Watch order guide · Stephen King Universe

How to watch the Stephen King movies in order

Updated October 21, 2026 · 28 min read · 42 titles · 171 hours

Most Stephen King adaptations stand alone, so watch them in any order. The ones that connect: It (2017) then It Chapter Two (2019), with It: Welcome to Derry (2025) as the prequel; The Shining (1980) before Doctor Sleep (2019); and the Castle Rock series (2018) after the Castle Rock films, Cujo, The Dead Zone, Stand by Me and Needful Things.

Titles

42

Films

31

Series

11

Watch time

171 hours

Box office

$2.77 billion

Avg IMDb

6.9

Stephen King movies in release order

Here is every Stephen King title in the order it came out, 1976 to 2026: 31 films and 11 series.

Stephen King timeline: movies in chronological order

The same titles in story order, by when they take place, with the year or era each one is set in.

Release or chronological: which order is best?

Release order and story order disagree on 39 titles here. In release order you start with Carrie (1976); in story order you start with Carrie, set in Chamberlain, Maine.

First time through, watch in release order. That is how the twists, returning characters and callbacks were built to land, and later entries assume you have seen the earlier ones. On a rewatch, try story order. It turns the Stephen King Universe into one continuous story and makes the prequels play as setup instead of backstory.

The Stephen King Universe also runs 5 separate continuities: Derry, Castle Rock, The Overlook, Pet Sematary, and The Stand. Each has its own line on the timeline, so you can watch them on their own without breaking the main story.

Where to start

Every Stephen King movie, explained

One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.

No. 01 · 1976 · Film · 1h 38m

Carrie

Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.

Why it matters: A bullied telekinetic girl takes revenge on her school at the prom.

Starring

Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and Amy Irving

Director

Brian De Palma

Box office

$34 million on a $2 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 94%

No. 02 · 1979 · Series · 3h 6m

Salem's Lot

Ben Mears has returned to his hometown to write a book about the supposedly haunted Marsten House. When people around the Marsten House start dying mysteriously, Mears discovers that the owner of the mansion is actually a vampire who is turning them into an army of undead slaves.

Why it matters: A writer returns to his Maine hometown as a vampire turns its people; the two-part CBS version.

Starring

David Soul, James Mason, and Lance Kerwin

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 87%

Episodes

2

No. 03 · 1980 · Film · 2h 24m · 36th in story order

The Shining

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

Why it matters: A writer wintering at the empty Overlook Hotel turns on his wife and psychic son.

Starring

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Box office

$50 million on a $19 million budget

Scores

IMDb 8.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 84%

No. 04 · 1982 · Film · 2h · 3rd in story order

Creepshow

Five grisly tales from a 1950s-style comic, including a murdered father rising from beyond, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.

Why it matters: Five comic-book horror tales written by King and directed by George A. Romero.

Starring

Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, and Fritz Weaver

Director

George A. Romero

Box office

$21 million on a $8 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 66%

No. 05 · 1983 · Film · 1h 50m · 4th in story order

Christine

Nerdy high schooler Arnie Cunningham falls for Christine, a rusty 1958 Plymouth Fury, and becomes obsessed with restoring the classic automobile to her former glory. As the car changes, so does Arnie, whose newfound confidence turns to arrogance behind the wheel of his exotic beauty. Arnie's girlfriend Leigh and best friend Dennis reach out to him, only to be met by a Fury like no other.

Why it matters: A lonely teenager falls under the spell of a murderous 1958 Plymouth Fury.

Starring

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, and Alexandra Paul

Director

John Carpenter

Box office

$21 million on a $10 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 69%

No. 06 · 1983 · Film · 1h 43m · 31st in story order

The Dead Zone

Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.

Why it matters: A man wakes from a coma able to see the future and foresees a politician's nuclear war.

Starring

Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, and Tom Skerritt

Director

David Cronenberg

Box office

$21 million on a $10 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 89%

No. 07 · 1983 · Film · 1h 33m · 32nd in story order

Cujo

A friendly St. Bernard named "Cujo" contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Why it matters: A mother and son are trapped in their car by a rabid St. Bernard outside Castle Rock.

