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The Conjuring Universe is an American media franchise and shared universe centred on a series of supernatural horror films, produced by New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The films present a dramatization of the real-life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting. The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves possessed by demonic spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have encountered.
The franchise has been commercially successful, having grossed a combined $2.1 billion against a combined budget of $178 million, becoming the second highest-grossing horror franchise. The franchise has predominantly received positive to mixed reviews.
Overview
The franchise consists of three films in the main series: The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring 2 (2016), and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021). The first two films were directed by James Wan, while the third film was directed by Michael Chaves. The first two instalments revolve around two of the many famous paranormal cases of which the Warrens have been a part, with the first film depicting the case of the Perron family, who are experiencing disturbing events in their newly acquired house in Rhode Island. The second entry focused on the controversial case of the Enfield poltergeist while briefly referring to the events that inspired The Amityville Horror. A sequel to the two films, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, was released on June 4, 2021, and revolves around the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder that took place in 1981 in Connecticut.[1][2][3][4]
The franchise also includes Annabelle (2014), a prequel directed by The Conjuring cinematographer John R. Leonetti and produced by Peter Safran and Wan, which revealed the events of the doll of the same name before the Warrens came into contact with it at the start of the first film. A prequel, Annabelle: Creation (2017), directed by David F. Sandberg shows the events of the origins of the demon-manipulated doll. A third Annabelle film, Annabelle Comes Home, was released on June 26, 2019, with franchise writer Gary Dauberman making his directorial debut from a script he wrote. Producer James Wan has likened the story to Night at the Museum, where Annabelle activates the haunted objects in the Warrens' artefact room.[5]
The Nun, a prequel based on a character introduced in The Conjuring 2, was released in 2018. The plot focused on the origins of the demonic nun Valak before coming in contact with the Warrens. In April 2019, a sequel to The Nun was announced with Akela Cooper penning the script and Wan and Safran co-producing the project.[6]
In addition to The Nun, another spin-off film from The Conjuring 2, titled The Crooked Man,[7] is in development. A standalone film, The Curse of La Llorona, was released in April 2019.[8]
Wan stated that they sought accuracy to real life in making the three main films, while the spin-offs allowed them to "just explore different sub-genres in the horror genre".[9]
The first two Conjuring films were met with generally positive reviews by both critics and horror fans, earning praise for Wan's directing and main cast performances, particularly Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga's on-screen chemistry as Ed and Lorraine. Critics also acknowledged the effect the films have had on popular culture as well as in the production of modern horror films. The third entry received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Wilson and Farmiga but noted it as weaker than the previous Conjuring instalments. The first entry in the Annabelle film series received more mixed to negative reviews, considered an inferior film to its forerunner. Annabelle: Creation was met with generally positive reviews. A sequel to both Annabelle films, Annabelle Comes Home, received mixed reviews. The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona, on the other hand, received generally mixed to negative reviews. The two main films and its five spin-offs have proven themselves to be successful at the box office, having combined earnings of over $1.9 billion worldwide, against a combined budget of $178.5 million,[10] making the Conjuring Universe the second highest-grossing horror franchise in history and one of the most critically acclaimed.
THE MOVIES
Chronological order
Here is the same list as above, but spoiler-free.
The Nun (2018)
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Annabelle (2014)
The Conjuring (2013)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Theatrical release order
If you prefer to watch The Conjuring Universe movies in the order that they were released in theatres, follow this list:
The Conjuring (2013)
Annabelle (2014)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
The Nun (2018)
The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it (2021)
SUMMARY OF THE MOVIES
THE CONJURING
In 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren are summoned to the home of Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and Roger (Ron Livingston) Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have recently moved into a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Though the manifestations are relatively benign at first, events soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house's macabre history.
THE ANABELLE
John Form (Ward Horton) thinks he's found the perfect gift for his expectant wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis): a vintage doll in a beautiful white dress. However, the couple's delight doesn't last long: One terrible night, devil worshippers invade their home and launch a violent attack against the couple. When the cultists try to summon a demon, they smear a bloody rune on the nursery wall and drip blood on Mia's doll, thereby turning the former object of beauty into a conduit for ultimate evil.
THE CONJURING 2
In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren come out of a self-imposed sabbatical to travel to Enfield, a borough in north London. There, they meet Peggy Hodgson, an overwhelmed single mother of four who tells the couple that something evil is in her home. Ed and Lorraine believe her story when the youngest daughter starts to show signs of demonic possession. As the Warrens try to help the besieged girl, they become the next targets of the malicious spirit.
THE ANNABELLE CREATION
Former toy maker Sam Mullins and his wife, Esther, are happy to welcome a nun and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse. Years earlier, the couple's 7-year-old daughter Annabelle died in a tragic car accident. Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own.
THE NUN
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order's unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
THE CURSE OF LLORONA
In 1970s Los Angeles, the legendary ghost La Llorona is stalking the night -- and the children. Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother, a social worker and her own kids are drawn into a frightening supernatural realm. Their only hope of surviving La Llorona's deadly wrath is a disillusioned priest who practices mysticism to keep evil at bay.
ANABELLE COMES HOME
Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren lock the possessed doll in the artefacts room in their house. But when the doll awakens the room's evil spirits, it soon becomes an unholy night of terror for the couple's 10-year-old daughter, her friends and their young babysitter.
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defence, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry, unlike anything they've ever seen before.
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