The Conjuring Film Series Movies and Their Release Order
The Conjuring film series movies include The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring 2 (2016), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), and the upcoming The Conjuring: Last Rites. The franchise is based on real-life cases documented by Ed and Lorraine Warren, and the films are produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series has earned a combined global box office total exceeding $2 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing horror franchises. According to industry tracking sources, The Conjuring 2 opened to strong international numbers, while the third installment became the highest-grossing entry in the series worldwide.
The first film, The Conjuring, was directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. The movie follows the Perron family, who experience escalating paranormal activity in a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The Conjuring 2 shifts focus to the Hodgson family in London during the 1977 Enfield poltergeist case. The third film, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson and marks the first time the Warrens are not the central protagonists. The upcoming final chapter, The Conjuring: Last Rites, has been confirmed by the studio as the concluding chapter of the main narrative.
Box Office Performance and Critical Reception
The Conjuring (2013) earned approximately $319 million worldwide against a $20 million budget, making it one of the most profitable horror films ever produced. The Conjuring 2 (2016) grossed over $320 million globally, while The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) earned roughly $206 million worldwide. The franchise has maintained a consistent Rotten Tomatoes audience score above 80 percent for the main entries, with critics frequently praising the atmospheric direction and practical effects. Industry analysts cite the films as a benchmark for modern horror franchises that rely on legacy intellectual property and theatrical releases.
The Conjuring Universe also includes spin-off films such as Annabelle: Creation (2017), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), The Nun (2018), and The Nun II (2023), which expand the shared continuity. While these spin-offs have varying critical scores, they have contributed significantly to the overall box office total of the shared universe. The Conjuring 2 was released in both conventional and IMAX formats, and its opening weekend performance set a record for the franchise at the time. The third mainline entry faced production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic but still achieved a global theatrical debut that placed it among the top-grossing horror releases of 2021.
Production Companies, Creators, and Franchise Structure
The Conjuring film series movies are produced by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, and The Safran Company, with Peter Safran and James Wan serving as key producers. Warner Bros. Pictures handles theatrical distribution for the main films in the United States and international markets. The franchise is built around the fictionalized versions of Ed and Lorraine Warren, portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, whose investigations anchor the narrative across multiple films. The creative team has consistently emphasized a grounded, case-file approach to storytelling, drawing directly from the Warrens' archived reports.
The franchise structure follows a mainline trilogy with a fourth and final film currently in development, while spin-offs operate within the same shared universe. James Wan directed the first three mainline films, with Michael Chaves directing The Nun II and other entries in the broader universe. The production budget for The Conjuring (201