Looking for the correct Ed and Lorraine Warren Movies in order? You’ve got two options here, and they’re not the same thing: release order sends you through the theaters chronologically starting with 2013’s original film, while story order actually opens with a different film entirely, since Annabelle Comes Home takes place before The Conjuring 2 on the in-universe timeline. Created by James Wan and inspired by the real-life case files of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, this five-film core series anchors a horror franchise that’s grossed well over $2 billion worldwide and become one of the most influential horror properties of the last decade. Before you dive into the spinoffs and prequels, here’s your quick-answer table to sort out exactly where to start.
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Quick Answer: Ed and Lorraine Warren Movies in Order
| # | Film | Year | Director | Timeline Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Conjuring | 2013 | James Wan | 1st (1971) |
| 2 | The Conjuring 2 | 2016 | James Wan | 3rd (1977) |
| 3 | Annabelle Comes Home | 2019 | Gary Dauberman | 2nd (1972) |
| 4 | The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 2021 | Michael Chaves | 4th (1981) |
| 5 | The Conjuring: Last Rites | 2025 | Michael Chaves | 5th (1986, opens with a 1964 flashback) |
Quick tip: if you want the story to unfold in the order the Warrens actually experienced it, swap Annabelle Comes Home to right after The Conjuring — everyone else can stick with release order.
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Ed and Lorraine Warren Movies in Order: The Complete Watch Guide
1. The Conjuring (2013)
The film that started it all follows Ed and Lorraine as they investigate the Perron family’s haunted Rhode Island farmhouse, uncovering the malevolent spirit of accused witch Bathsheba Sherman. James Wan shot the film on a lean budget using mostly practical effects and old-school camera tricks instead of jump-scare gimmicks, which is a big part of why it still holds up. The cold open, featuring a cursed doll named Annabelle, was originally just a framing device — nobody expected it to spin off into its own trilogy. That doll’s fate is exactly where the story picks up next.
2. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Chronologically the second chapter, this one takes place on a single night at the Warrens’ house, where their daughter Judy and her babysitters accidentally free Annabelle from her sealed case, unleashing every other cursed object in the family’s artifact room. Writer Gary Dauberman made his directorial debut here after penning nearly every prior entry in the franchise, and it shows in how confidently the film juggles its ensemble of new monsters. Several of those creatures, like the Ferryman, were designed with future spinoffs in mind. From here, the Warrens’ story jumps forward five years to England.
3. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Set in 1977, the Warrens travel to North London to help a single mother whose daughter appears to be possessed by the spirit of an elderly man, all while a demonic nun named Valak stalks Lorraine’s visions. James Wan returned to direct after skipping the first Annabelle spinoff, and the film’s Enfield Poltergeist case is loosely based on one of the most publicized hauntings in British history. Valak proved so popular with audiences that she got her own franchise almost immediately afterward. The Warrens wouldn’t face this level of danger again until their next major case.
4. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
This installment breaks from the haunted-house formula entirely, following the Warrens as they help defend Arne Cheyenne Johnson, the first person in U.S. legal history to claim demonic possession as a murder defense. Michael Chaves took over directing duties from Wan here, giving the franchise its first real tonal shift toward a courtroom-and-curse thriller. It’s also the film where Ed suffers the heart attack that ultimately pushes the couple toward retirement. That single plot point becomes the emotional foundation for the finale.
5. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Billed as the Warrens’ final case, this one opens with a 1964 flashback to Judy’s near-death birth before jumping to 1986, where a retired Ed and Lorraine are pulled back into the field for the real-life Smurl family haunting in Pennsylvania. Michael Chaves returns to direct, and the film leans heavily on grown-up Judy (Mia Tomlinson) and her boyfriend Tony Spera as clear successors to the Warren legacy. It became the highest-grossing entry in the series, pulling in roughly $499 million worldwide. Whether it’s truly the last chapter is another question entirely — more on that below.
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Do You Need to Watch The Conjuring Before the Annabelle and Nun Spinoffs?