Starring

Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, and Daniel Hugh Kelly

Director

Lewis Teague

Box office

$21 million on a $5 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 60%

No. 08 · 1984 · Film · 1h 32m · 5th in story order

Children of the Corn

A traveling couple end up in an abandoned Nebraska town inhabited by a cult of murderous children who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields.

Why it matters: A couple stumble into a Nebraska town where the children killed every adult for a corn god.

Starring

Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, and R.G. Armstrong

Director

Fritz Kiersch

Box office

$15 million

Scores

IMDb 5.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 38%

No. 09 · 1984 · Film · 1h 54m · 6th in story order

Firestarter

Charlene "Charlie" McGee has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency which wants to destroy her?

Why it matters: A girl who starts fires with her mind flees a secret agency with her father.

Starring

Drew Barrymore, David Keith, and Freddie Jones

Director

Mark L. Lester

Box office

$17 million on a $15 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 40%

No. 10 · 1986 · Film · 1h 29m · 33rd in story order

Stand by Me

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

Why it matters: Four boys from Castle Rock hike the railway tracks in 1959 to see a dead body.

Starring

Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, and Corey Feldman

Director

Rob Reiner

Box office

$52 million on a $8 million budget

Scores

IMDb 8.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 89%

No. 11 · 1987 · Film · 1h 41m · 7th in story order

The Running Man

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

Why it matters: Schwarzenegger fights costumed stalkers on a deadly TV game show; loosely based on the novel.

Starring

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Dawson, and María Conchita Alonso

Director

Paul Michael Glaser

Box office

$38 million on a $27 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 59%

No. 12 · 1989 · Film · 1h 43m · 39th in story order

Pet Sematary

After the Creed family's cat is accidentally killed, a friendly neighbor advises its burial in a mysterious nearby cemetery.

Why it matters: A doctor buries his dead son in a burial ground that brings the dead back wrong.

Starring

Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, and Denise Crosby

Director

Mary Lambert

Box office

$58 million on a $12 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 55%

No. 13 · 1990 · Film · 1h 47m · 8th in story order

Misery

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

Why it matters: A novelist is held captive by his number one fan after a car crash.

Starring

Kathy Bates, James Caan, and Richard Farnsworth

Director

Rob Reiner

Box office

$61 million on a $20 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 86%

No. 14 · 1990 · Series · 3h 7m · 27th in story order

It

In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Losers' Club" fight against an ancient shape-shifting alien who poses as a child-killing clown, while also dealing with bullies and abusive parents. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the creature once and for all when it returns to their hometown.

Why it matters: The two-part miniseries: seven friends fight Pennywise in 1960 and again as adults.

Starring

Tim Curry, Harry Anderson, and Dennis Christopher

Creator

Stephen King

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 70%

Episodes

2

No. 15 · 1993 · Film · 2h 1m · 34th in story order

Needful Things

A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.

Why it matters: A shopkeeper in Castle Rock sells people their dreams in exchange for pranks that tear the town apart.

Starring

Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, and Bonnie Bedelia

Director

Fraser Clarke Heston

Box office

$15 million

Scores

IMDb 6.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 33%

No. 16 · 1994 · Film · 2h 22m · 9th in story order

The Shawshank Redemption

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Why it matters: A banker serving life for murder in Shawshank prison befriends a fellow inmate over two decades.

Starring

Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton

Director

Frank Darabont

Box office

$28 million on a $25 million budget

Scores

IMDb 9.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 89%

No. 17 · 1994 · Series · 6h 7m · 41st in story order

The Stand

After a deadly plague kills most of the world’s population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a maleficent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.

Why it matters: The ABC miniseries: plague survivors split between Mother Abagail and Randall Flagg.

Starring

Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe, and Molly Ringwald

Creator

Stephen King

Scores

IMDb 7.1

Episodes

4

No. 18 · 1995 · Film · 2h 12m · 10th in story order

Dolores Claiborne

Dolores Claiborne was accused of killing her abusive husband twenty years ago, but the court's findings were inconclusive and she was allowed to walk free. Now she has been accused of killing her employer, Vera Donovan, and this time there is a witness who can place her at the scene of the crime. Things look bad for Dolores when her daughter Selena, a successful Manhattan magazine writer, returns to cover the story.

Why it matters: A housekeeper suspected of two deaths faces her estranged daughter and her past.

