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 film The Exorcist. Since then, a litany of movies in the same vein have been produced, and with the exception of a few, such as Poltergeist in 1982 and Paranormal Activity in 2007, not many have been up to snuff. However, with The Conjuring, released in 2013, offered a fresh new take on the classic haunted house story. Spearhead by horror legend James Wan, The Conjuring was a surprise hit at the box office and helped kick off a new age of paranormal haunted horror.
Updated June 1, 2023: This article has been updated with more facts about The Conjuring franchise, as well as updates following the latest announcements for The Nun 2, The Conjuring: Last Rights, and a Conjuring series on Max.
Drawing parallels from concepts of demonic possessions, exorcisms, supernatural events, and haunted places or houses, The Conjuring turned real-life haunted events (as investigated by the Warrens) into a fascinating and enthralling cinematic universe. Nobody could have guessed that The Conjuring would kick-start the MCU of horror franchises, but since then, it has become a successful cinematic universe. With eight films released so far, The Conjuring franchise 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 Conjuring franchise 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 of the films have always made a place among fans, keeping the franchise's success intact while keeping the audience instigated and encouraged for more of James Wan's horror creations. The next entry in the franchise, The Nun 2, is set for release on September 8, 2023, and Euphoria's Storm Reid has been cast in the lead role. The fourth entry in the main Conjuring franchise will be titled The 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, a new Conjuring series has been announced for Max. Here are all eight installments of The Conjuring Universe ranked:
8 Annabelle
Coming in last is the 2014 installment, Annabelle. The first spin-off of the franchise and a prequel to The Conjuring, or, say, a prequel to the introductory sequence of The 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. Annabelle wasn'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 true demonic essence of the said doll. Though Annabelle wasn't able to keep the critics at the edge of their seats, the success of the first film played to its benefit. The film was highly profitable as it made somewhere close to $260 million at the box office against a budget of approximately $7 million, thus turning in profitable returns. The commercial success of the film led Warner Bros. to eventually sanction a sequel and green-light new projects centered around the Warrens and the demonic creatures discussed in the first film.
7 The Curse of La Llorona
Next is the 2019 film The Curse of La Llorona. Diving away from more explicit connections to the universe, this next chapter in the Conjuring universe was made as a standalone film with only a minor connection to The Conjuring or Annabelle in 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 promised some frightening stuff when the trailer first got out, but it lacked the unpredictability of the other Conjuring movies. Just like Annabelle, the film failed to serve as 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 as The Conjuring.
Linda Cardellini even gave an optimistic (which puts it in a better position than Annabelle) 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. While The Curse of La Llorona made back its budget, it is the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise. It even grossed less than The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which was released during the COVID-19 pandemic.
6 Annabelle Comes Home
Next up is 2019's Annabelle Comes Home, which takes place between The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2. The film brought back the Warrens to the series, having last been seen three years prior in The Conjuring 2, with an old threat returning to their home. The film, set about two years after The Conjuring, is focused on the demonic doll mistakenly unleashed in Warren's home, putting their daughter Judy and her babysitters in danger.
The film picks up on the hint from The Conjuring, where Judy is attacked by Bathsheba via Annabelle. Surprisingly, Annabelle Comes Home turned 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 film didn't try to recreate what its predecessors did and took its own road while using a well-known subplot. While the film wasn't as scary or well-portrayed as James Wan's Conjuring films, 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. Once again, despite mixed critical reception, the film did well at the box office and performed better at the box office than the other toy-themed horror film that summer, the 2019 reboot of Child's Play, which opened one week prior to Annabelle Comes Home.
5 The Nun
In what might be the most controversial ranking on the list is The Nun. Notably, the worst-reviewed entry in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes among critics, The Nun, was released in 2018 and is a prequel to The Conjuring 2. This molded it into the origin story of the demonic entity Valak while also formulating the beginning of The Conjuring universe, thus bringing the franchise full circle. 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 in an interesting manner.
Though the film was negatively received, the progression of the story was intriguing, while the dark tone and shady setting of the film served the scary aspect of the film well. Yes, it's true that the film lacked the scares and probably wasn't horrifying, but The Nun carries its themes to its conclusion. And since The Conjuring 2 was a great introduction to the said demonic entity, getting to know its backdrop better shall make one curious.
Having The Nun among the likable entries of The Conjuring Universe could 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. The Nun remains the least-rated film of the franchise but is the highest-grossing film of the franchise worldwide, grossing $365 million. Producer Peter Safran has confirmed The Nun 2 will occur in 1956 France, as Sister Irene faces off with a sinister entity.
4 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Halfway through the list is the latest entry in the series, 2021's The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It's quite a tough call to rank the third Conjuring film. Though the film was slightly less effective than its predecessor, it gave a tough fight to The Nun and Annabelle: Creation. Thus, it's better to put it in between the two. The recent entry into The Conjuring universe builds upon a great premise and delivers an enticing and chilling suspense-thriller. It puts both Ed and Lorraine in direct danger as they uncover a dark secret. Based on the highly publicized murder trial and depicting the events that occurred in its backdrop, the third installment, unfortunately, lacks scares and is weaker than the previous two films, and is also more ethically complicated, as Ed and Lorrain Warren profited off of lies and murder for this story.
The film's shift in the time period, as well as the style of horror, is likely jolting to some audience members. Also, the shift from the franchise's previous director James Wan to The Curse of La Llorona's Michael Chaves can certainly be felt. However, both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga take their performances in their respective roles up a notch. Their work reflects the progression of the characters in the franchise, and it's these two that keep the film together throughout its run. Though the terror of the film declines after the first sequence, the film thrives well from its performances, its chaotic, nihilistic narrative, and the 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 cast performances and the building of suspense will be loved by the audience. Chaves has brilliantly focused on the trial's backdrop instead of just retelling the publicized courtroom proceedings, which gives the entire story a perspective hitherto unseen.
3 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 with Annabelle, finally giving the viewers the origin story of the demonic porcelain doll everyone wanted. Set after The Nun in 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, hence, making every scare closer to the viewer.
Led by some incredible performances from child actors, Annabelle Creations managed 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's Shazam!while making this film.
2 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 after Annabelle was 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 film 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, which Farmiga portrayed immensely well on-screen. That's why, even though the film's narrative and story lacked the same thrill and suspense as The Conjuring, Farmiga's presence and Patrick Wilson's amazing support of the acting performances made up for its slow build-up.
The Conjuring 2, subtitled The Enfield Poltergeist in the United Kingdom, is an incredibly effective movie and high-bar horror sequel. Indeed, one of the strongest decisions the sequel makes is avoiding the easy sequel setup of covering the Amityville Murders, which have been featured in a number of films. Indeed, the producers of The Conjuring 2 took a different fresh approach. It is a disappointment that the Crooked Man spin-off never took off, though.
1 The Conjuring
Taking the top spot, even after having seven follow-ups, The Conjuring is the foundation film of James Wan's successful horror franchise and remains the best film in its titular cinematic universe. The Conjuring at 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.
The Conjuring, while being a self-contained film, leaves plenty of room for potential franchise growth, which feels weird to imagine it not happening now. 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 made The Conjuring the most terrifying film of the franchise, thus, validating its number one spot on this list or any other list ranking the films of the franchise.
