Across nine films (and counting), The Conjuring Universe has
become one of modern horror’s most successful shared franchises, blending
“based on a true story” marketing with box office dominance and a connected
demonology.
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1. The Conjuring (2013)It is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes.
It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine
Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of
haunting. Their purportedly real‑life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story
and the associated film franchise.
The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who
experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in
Rhode Island in 1971.
Development of the film began in January 2012 and reports confirmed Wan as the
director of a film entitled The Warren Files, later retitled The
Conjuring.
The Conjuring was released in the United States
and Canada on July 19th 2013 by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. It
received positive reviews from critics and grossed over 319 million dollars
worldwide against its 20 million dollar budget.
It won Best Horror Movie awards at the Empire Awards, Golden Trailer Awards,
IGN Summer Movie Awards and Saturn Awards. A sequel, The Conjuring 2,
was released in 2016.
2. Annabelle (2014)
It is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by John R. Leonetti and written by Gary Dauberman. It stars Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton and Alfre Woodard.Principal photography began in January 2014 in Los Angeles. It
premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on September 29th 2014 and
was theatrically released in the United States on October 3rd 2014 by Warner
Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.
The film was inspired by a story of a doll named Annabelle
by Ed and Lorraine Warren.
It is a spin‑off and prequel to the 2013 film The Conjuring and
the second installment overall in The Conjuring Universe and
was announced shortly after the release of that movie because of its worldwide
box office success and positive reception of the depiction of the doll.
Annabelle grossed over 257 million dollars
against its 6.5 million dollar production budget, despite receiving negative
reviews from critics.
A prequel, titled Annabelle: Creation, was released on August 11th
2017.
3. The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case (2016)
It is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan.
It is a sequel to 2013’s The Conjuring, the second instalment
in The Conjuring series and the third instalment in The
Conjuring Universe franchise.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as
paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first
film.
The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson
family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfield council
house in 1977, which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.
In July 2013, before the release of the first film, it was
reported that New Line Cinema was already developing a sequel with both Farmiga
and Wilson signed on to reprise their roles.
By October 2014, it was announced that Wan would return to direct the sequel
and would make his first contribution as a writer in the franchise.
The Conjuring 2 had its world premiere at the
TCL Chinese Theatre on June 7th 2016 and was theatrically released in the
United States on June 10th 2016 by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.
The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over 320
million dollars worldwide.
A spin‑off prequel, The Nun, was released in
September 2018 and a sequel, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,
was released in June 2021. It won the Best Horror TV Spot award at the Golden
Trailer Awards.
4. Annabelle: Creation (2017)
It is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Gary Dauberman.
It is a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and the fourth installment
in The Conjuring Universe franchise.
The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu
Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto and depicts the possessed Annabelle
doll’s origin.
In October 2015, it was confirmed that an Annabelle sequel was
in development; it was later revealed that the film would be a prequel rather
than a sequel.
Lights Out director David F. Sandberg replaced
John R. Leonetti as director, with Dauberman returning to write the script and
Peter Safran and James Wan returning to produce.
The film premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 19th 2017 and was
theatrically released in the United States on August 11th 2017.
The film grossed over 306 million dollars worldwide and
received generally positive reviews from critics.
A sequel, Annabelle Comes Home, was released on June 26th 2019.
5. The Nun (2018)
It is a 2018 American Gothic supernatural horror film directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman from a story by Dauberman and James Wan.
It serves as a spiritual spin‑off to The Conjuring 2 and is
the fifth installment in The Conjuring shared universe.
The film stars Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir and Jonas
Bloquet, with Bonnie Aarons reprising her role as the Demon Nun, an incarnation
of Valak from The Conjuring 2.
The plot follows a Roman Catholic priest and a nun in her novitiate as they
uncover an unholy secret in 1952 Romania.
Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema announced The
Nun, a spin‑off film to The Conjuring 2, which had opened five
days earlier, with Peter Safran and Wan producing.
The Nun was released in the United States on September 7th 2018.
It grossed 366 million dollars worldwide off a 22 million
dollar budget, becoming the highest‑grossing film of the Conjuring series,
despite the negative reviews it received from critics.
In 2023, a sequel, The Nun II, was released.
6. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
It is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Gary Dauberman in his directorial debut from a story by Dauberman and James Wan, who also served as producer with Peter Safran.
It serves as a sequel to 2014’s Annabelle and 2017’s Annabelle:
Creation and as the sixth instalment in The Conjuring Universe franchise.
The film stars Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman and Katie
Sarife, along with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who reprise their roles as
Ed and Lorraine Warren.
It was theatrically released in the United States on June 26th 2019 by Warner
Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.
It grossed 74.2 million dollars in the United States and
Canada and 157.1 million dollars in other territories, for a worldwide total of
231.3 million dollars.
Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be 64 million
dollars when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
7. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
It is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves with a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson‑McGoldrick from a story by Johnson‑McGoldrick and James Wan.
The film is a sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The
Conjuring 2 (2016) and the seventh installment in The
Conjuring Universe.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as
paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi
O’Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook in her feature film debut and Julian Hilliard
also starring.
Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, which is based on the trial of
Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder trial that took place in 1981 Connecticut, in
addition to The Devil in Connecticut, a book about the trial
written by Gerald Brittle.
Originally slated for a September 2020 release, the film was
delayed due to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema in the United
States on June 4th 2021 and also had a simultaneous month‑long release on the
HBO Max streaming service.
The film grossed 206 million dollars against a budget of 39
million dollars and received mixed reviews from critics.
A sequel, The Conjuring: Last Rites, is scheduled to be released in
September 2025.
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8. The Nun II (2023)
The Nun II is a 2023 American Gothic supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves with a screenplay written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and Akela Cooper from a story by Cooper.
Serving as a sequel to The Nun (2018) and the eighth
installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise, the film
continues Valak’s demonic reign.
The film stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet and Bonnie
Aarons, returning from the first film, with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell
joining the cast.
Peter Safran and James Wan return as producers.
The Nun II was released in the United States by
Warner Bros. Pictures on September 8th 2023.
The film was a commercial success and received mixed reviews from critics.
The film grossed 86.3 million dollars in the United States
and Canada and 183.2 million dollars in other territories, for a worldwide
total of 269.5 million dollars.
Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be 85 million
dollars when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
9. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Based on the true‑life investigations of the Warrens through an original story
co‑authored by James Wan and Johnson‑McGoldrick, the film continues the main
saga.
The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who reprise
their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren,
along with Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy.
It is the sequel to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
and the ninth instalment of The Conjuring Universe.
Chaves returns as director from the previous film and James
Wan and Peter Safran return to produce.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is scheduled to be released in the United
States on September 5th 2025.
Looking for more cinematic universes, long-running sagas,
and connected movie timelines? Dive into these in‑depth franchise guides:
- The Real Evolution of Paranormal Activity
https://www.cinemaawardsarchive.com/2025/12/the-real-evolution-of-paranormal.html - The Evil Dead Universe
https://www.cinemaawardsarchive.com/2025/12/groovy-deep-dive-into-evildead-universe.html - The
Evolution of the Predator Franchise
https://www.cinemaawardsarchive.com/2025/12/the-evolution-of-predator-franchise.html
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Wrap‑up and CTA for your YouTube channel
If you are a fan of The Conjuring Universe, this
is the perfect time to rewatch the entire franchise in order before The
Conjuring: Last Rites hits theaters.
Which film in the series is your favorite, and which one genuinely scared you
the most?
Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to watch the full breakdown on my YouTube channel, Cinema Awards Archive, where I cover horror franchises, awards runs and box office legacies in even more detail.
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