Starring

Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Judy Parfitt

Director

Taylor Hackford

Box office

$46 million on a $13 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 87%

No. 19 · 1999 · Film · 3h 9m · 11th in story order

The Green Mile

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

Why it matters: Death row guards in 1935 meet a condemned man with the power to heal.

Starring

Tom Hanks, David Morse, and Bonnie Hunt

Director

Frank Darabont

Box office

$287 million on a $60 million budget

Scores

IMDb 8.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 78%

No. 20 · 2003 · Film · 2h 14m · 30th in story order

Dreamcatcher

Four childhood friends reunite for a hunting trip in the Maine woods, bound by a psychic force born from a childhood friend's dreamcatcher. They find themselves caught in a grotesque alien invasion that twists memory, sanity and reality into something far more sinister.

Why it matters: Four telepathic friends from Derry are caught up in an alien invasion on a hunting trip.

Starring

Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis, and Morgan Freeman

Director

Lawrence Kasdan

Box office

$81 million on a $68 million budget

Scores

IMDb 5.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 27%

No. 21 · 2007 · Film · 1h 44m · 12th in story order

1408

A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Why it matters: A skeptical writer spends a night in a hotel room that has killed everyone who stayed.

Starring

John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack

Director

Mikael Håfström

Box office

$133 million on a $25 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 80%

No. 22 · 2007 · Film · 2h 6m · 13th in story order

The Mist

After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other local residents. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity.

Why it matters: Shoppers trapped in a supermarket by a monster-filled mist turn on each other.

Starring

Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, and Toby Jones

Director

Frank Darabont

Box office

$57 million on a $18 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 74%

No. 23 · 2016 · Series · 7h 19m · 14th in story order

11.22.63

An English teacher travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but discovers he is attached to the life he has made in a bygone era.

Why it matters: A teacher goes back to 1960 through a time portal to stop the Kennedy assassination.

Starring

James Franco, Sarah Gadon, and Chris Cooper

Scores

IMDb 8

Episodes

8

No. 24 · 2017 · Film · 1h 35m · 15th in story order

The Dark Tower

A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.

Why it matters: A New York boy joins the last Gunslinger against the Man in Black in Mid-World.

Starring

Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor

Director

Nikolaj Arcel

Box office

$113 million on a $60 million budget

Scores

IMDb 5.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 16%

No. 25 · 2017 · Film · 1h 44m · 16th in story order

Gerald's Game

When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

Why it matters: A woman is left handcuffed to a bed when her husband dies during a sex game.

Starring

Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, and Carel Struycken

Director

Mike Flanagan

Scores

IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 91%

No. 26 · 2017 · Series · 27h · 17th in story order

Mr. Mercedes

A demented serial killer taunts a retired police detective with a series of lurid letters and emails, forcing the ex-cop to undertake a private, and potentially felonious, crusade to bring the killer to justice before he can strike again.

Why it matters: A retired detective hunts the killer who drove a Mercedes into a crowd of job seekers.

Starring

Brendan Gleeson, Jharrel Jerome, and Holland Taylor

Creator

David E. Kelley

Scores

IMDb 7.6

Episodes

30 across 3 seasons

No. 27 · 2017 · Film · 2h 15m · 28th in story order

It

In a small town in Maine, seven children known as The Losers Club come face to face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.

Why it matters: The Losers Club fight Pennywise as kids in 1989; the first half of the remake.

Starring

Jaeden Martell, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Sophia Lillis

Director

Andy Muschietti

Box office

$720 million on a $35 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 85%

No. 28 · 2018 · Series · 16h 35m · 35th in story order

Castle Rock

Based on the stories of Stephen King, the series intertwines characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle Rock.

Why it matters: An anthology series set in King's Maine town, linking Shawshank, Annie Wilkes and more.

Starring

André Holland, Lizzy Caplan, and Melanie Lynskey

Creator

Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw

Scores

IMDb 7.5

Episodes

20 across 2 seasons

No. 29 · 2019 · Film · 2h 49m

It Chapter Two

27 years after overcoming the malevolent supernatural entity Pennywise, the former members of the Losers' Club, who have grown up and moved away from Derry, are brought back together by a devastating phone call.

Why it matters: The Losers return to Derry as adults in 2016 to finish Pennywise for good.

