The Conjuring Universe is an American horror franchise and shared universe centered on a series of supernatural horror films which began with 2013’s “The Conjuring”. This viewing order takes into account series continuity while also preventing spoilers.
All of the released film have streamed on various services but they tend to live on HBO Max.
The Conjuring: First Communion (September 10, 2027)
An upcoming prequel film.
01 Wolves at the Door (April 18, 2017)
This film is a fictional account of the infamous Manson Murders from August of 1969, and introduces Eric Ladin as Detective Clarkin.
02 Annabelle (October 3, 2014)
The film covers events from 1970 & 1971.
Eric Ladin returns as Detective Clarkin and the Manson Murders are both referenced and alluded to.
03 The Conjuring (July 19, 2013)
The film covers events from 1971 to 1972. The opening features an error in which the prologue of the previous film is marked as “Annabelle Case – Year 1968”, but this can’t be true based on various references in the other films. Perhaps they had a reason to open the case on Annabelle before the events of the previous film, but that also seems to contradict various story threads. As far as continuity flubs it’s relatively minor (and extremely brief); there may yet be some kind of explanation for this apparent fumble. The film is great.
04 Annabelle Comes Home (June 26, 2019)
Like “The Conjuring”, this film covers events in 1971 and 1972, but the events in both years in this film continue after the events in the previous film, with the 1971 prologue from both “Annabelle” and “The Conjuring” expanded upon, and the present day events (in 1972) taking place after “The Conjuring”.
05 The Curse of La Llorona (April 19, 2019)
The film’s prologue is set in 1673 before jumping ahead to 1973. The film connects to “Annabelle” with the return of Tony Amendola as Father Perez; Annabelle also appears in a brief flashback.
The Revenge of La Llorona (April 9, 2027)
An upcoming sequel which features the return of Raymond Cruz as Rafael Olvera from the previous film.
06 The Conjuring 2 (June 10, 2016)
The film’s prologue is set in 1976 (tied to the events of The Amityville Horror) while the main events of the film are set in 1977.
07 Annabelle: Creation (August 11, 2017)
The film covers events from 1943, 1952, 1955-1958 & 1970, finally making sense of the confusing and seemingly muddled Annabelle continuity and tying it all together before a credit scene sets up “The Nun”. And on top of all that, it’s just a very good horror film; probably my favorite of the bunch.
08 The Nun (September 7, 2018)
The film opens with flashbacks to the 1976 events of “The Conjuring 2”, before revealing that the events of this film are set in 1952, expanding on the end credit scene from “Annabelle: Creation”. The end of the film jumps ahead 20 years to a 1972 scene from “The Conjuring”, again, tying everything together.
09 The Nun II (September 8, 2023)
The film is set in 1956 and features a credit scene set in 1981 (foreshadowing events from “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”).
The Conjuring: The Lover is a 5-issue limited DC horror comic series that serves as a prequel to “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”. The story involves a college student named Jessica (played by Ingrid Bisu in the film). She struggles with college life and her discovery that something sinister is targeting her. Each issue includes backup stories, which explore the cursed artifacts in the Warren’s basement museum. The limited series is co-written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle, with artwork by Garry Brown and cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz. The backup stories featuring the occult items from the Warrens’ artifact room were written by various writers: the first by Scott Snyder, with Denys Cowan serving as artist, the second from writer Che Grayson and artist Juan Ferreyra, the third from writer Tim Seeley and artist Kelley Jones, followed by the fourth from writer Ray Fawkes and artist Christopher Mitten, and by the fifth from writer and artist Dominike “Domo” Stanton. In March 2022, a trade hardcover collecting the issues was released.
The story expands on the events of the following film and having seen the movie, I wish I’d read the comics first as several story elements seemed unsupported by the film’s script alone, so I’m recommending that if you have access to this, to read it before seeing the movie. It’s available on Amazon and possibly through libraries.
10 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4, 2021)
The film covers events from 1981, paying off the end scene from “The Nun II”.
11 The Conjuring: Last Rites (September 5, 2025)
The film covers events from 1986.