The best Conjuring Universe watch order for most first-time viewers is release order: start with The Conjuring and finish with The Conjuring: Last Rites. That sequence lets the franchise introduce its investigators, cursed objects, and demons in the same rhythm audiences first received them, so later prequels add context instead of removing a reveal.
If you would rather follow the story clock, chronological order begins with The Nun in 1952 and reaches Last Rites in 1986. Both routes work; the useful choice is whether you value the filmmakers’ gradual introductions or a straight Conjuring franchise timeline.
This guide covers the ten released feature films generally grouped into the James Wan horror franchise: four Conjuring films, three Annabelle films, two Nun films, and The Curse of La Llorona. The last title has a lighter connection than the others, which is why it causes so much confusion in Conjuring series order lists.
Quick answer: Watch in release order if this is your first trip through the series. Pick chronological order on a rewatch, or when you specifically want Valak and Annabelle’s history to unfold by the years in which the stories occur.
Table of Contents
The Conjuring Universe watch order is release order for first-time viewers
Release order is the right default because each film assumes only what earlier releases have already taught you. It also keeps the main Ed and Lorraine Warren cases at the center, while the spinoffs feel like expanding side files rather than homework.
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 II (2023)
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Watch the entries in that exact sequence if you want the cleanest answer to “How do I watch Conjuring correctly?” It preserves the first look at the Warrens’ world in The Conjuring, introduces the Annabelle branch after its important visual setup, and saves the newer chapters until their intended point.
Release order does not put the events in date order. For example, the first Annabelle film arrives on screen before its earlier-set prequel, and The Nun arrives long after the demon at its center becomes familiar in The Conjuring 2.
Release order keeps the series’ scares and reveals in context
Fans discussing the franchise often divide on this point, with no single community consensus. The release-order camp makes a persuasive case: a backstory is usually more satisfying after you have seen why that person, object, or entity matters.
That matters most with Valak. Watching The Conjuring 2 before the two Nun films lets the prequel branch answer questions raised by the main series instead of asking you to recognize details that have not yet been introduced.
It also gives Annabelle: Creation its intended role. The film is set first among the Annabelle movies, yet it was made after Annabelle; seeing it later lets its opening and closing connections land with more force.
The chronological order follows the Conjuring Universe timeline from 1952 to 1986
The Conjuring Universe chronological order is best for viewers who already know the broad franchise and want one long paranormal-history marathon. The years below refer to the main story setting, not the release year, and a few films contain prologues or epilogues set elsewhere.
The Nun — 1952
Annabelle: Creation — 1955, with a 1943 prologue
The Nun II — 1956
Annabelle — 1967
The Conjuring — 1971
Annabelle Comes Home — 1972
The Curse of La Llorona — 1973
The Conjuring 2 — 1977
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It — 1981
The Conjuring: Last Rites — 1986
This sequence makes the prequel logic easy to follow. You see the earliest Valak chapter, move into the doll’s origin story, meet the Warrens on their 1971 case, and then follow their later investigations without jumping backward several decades.
Chronological order has one trade-off: it changes the intended discovery pattern. The Nun and Annabelle: Creation can be entertaining cold, but their callbacks are less meaningful when you have not seen the later-released films that made those connections important.
Timeline note: The Curse of La Llorona is included here because Father Perez, who appeared in Annabelle, returns. Its relationship to the wider series is much looser than the Warrens, Annabelle, and Valak threads, so skipping it will not leave a hole in the main story.
Chronological order puts Valak’s story before the Warrens’ later encounter
The biggest reason to choose the story order is the Valak thread. The Nun starts in 1952, The Nun II follows in 1956, and The Conjuring 2 brings the entity into the Warrens’ 1977 case.
That progression feels tidy because the audience has met the demon’s earlier history before it becomes the shadow over the Enfield investigation. It is a good route for viewers who care more about cause and effect than surprise introductions.
The Annabelle thread is slightly less clean because Annabelle: Creation has both an early prologue and a 1955 main plot, while Annabelle takes place in 1967. Still, the two films and Annabelle Comes Home form a clear cursed-doll arc once they are placed in time.
The right viewing sequence depends on what you want from the marathon
Choose release order if you are new, want the strongest introduction to Ed and Lorraine Warren, or dislike having mysteries explained before they become mysteries. It is the most natural path and the one I would hand to a friend who asks which Conjuring movie to watch first.
Choose chronological order if you have already seen the main films, are arranging a themed marathon, or want the franchise’s haunted history to progress in one direction. It is especially satisfying for a Valak-focused rewatch.
Choose the four-film main-series route if you only want the Warrens’ central cases: The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. The spinoffs add lore and different settings, but they are not required to understand the basics of those four cases.
Choose the Annabelle route if the doll is your interest: Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle, then Annabelle Comes Home in story order. For a release-style experience, swap the first two titles.