Starring

Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader

Director

Andy Muschietti

Box office

$473 million on a $79 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 62%

No. 30 · 2019 · Film · 2h 32m · 37th in story order

Doctor Sleep

Still scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance faces the ghosts of the past when he meets Abra, a courageous teen who desperately needs his help -- and who possesses a powerful extrasensory ability called the "shine".

Why it matters: Grown-up Danny Torrance protects a psychic girl from a cult that feeds on the shine.

Starring

Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kyliegh Curran

Director

Mike Flanagan

Box office

$72 million on a $45 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 79%

No. 31 · 2019 · Film · 1h 41m · 40th in story order

Pet Sematary

Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, move from Boston to Ludlow, in rural Maine, with their two young children. Hidden in the woods near the new family home, Ellie, their eldest daughter, discovers a mysterious cemetery where the pets of community members are buried.

Why it matters: The remake: the daughter, not the son, dies and comes back from the burial ground.

Starring

Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow

Director

Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch

Box office

$113 million on a $21 million budget

Scores

IMDb 5.7 · Rotten Tomatoes 58%

No. 32 · 2020 · Series · 9h · 18th in story order

The Outsider

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

Why it matters: A detective and Holly Gibney hunt a shape-shifter that frames innocent men for child murder.

Starring

Ben Mendelsohn, Bill Camp, and Jeremy Bobb

Creator

Richard Price

Scores

IMDb 7.6

Episodes

10

No. 33 · 2020 · Series · 8h 35m · 42nd in story order

The Stand

In a world mostly wiped out by the plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil, the fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.

Why it matters: The remake: told out of order from Boulder, with a new coda written by King.

Starring

James Marsden, Odessa Young, and Alexander Skarsgård

Creator

Benjamin Cavell and Josh Boone

Scores

IMDb 5.7

Episodes

9

No. 34 · 2023 · Film · 1h 27m · 38th in story order

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines

In 1969, young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown behind, but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that forever binds him to Ludlow.

Why it matters: Prequel set in 1969: a young Jud Crandall learns the burial ground's secret.

Starring

Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, and Jack Mulhern

Director

Lindsey Anderson Beer

Scores

IMDb 4.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 23%

No. 35 · 2024 · Film · 1h 53m · 19th in story order

Salem's Lot

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

Why it matters: The remake: a tighter feature film version, set in 1975 with a drive-in climax.

Starring

Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, and Jordan Preston Carter

Director

Gary Dauberman

Box office

$1 million

Scores

IMDb 5.6

No. 36 · 2025 · Film · 1h 37m · 20th in story order

The Monkey

When twin brothers find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.

Why it matters: Twin brothers are haunted by a toy monkey that kills someone each time it drums.

Starring

Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, and Christian Convery

Director

Osgood Perkins

Box office

$69 million on a $10 million budget

Scores

IMDb 5.9 · Rotten Tomatoes 77%

No. 37 · 2025 · Film · 1h 51m · 21st in story order

The Life of Chuck

In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

Why it matters: An ordinary man's life told backwards, starting with the end of the world.

Starring

Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, and Nick Offerman

Director

Mike Flanagan

Box office

$20 million on a $25 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 80%

No. 38 · 2025 · Series · 14h 39m · 22nd in story order

The Institute

When 14 year old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.

Why it matters: A teenage prodigy is abducted to a secret facility that experiments on psychic children.

Starring

Ben Barnes, Joe Freeman, and Simone Miller

Creator

Benjamin Cavell

Scores

IMDb 6.7

Episodes

16 across 2 seasons

No. 39 · 2025 · Film · 1h 48m · 23rd in story order

The Long Walk

In a dystopian America, fifty teenage boys take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains.

Why it matters: Fifty teenage boys walk until all but one are shot in a dystopian contest.

Starring

Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Garrett Wareing

Director

Francis Lawrence

Box office

$63 million on a $20 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 88%

No. 40 · 2025 · Film · 2h 13m · 24th in story order

The Running Man

Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards is convinced by The Running Man's charming but ruthless producer to enter the deadly competition game as a last resort. But Ben's defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite — and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.

Why it matters: The remake: closer to the novel, with Glen Powell hunted across the real country.

