Supernatural ghost stories have been a staple subgenre of horror cinema for decades. One could argue it all started with the massive success of the shocking and acclaimed 1973 filmThe Exorcist. Since then, a litany of movies in the same vein have been produced, and except for a few, such asPoltergeistin 1982 andParanormal Activityin 2007, not many have been up to snuff. However,The Conjuring, released in 2013, offered a fresh new take on the classic haunted house story. Spearhead by horror legend James Wan,The Conjuringwas a surprise hit at the box office and helped kick off a new age of paranormal haunted horror.
Drawing parallels from concepts of demonic possessions, exorcisms, supernatural events, and haunted places or houses,The Conjuringturned real-life haunted events (as investigated by the Warrens) into a fascinating and enthralling cinematic universe. Nobody could have guessed thatThe Conjuringwould kick-start theMCU of horror franchises, but since then, it has become a successful cinematic universe.
Update August 19, 2025: This article has been updated with more facts aboutThe Conjuringfranchise, as well as updates following the digital release ofThe Nun 2.
With nine films released so far,The Conjuringfranchise has attracted audiences with its unique take on multiple terrifying characters co-existing in the same universe, as well as its excellent throwback aesthetics and great jump scares. What started as an adaptation of discoveries by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren has now expanded into multiple spin-offs, prequels, and two direct sequels.The Conjuringfranchise is now the highest-grossing horror movie franchise of all time at $2.13 billion worldwide.
The franchise’s films have mostly received critical success, while some have been received with mixed to negative responses. All the movies have left their mark on fans, keeping the franchise’s success intact while keeping the audience instigated and encouraged for more of James Wan’s horror creations. The fourth entry in the mainConjuringfranchise will be titledThe Conjuring: Last Rites. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren, respectively. No release date has been set. In addition, anewConjuringseries has been announced for Max. Here are all nine installments ofThe ConjuringUniverse ranked:
9Annabelle (2014)
Coming in last is the 2014 installment,Annabelle. The first spin-off of the franchise and a prequel toThe Conjuring, or, say, a prequel to the introductory sequence ofThe Conjuring,didn’t turn out to be the scary tale its predecessor promised. The story of how the weird Raggedy Ann doll ended up with the nurses from the first film (who eventually hand over the doll to the Warrens) and what intentions it holds couldn’t match the hype the first film of the franchise has generated.Annabellewasn’t really an origin story, and thus, its mid-setting in the universe couldn’t just fit well at that time when the franchise had hardly kicked up.
The film, though frightening to some extent, failed to capture the truedemonic essence of the said doll. ThoughAnnabellewasn’t able to keep the critics at the edge of their seats, the success of the first film played to its benefit. The movie was highly profitable as it made somewhere close to $260 million at the box office against a budget of approximately $7 million. The commercial success of the film led Warner Bros. to eventually approve a sequel and green-light new projects centered around the Warrens and the demonic creatures discussed in the first film.
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8The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
The Curse of La Llorona
Next is the 2019 filmThe Curse of La Llorona. Diving away from more explicit connections to the universe, thisnext chapter in theConjuringuniversewas made as a standalone film with only a minor connection toThe ConjuringorAnnabellein the form of Tony Amendola’s Father Perez who appeared in the 2014 prequel,Annabelle. The film, directed by Michael Chaves, set in 1973 Los Angeles, explored the Latin American folklore of The Weeping Woman. The film lacked the unpredictability of the otherConjuringmovies.
Just likeAnnabelle, the film didn’t deliver a proper origin story to the folklore of La Llorona, and the occasional jump scares didn’t fulfill what it takes to be a horror film of the same stature asThe Conjuring. Linda Cardellini gave an optimistic and hopeful performance, but the way the script was constructed didn’t get to a satisfying conclusion to the story, even though the background story had too much potential. WhileThe Curse of La Lloronamade back its budget, it is the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise. It even grossed less thanThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,which was released during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Conjuring: The Scariest Moment from Each Movie in the Universe
The Conjuring universe has some truly scary moments. Here are the ones we think are the most terrifying.