No. The Annabelle films, The Nun, and The Nun II are all designed to work as standalone prequels, and none of them require prior knowledge of the core Warren series to follow. That said, watching the main five first gives extra weight to characters and objects that reappear across the spinoffs — and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga do briefly appear as Ed and Lorraine in The Nun (2018), so it’s not entirely disconnected from them.
Minimum viable watch order (if you’re short on time and only care about Ed and Lorraine):
- The Conjuring (2013)
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
- The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
- (Optional but recommended: Annabelle Comes Home, since it’s the only spinoff where the Warrens are the leads)
How Many Ed and Lorraine Warren Movies Are There?
There are five films built specifically around Ed and Lorraine Warren as the lead investigators. Factor in the connected Annabelle and Nun spinoffs, and the wider Conjuring Universe totals nine films released so far, with a tenth already confirmed.
All Ed and Lorraine Warren Movies in Order by Release Date
1. The Conjuring — July 19, 2013
2. The Conjuring 2 — June 10, 2016
3. Annabelle Comes Home — June 26, 2019
4. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It — June 4, 2021
5. The Conjuring: Last Rites — September 5, 2025
The Annabelle and Nun Spinoffs in Order
The wider Conjuring Universe also includes two spinoff sub-series that expand on characters and objects introduced in the main Warren films. Ed and Lorraine aren’t the central focus of most of these, though Farmiga and Wilson do make a brief appearance in The Nun.
How Many Spinoff Films Are There?
There are four spinoff films: two in the Annabelle sub-series and two in The Nun sub-series, plus one loosely connected film, The Curse of La Llorona.
All Spinoffs in Order by Release Date
1. Annabelle — October 3, 2014
2. Annabelle: Creation — August 11, 2017
3. The Nun — September 7, 2018
4. The Curse of La Llorona — April 19, 2019
5. The Nun II — September 8, 2023
Other Films Inspired by the Warrens (Outside the Conjuring Universe)
Not every movie based on Ed and Lorraine’s case files carries the Conjuring branding. Decades before James Wan’s franchise existed, several films dramatized cases the Warrens investigated or consulted on, and it’s worth knowing these are a separate lineage entirely.
The Amityville Horror franchise, including the original 1979 film and its 2005 remake, is partly based on the Warrens’ investigation of the infamous Long Island house. In 1991, 20th Century Fox released The Haunted, a made-for-TV film about the Smurl haunting — the same case later adapted as The Conjuring: Last Rites — co-written by Ed and Lorraine themselves. The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) loosely dramatizes the 1986 Snedeker haunting, another case the Warrens investigated. None of these connect to the Conjuring Universe’s continuity or count toward its film total.
What’s Next for the Franchise?
Even with Last Rites marketed as the Warrens’ final case, the universe isn’t slowing down. The Conjuring: First Communion, a prequel exploring an earlier chapter of the mythology, is confirmed for release on September 10, 2027, though plot details remain under wraps. There’s also a Conjuring television series in development that’s expected to continue the established film timeline. As with any franchise this far out, treat both projects as directional rather than locked-in until Warner Bros. confirms firmer details closer to release.
FAQ
Do you watch the Conjuring movies in order of release or story?
Either works, but release order is the more common recommendation since it matches how the franchise’s mythology was actually built out. Story order is better if you want the Warrens’ history to unfold without any time jumps.
Is Annabelle Comes Home part of the main Conjuring timeline?
Yes. It’s chronologically the second film in the Warrens’ story, taking place in 1972, right after the events of the original Conjuring.
Is The Conjuring: Last Rites really the last Ed and Lorraine Warren movie?
It’s billed that way and wraps up their arc emotionally, but a confirmed prequel and a TV series suggest the universe itself is far from finished.
Are the Amityville Horror movies part of the Conjuring Universe?
No. Amityville is a separate franchise that predates the Conjuring films by decades and is only loosely tied to the Warrens through the real case they investigated — it shares no continuity with James Wan’s series.
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