The ten films fit into the timeline in these specific ways
The short descriptions below explain where every movie belongs without spoiling its full resolution. They also show why the films are connected in different degrees, rather than pretending all ten have the same relationship to the Warrens.
The Nun begins the supernatural timeline in 1952
The Nun follows a priest and a novitiate sent to investigate a death at a Romanian abbey. Its 1952 setting puts it earliest in the main Conjuring Universe chronology and establishes the ancient evil later identified as Valak.
For release-order viewers, this is a prequel that expands a threat already known from The Conjuring 2. For chronological viewers, it is the gateway into the universe’s oldest major conflict, even though the Warrens are not the leads.
The film also introduces Maurice, known as Frenchie, whose fate supplies a major bridge into the later timeline. Keep that connection in mind rather than expecting a conventional Warren-case structure.
Annabelle: Creation places the doll’s origin in 1943 and 1955
Annabelle: Creation opens with events in 1943 before spending most of its time in 1955. It explains how the doll becomes associated with a malevolent presence and how it reaches the people linked to the next chapter.
Despite being the earliest major Annabelle story, it arrived after Annabelle. That is why release order is so effective: its final connections are answers to information the earlier release has already planted.
In a chronological marathon, place it immediately after The Nun. The year placement also makes the jump to the 1956 events of The Nun II remarkably compact, even though the stories follow separate characters.
The Nun II continues Valak’s story in 1956
The Nun II returns to Sister Irene four years after the first film, moving the Valak plot to France in 1956. It is a direct continuation of the prior Nun film and the clearest reason a timeline-based Valak marathon works.
Its key links are to Sister Irene and Maurice, not to an active Warren investigation. That distinction helps manage expectations: it belongs to the universe’s broader mythology but is not a case file starring Ed and Lorraine.
Release-order viewers should keep it after The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, as released. Chronological viewers should put it third, before the Annabelle doll reaches the 1967 story.
Annabelle brings the doll story to 1967
Annabelle is set in 1967 and follows a young couple dealing with a doll after a violent event brings it into their home. It was the first spinoff released after The Conjuring, and it broadens the franchise away from one family’s haunting.
Father Perez connects this entry to The Curse of La Llorona. That shared character is the practical basis for including La Llorona in a complete list, while also explaining why many viewers treat it as optional.
Watch Annabelle fourth in chronological order or second in release order. Neither placement is wrong; the difference is whether you want the doll’s backstory first or its initial franchise appearance first.
The Conjuring establishes the Warrens’ main series in 1971
The Conjuring is the foundational film for the main series, set around the Perron family case in 1971. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s Ed and Lorraine Warren give the franchise its emotional center: experienced investigators whose work carries danger into their own home.
This is the correct starting point for a first-time viewer even though the story timeline contains earlier spinoffs. It explains the Warrens’ role, introduces their artifact room, and makes the later Annabelle and Valak branches feel attached to a recognizable world.
Its opening also establishes the doll as a dangerous object within the Warrens’ collection. That detail is a setup, not a reason to interrupt the film for an Annabelle detour.
Annabelle Comes Home turns the artifact room into a 1972 crisis
Annabelle Comes Home takes place in 1972, after the Warrens have secured the doll. The main action shifts to their house and artifact room, so it functions as the Annabelle branch most closely tied to Ed and Lorraine’s everyday world.
The Warrens are present but the focus rests on the people left at the house when the doll’s containment is disturbed. It is a useful palate change after the first main film because it treats the wider collection as a source of separate supernatural dangers.
In release order, it arrives later, after The Nun and La Llorona. In the chronological sequence, its 1972 setting makes it the natural follow-up to the Perron case.
The Curse of La Llorona is an optional 1973 side story
The Curse of La Llorona follows a social worker and her children in Los Angeles in 1973. Father Perez’s appearance ties it to Annabelle, but the film does not move the Warrens’ cases, Valak’s history, or the doll’s plot forward.
That makes it the least essential film in a Conjuring Universe watch order. Include it for completion, for its folk-horror premise, or because you enjoy the shared-universe nod; skip it without worry if you want only the core franchise connections.
Its timeline placement is straightforward once included: after Annabelle Comes Home and before the 1977 Enfield case. Its looser status is exactly why fan lists sometimes name nine movies and sometimes name ten.
The Conjuring 2 brings the Warrens to England in 1977
The Conjuring 2 places Ed and Lorraine in the Enfield case in 1977. It is the second main-series film and the place where the Valak connection becomes central, which makes it a major hinge between the Warren stories and the Nun spinoffs.
For release-order viewers, the film introduces an unsettling new entity before the prequels explore it. For chronological viewers, it pays off the earlier Nun material by showing the much later threat the Warrens must confront.