7The Nun (2018)
In what might be the most controversial ranking on the list isThe Nun.The film is notably the worst-reviewed entry in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes among critics and audiences alike. The movie was released in 2018 and is a prequel toThe Conjuring 2. It’s an origin story forthe demonic entity Valakwhile also shaping the starting point ofThe Conjuringuniverse. The film, set in 1952, follows a young novitiate Irene, who joins Father Burke in an investigation concerning a suicide committed by a nun in a Romanian monastery.
Starring Taissa Farmiga (who happens to be Vera Farmiga’s sister, the actress who plays Lorraine Warren), the film delved into Valak’s history and background. Though the film was negatively received, the progression of the story was intriguing, while the dark tone and shady setting served the film’s scary aspect well. Yes, it’s true that the film lacked the scares and probably wasn’t horrifying, butThe Nuncarries its themes to its conclusion. And sinceThe Conjuring 2was a great introduction to the said demonic entity, getting to know its backdrop better shall make one curious.
HavingThe Nunamong the likable entries ofThe Conjuring Universecould meet with conflicting opinions, but it’s not entirely derivative, and it also gives a nice callback to the franchise’s first film, thus culminating in a complete, remarkable narrative. Although the movie was a critical failure, it’s still the highest-grossing film of the franchise worldwide, grossing $365 million on a budget of $22 million.
6The Nun II (2023)
The Nun II
Valak the Demon has proven to be one of the most popular antagonists in the franchise. While the first film was critically panned by audiences and critics, a second entry was greenlit by Peter Safran in 2019. James Wan would only be involved as producer, just like the first entry, with Michael Chaves taking over directing duties. The story, written by Akela Cooper and Ian Goldberg, sees the demonic presencereturn four years after being defeatedin Saint Cartha’s monastery.
InThe Nun II, Sister Irene, one of the survivors of the last confrontation with Valak, begins to have visions of a man asking to be saved. Irene goes to the region of Tarascon to investigate a series of deaths at multiple monasteries with Sister Debra. Valak begins to haunt Irene as she looks for a relic of a woman named Saint Lucy, who has the power to vanish Valak to hell again. As with the previous entry, the film was made on a tight budget of $38 million but earned a respectable $262.8 million at the box office, so we’ll likely get a third entry.
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5Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Annabelle 3
Next up is 2019’sAnnabelle Comes Home, which takes place betweenThe ConjuringandThe Conjuring 2. The film brought back the Warrens to the series to face an old threat returning to their home. The movie is set about two years afterThe Conjuringisfocused on the demonic dollmistakenly unleashed in Warren’s home, putting their daughter Judy and her babysitters in danger. Surprisingly,Annabelle Comes Hometurned out to be a satisfying inclusion to the franchise, with debut director Gary Dauberman doing a great job in scratching out a remarkable story from the minute details of the franchise in his co-written screenplay with franchise creator James Wan.
The movie didn’t try to recreate what its predecessors did and took its own road while using a well-known subplot. While the story wasn’t as scary or well-portrayed as James Wan’sConjuringfilms, it also wasn’t an installment that one would likely forget about. There could be some reservations about the way ghosts and demons were included in the script (especially the Black Shuck', which wasn’t noteworthy), but overall, it proved to be a nice story to add to the longer franchise. Despite mixed critical reception, the film did well at the box office and performed better than the other toy-themed horror film that summer,Child’s Play.
4The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Conjuring 3 / The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The Warrens investigate a murder that may be linked to a demonic possession.
Halfway through the list is the third entry inThe Conjuringseries, 2021’sThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It’s a tough call to rank the thirdConjuringfilm. Though the movie was less effective than its predecessor, it gave a tough fight toThe NunandAnnabelle: Creation. So it’s better to put it in between the two. The film builds upon a great premise and delivers a chilling suspense-thriller. It puts both Ed and Lorraine in direct danger as they uncover a dark secret. The main story is based on the highly publicized murder trial, while depicting the events that occurred in its backdrop.
