Horror Franchise Blockbusters Leaving Netflix, Stream Before It’s Too Late

Getting its start in 2013, the first movie from what’s now known as The Conjuring Universe – aptly titled The Conjuring – was released into theaters.

Helmed by James Wan, who co-created the Saw and Insidious franchises, audiences knew they were in for a good old scare-fest. And, on the other side, Warner Bros. knew they were in for a big cash-in.

Both sides were right, with fans getting precisely the jump scares and storyline that can only come from a movie “based on true events.” As for The Conjuring’s home studio, Warner Bros. saw major financial gains from the horror flick, raking in an impressive $319.5 million against its $20 million budget. And thus, a franchise was born.

The debut movie in The Conjuring series follows Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) and Patrick Wilson (the Aquaman franchise) as demonologists Lorraine and Ed Warren, respectively.

By the time the afflicted family in the first movie calls them, the Warrens had long been fighting the powers of evil, performing exorcisms and cleansings, with Ed being the only non-priest deemed fit by the Catholic Church to provide the religious rite.

Throughout the movie, audiences follow the terrors befalling the Perron family upon their arrival to a new home and the help that Ed and Lorraine offer. 

Because the first film was such a hit, the studio pushed James Wan and the rest of his team to bring another paranormal story from the Warren’s vast background to the big screen.

This would first happen through 2014’s Annabelle which served as the first off-shoot in the franchise. Then, there was The Conjuring 2 which followed the infamous haunting known as the Enfield Case. 

Like The Conjuring, the sequel starred Wilson and Farmiga as Ed and Loraine Warren who, this time around, travel overseas to England to help a different family in need.

With no one to turn to, the Hodgson family sought out the help of the famed demonologists after a poltergeist took over their home with terror. Arriving in cinemas in 2016, the release of the sequel was another slam dunk, this time amassing $321.8 million at the global box office against a $40 million production cost.

By this point, the franchise was a juggernaut, with spin-offs abundantly popping out of the woodwork from one movie into the next. In between The Conjuring 2 and its 2021 sequel The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the franchise expanded on the Annabelle universe with two more films, and jump-started another film series with The Nun, which celebrated the arrival of its sequel last year.

As for what’s available on Netflix, along with the first two films in The Conjuring series, audiences can also check out Annabelle and The Nun. But, for the former pair, you’ll want to make sure you fit them in before they leave on September 30.