Starring

Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, and Lee Pace

Director

Edgar Wright

Box office

$69 million on a $110 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 61%

No. 41 · 2025 · Series · 8h 6m · 26th in story order

It: Welcome to Derry

In 1962, amid a spate of unexplained disappearances of local children, a group of misfit friends begin to suspect a long-buried ancient evil lurking. As the kids set out to determine what's really going on, a rising unease prompts several townspeople to work together to restore peace – all while a U.S. military operation seeks to exploit Derry for its own objectives.

Why it matters: HBO prequel to the It films set in 1962, as a family arrives in Derry and a boy vanishes.

Starring

Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, and James Remar

Creator

Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs

Scores

IMDb 7.9

Episodes

8 across 2 seasons

No. 42 · 2026 · Series · 7h 1m · 25th in story order

Carrie

After her father's sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.

Why it matters: The remake: a modern series where social media bullying and a cult shape Carrie's powers.

Starring

Summer H. Howell, Samantha Sloyan, and Siena Agudong

Creator

Mike Flanagan

Scores

IMDb 7.8

Episodes

8

Stephen King box office and budgets

The 29 Stephen King films with reported numbers have grossed $2.77 billion worldwide on about $749 million in combined budgets, roughly 3.7 times what they cost. The biggest is It at $720 million, 26% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by It Chapter Two ($473 million) and The Green Mile ($287 million).

Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to It, which made 21 times its $35 million budget. The weakest was The Running Man at 63% of its $110 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.

The best and worst rated Stephen King movies

Across 42 rated titles, the Stephen King Universe averages 6.9 on IMDb. The top of the list is The Shawshank Redemption at 9.3, then The Green Mile (8.6) and The Shining (8.4). At the bottom: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (4.6) and Salem's Lot (5.6). Money and quality don't line up perfectly: the highest grosser, It, is only the 14th best rated.

1. The Shawshank Redemption9.3 · RT 89%
2. The Green Mile8.6 · RT 78%
3. The Shining8.4 · RT 84%
4. Stand by Me8.1 · RT 89%
5. 11.22.638
6. It: Welcome to Derry7.9
7. Misery7.8 · RT 86%
8. Carrie7.8
9. Mr. Mercedes7.6
10. The Outsider7.6

Who appears in the most Stephen King movies

Jeffrey DeMunn leads with 3 appearances as 1946 D.A. and Harry Terwilliger, ahead of Bill Skarsgård (3) and Sissy Spacek (2). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.

Stephen King directors and creators

35 filmmakers have directed or created the Stephen King Universe; Mike Flanagan has the most, with 4.

• Mike FlanaganGerald's Game (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019), The Life of Chuck (2025), and Carrie (2026)
• Frank DarabontThe Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007)
• Andy MuschiettiIt (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), and It: Welcome to Derry (2025)
• Rob ReinerStand by Me (1986) and Misery (1990)
• Stephen KingIt (1990) and The Stand (1994)
• Benjamin CavellThe Stand (2020) and The Institute (2025)
• Brian De PalmaCarrie (1976)
• Stanley KubrickThe Shining (1980)
• George A. RomeroCreepshow (1982)
• John CarpenterChristine (1983)
• David CronenbergThe Dead Zone (1983)
• Lewis TeagueCujo (1983)
• Fritz KierschChildren of the Corn (1984)
• Mark L. LesterFirestarter (1984)
• Paul Michael GlaserThe Running Man (1987)
• Mary LambertPet Sematary (1989)

How long it takes to watch every Stephen King movie

All 42 titles add up to 171 hours: 60 hours of film and 111 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 86 two-hour evenings, or 18 days of ten-hour binges. The longest film is The Green Mile at 3h 9m.

Upcoming Stephen King movies

• The Institute: Season 2November 8, 2026

Common questions

Keep reading

• RecapStephen King recap: the story so far42 titles recapped
• Catch-up guideWhat to watch before The Institute: Season 2Out November 8, 2026
• Skip guideWhat can you skip in Game of Thrones?2 titles you can skip
• RecapChainsaw Man recap: the story so far2 titles recapped
• Watch order guideHow to watch the One Piece movies in order8 titles · 498 hours
• Skip guideWhich Star Wars movies can you skip?5 titles you can skip