Sadly, the movie lacks scares is weaker than the previous two films, and is also more ethically complicated, asEd and Lorrain Warren profitedoff of lies and murder for this story. The franchise takes a shift in the time period, horror style, with this entry that didn’t sit well with some audiences. James Wan hands over directing duties to Michael Chaves, and it shows. However, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga offer solid performances with great reflections of their progression as characters in the franchise. Though the film’s terror declines after the first sequence, the movie thrives with its performances, chaotic, nihilistic narrative, and constantly increasing spiteful tension.
Ultimately, it’s great to see that the third film has grown over the haunted-house concept and has delved into a more mysterious tale from Ed and Lorraine’s investigative files. The audience will love the cast performances and the building of suspense. Chaves brilliantly focused on the trial’s backdrop instead of a simple retelling of the publicized courtroom proceedings, which gives the entire story a great perspective to appreciate.
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3Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Annabelle: Creation
Coming in towards the top is a crucial film in the franchise from 2017,Annabelle: Creation. This installment corrected the mistake the franchise made withAnnabelle, finally giving the viewers the origin story of the demonic porcelain doll everyone wanted. Set afterThe Nunin the year 1955, the film delved into what got Annabelle to become a medium for a demon to enter the mortal world in the first place.
The suspense and thrill director David F. Sandberg achieved through the gritty colors, shadow-strewn lighting, and efficient editing to induce horror, making the film a worthy origin tale and finally getting the franchise a long-awaited critical success. The shot composition allows for an immersive experience for the viewers, psychologically connecting them to the camera movements, making every scare closer to the viewer.
Led by some incredible performances from child actors,Annabelle Creationsmanaged to surprise everyone who had written off this subset of the franchise after the first film. The jump scares were perfectly set in the film, and the story itself was quite interesting and provided a much richer background to the Annabelle doll. The film was well-received critically and eventually paved the way for director Sandberg to enter mainstream cinema direction, as he landed the DCEU’sShazam!while making this film.
2The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring 2
The Conjuring 2, released in 2016, comes in near the top of the list. The third installment of the franchise saw James Wan return to the director’s chair. The film also saw the lead actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the Warrens, leading another paranormal investigation, this time in England. The film definitely did receive all the praise and was a perfect sequel (which also got the franchise’s critical reputation afterAnnabellewas poorly received). However, there were just little areas where it felt less frightening and creative than the first movie.
The film had a promising plot, and once again, James Wan had managed to add terrifying sequences powered by impressive sound mixing; however, it wasn’t as much of a lightning bolt as its predecessor. What carried the movie to a successful ending and subsequent positive reception was Vera Farmiga’s impeccable performance. The film dug deeper into Lorraine’s emotional instability caused due to her clairvoyant experiences. That’s why, even though the film’s narrative and story lacked the same thrill and suspense asThe Conjuring, the acting performances made up for its slow build-up.
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1The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring
Taking the top spot,The Conjuringis the foundation film of James Wan’s successful horror franchise and remains the best film in its titular cinematic universe.The Conjuringat the time proved to be the perfect horror story audiences were looking for. It gave goosebumps and nightmares to viewers and proved to be a long-awaited success. While being a self-contained story, the movie leaves plenty of room for potential franchise growth. Knowing that the lead characters were based on real people, Wan didn’t hesitate to dive into their psychology and the backdrop of their paranormal work.
There were details indicating the calculative and legal process behind Warren’s “demonology,” where they use scientific equipment to determine the presence of the supernatural while keeping the Church in the loop. Wan also left breadcrumbs of the couple’s past work in these details, such as the forbidden room at Warren’s place, filled with demonic artifacts. There was an entire supernatural atmosphere that Wan created so that all those stories made sense to the viewers.
Wan also demonstrated a knack for well-written jump scares, timed perfectly with the correct sound effects, something which was directly adapted into further installments and recreated in other horror films as well. This is what madeThe Conjuringthe most terrifying film of the franchise, validating its number one spot on this list or any other list ranking the films of the franchise.