This is also the entry to choose when someone asks for the best order to watch Ed and Lorraine Warren movies. Watch the first Conjuring before it; the emotional stakes and their partnership both read more clearly that way.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It moves the main series to 1981
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is set in 1981 and follows a case that moves beyond a single haunted-house investigation. It remains a Warren story, but its structure shifts toward an investigation involving possession, a legal claim, and a wider occult question.
There is no need to finish every spinoff before watching it. Release order places it after Annabelle Comes Home, and that remains the simplest sequence, while chronology puts it after the 1977 events of The Conjuring 2.
It is the third of the four main Conjuring films. If you are limiting your marathon to the Warrens’ headline cases, it is the film to watch after The Conjuring 2 and before Last Rites.
The Conjuring: Last Rites closes this guide’s film sequence in 1986
The Conjuring: Last Rites, released in 2025, is set in 1986 and is the final film in both the release and chronological lists in this guide. It returns the focus to Ed and Lorraine Warren and belongs after The Devil Made Me Do It whether you are following premiere dates or story dates.
Its placement answers a common source of confusion in fan discussions: it does not belong before the earlier cases simply because it is advertised as a final chapter. The title may signal an ending, but its story time is later than the previous entries.
For the smoothest payoff, watch the three earlier Warren-led films first. The spinoffs can deepen the franchise atmosphere, but the main series gives this closing chapter the relationship history it needs.
The shared connections are the Warrens, Annabelle, Valak, and a few careful crossovers
Ed and Lorraine Warren are the backbone of the core films. Their investigations in The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Devil Made Me Do It, and Last Rites provide the most direct line through the franchise.
Annabelle is the franchise’s most visible object-based connection. The doll appears in the Warrens’ artifact room and receives a separate three-film history, but the entity associated with it is not a simple ghost trapped inside a toy.
Valak creates the strongest character-and-mythology crossover. The Nun films occur decades before The Conjuring 2, which makes their relation clearer in timeline order but often more suspenseful in release order.
Father Perez is the one clear connective thread between Annabelle and The Curse of La Llorona. Treat that as a link rather than proof that every character or plot thread in La Llorona is required viewing for the wider saga.
Post-credits viewing is optional because the films do not use a uniform tag system
Do not build your movie sequence around post-credits scenes. The franchise is not structured like a superhero series with a compulsory end-tag after every entry, and the important continuity usually appears in the films themselves or in their opening and closing moments.
Still, keep the credits rolling if you enjoy small connective details, especially during the Annabelle branch. A simple habit works best: let each film finish through its final story material, then move to the next title in the order you chose.
Warning: Do not jump from a movie’s early period setting to the next year on the list without finishing it. Several entries use prologues, flashbacks, or endings set at a different point, and cutting away early can hide the very connection you are trying to follow.
Streaming availability changes, so check each title by its exact name
Where to watch the Conjuring universe depends on your country and the services licensed there at the time you look. Search each exact movie title in your preferred streaming app or a local availability guide rather than assuming that one service carries the entire franchise.
This matters because the ten films may be split among subscription libraries, rental stores, and broadcaster catalogs. If you are planning a marathon, check all ten before starting so an unavailable middle chapter does not break your chosen order.
The franchise may continue in other forms, and discussion has included a television expansion, but this article’s lists cover the ten released feature films through The Conjuring: Last Rites. A future announcement should be judged by its confirmed release and story setting before it is inserted into the timeline.
FAQs
How do I watch The Conjuring correctly?
Watch in release order for a first viewing: The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, The Curse of La Llorona, Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. This preserves the introductions and later backstory reveals as audiences first encountered them.
What are the 10 movies in The Conjuring Universe?
The ten films are The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, The Curse of La Llorona, Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. Some lists omit La Llorona because its connection is limited to Father Perez from Annabelle.
What is the best order to watch Ed and Lorraine Warren movies?
Watch The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. That is both their release order and their main story order, progressing from 1971 to 1986. Add the spinoffs between them only if you want the broader Annabelle and Valak mythology.
What are the four Conjuring movies in order?
The four main Conjuring films are The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. They follow Ed and Lorraine Warren and can be watched consecutively without the spinoffs.
Should I watch The Conjuring in chronological or release order?
Choose release order for your first watch because it retains the intended introductions and prequel reveals. Choose chronological order on a rewatch if you want events to run from The Nun in 1952 through The Conjuring: Last Rites in 1986.
Do I need to watch Annabelle before The Conjuring?
No. Start with The Conjuring for a first-time viewing. Annabelle was released afterward, and its later films work better as expansions of the world introduced by the Warrens’ first case.
Conclusion
For the simplest Conjuring Universe watch order, press play on The Conjuring and follow the release list all the way to The Conjuring: Last Rites. You will meet the Warrens first, get the spinoffs when their ideas have context, and avoid turning a horror marathon into timeline administration.
Save the chronological list for the next round, when seeing 1952 progress to 1986 adds a different kind of pleasure. Either way, include La Llorona only if you want the complete ten-film run, and let the core Warren films remain your dependable through-line.