How to watch 'The Conjuring' movies in order

The Conjuring has dominated box offices since its inception in 2013. The primary franchise features a (extremely romanticized) Ed and Lorraine Warren as they hunt specters, witches and ghouls and fight to save family after family from demonic possessions. The demonologists are portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively, with each actor's performance being the very reason the franchise has managed to wriggle its way into the hearts of so many. The love of the characters serves as a foundation for the horror, giving director James Wan and other creators of the Conjuring-verse the opportunity to build something truly terrifying.

There's no right or wrong way to dig into the spooks offered by The Conjuring and all of its spinoffs, but we thought we'd make things easier and break down the release and chronological orders for those who want to check out the series in whichever order they so choose. 

If you want to watch the films in order of greatness, check out The Conjuring films ranked worst to best.

'The Conjuring' series in release order

• 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 chronological order (found below) comes with a couple caveats. It might be easier for viewers who are coming into the Conjuring-verse blind to watch the three core The Conjuring films before diving into all the respective spin-offs. Annabelle will make enough sense without series context, but Valak (the titular Nun) might not make a lot of sense — or be nearly as engaging to viewers — without the context of the Warrens and their battle.

For those who have seen these films before, the below order needs no addendums! 

'The Conjuring' series in chronological order

• 1952: The Nun
• 1955: Annabelle: Creation
• 1967: Annabelle 
• 1971: The Conjuring 
• 1972: Annabelle Comes Home
• 1973: The Curse of La Llorona 
• 1977: The Conjuring 2
• 1981: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It