from its earliest year.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release September 7, 2018 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  6. Annabelle Comes Home

    Annabelle Comes Home

    TheatricalStreamingAnnabelleWarren house

    Gary Dauberman’s 2019 chapter locks Annabelle in the Warrens’ artifact room and lets babysitters loose among haunted relics—Mckenna Grace’s Judy Warren, a Ferryman tease, and a night-at-the-museum energy set in 1972, after the Perron case.

    Overview
    Artifact-room anthology dread inside one night: the doll as a key that wakes everything else. Bridges Annabelle’s arc into the Warren household without a new farmhouse plot.
    Related games
    Closes the Annabelle trilogy on both tabs’ logic. Next on Release is The Devil Made Me Do It; next on Story is The Conjuring 2.
    Where it fits
    Sixth on Release (2019, before Devil Made Me Do It); sixth on Story (1972, after The Conjuring). Do not watch it before the 1971 Perron case on Story.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release June 26, 2019 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  7. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

    The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

    TheatricalStreamingWarren caseLive-action

    Michael Chaves’s 2021 chapter follows the Arne Johnson murder trial and a curse that pulls the Warrens into occult detective work—less haunted house, more occult conspiracy, set in 1981 after Enfield.

    Overview
    Courtroom-and-curse structure that stretches the series beyond farmhouse set pieces. Ties Disciples of the Ram threads back toward Annabelle-era cult lore without requiring every spin-off first.
    Related games
    Third mainline Warren film. Next on Release is The Nun II; next on Story is Last Rites.
    Where it fits
    Seventh on Release; eighth on Story (1981). Watch after The Conjuring 2 for Warren continuity; Annabelle/Nun films remain optional flavor.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release June 4, 2021 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  8. The Nun II

    The Nun II

    TheatricalStreamingThe NunPrequel

    Chaves’s 2023 France boarding-school sequel returns Sister Irene to Valak in 1956—one year after Annabelle: Creation on Story, years before Enfield. Jonas Bloquet’s Maurice and schoolyard dread keep the Nun lane alive between Creation and the 1967 Annabelle chapter.

    Overview
    Boarding-school Valak chapter that sits between Creation and Annabelle on the calendar. Maurice’s thread quietly ties Romania forward toward the first Conjuring.
    Related games
    Second Nun film. Story continues into Annabelle; Release continues into Last Rites.
    Where it fits
    Eighth on Release; third on Story (1956). Watch after The Nun for Irene continuity; Story places it before Annabelle (1967).
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release September 8, 2023 (Warner Bros. / New Line).
  9. The Conjuring: Last Rites

    The Conjuring: Last Rites

    TheatricalStreamingWarren caseLive-action

    Chaves’s 2025 mainline chapter reunites Farmiga and Wilson for a late Warren case billed as a last rites era—set around 1986 on Story, last theatrical title on both tabs among released films as of August 2026.

    Overview
    Late-career Warren horror that closes the released mainline ladder after Devil Made Me Do It. Treats the couple’s long case history as lived-in rather than a first-night scare.
    Related games
    Current end of the Warren story on this page. The Conjuring: First Communion (planned later) stays optional until it opens.
    Where it fits
    Last on both tabs among released films. Watch after the three prior Warren films for clean continuity; spin-offs remain optional.
    Premiere dates
    US theatrical release September 5, 2025 (Warner Bros. / New Line).

FAQ

Release vs chronology, why The Nun starts Story, Annabelle Comes Home after Conjuring 1, Last Rites, and La Llorona.

Watch order

Release is premiere order (Conjuring first). Story follows in-fiction years: The Nun (1952) → Annabelle: Creation (1955) → The Nun II (1956) → Annabelle (1967) → The Conjuring (1971) → Annabelle Comes Home (1972) → The Conjuring 2 (1977) → Devil Made Me Do It (1981) → Last Rites (1986). First-time viewers should stay on Release so the Warren farmhouse is still a discovery.

Years & spin-offs

On Story, Annabelle Comes Home is 1972—after The Conjuring (1971)—because Annabelle is already locked in the Warrens’ artifact room. On Release it is the 2019 film, which premiered before The Devil Made Me Do It (2021). Premiere year and story year are not the same.

The Conjuring: Last Rites opened in US theaters on September 5, 2025. It is last on both tabs among released films—after Devil Made Me Do It on the Warren path, and ~1986 on Story. You do not need every Annabelle or Nun film first if you only want Ed and Lorraine’s mainline.

What’s included

More timelines

Other release-order and story-order guides on this site.