The Ring Franchise: Every Movie In Order
An urban legend says that whoever watches this video-tape will die a miserable and mysterious death at the mercy of a vengeful ghost in exactly seven days. Would your curiosity nudge you to watch the tape? Based on the simple but gripping premise of a serial killing ghost hunting down humans that let their curiosity get the better of themselves, The Ring, sparked a new wave of terror and suspense in J-Horror, and inspired a whole new genre of supernatural-horror films worldwide. Use our guide below on how to watch all movies in The Ring franchise and where to find them streaming online using platforms like Netflix, Prime Video and more.
The franchise officially began with Koji Suzuki’s 1991 novel Ring. It was the first of a trilogy, and was followed by Spiral, and Loop. The novel was first adapted to film in 1998 by Hideo Nakata, after the trilogy was officially released. The movie was an instant commercial and critical success, and marked the beginning of a very lucrative J-Horror film franchise that extended to 13 films across different languages.
The Ring franchise includes 9 Japanese films, 3 American movies, and 1 Korean adaptation. While the core premise of the story remains the same, each version offers a different cultural and cinematic experience on the legend of Sadaku or Samara.
For those looking to dive into the world of The Ring, the order in which you watch the films can greatly influence your experience. We’ll separate the films based on their language to make it easier to follow each version’s unique storyline and evolution. If you want to get deep into the Ring franchise consider starting with the original Japanese Ring movies. With nine movies under their belt, the franchise explores Sadako’s curse and the story to its fullest, staying closest to Suzuki’s novels. Here’s the chronological order to watch all the Japanese movies:
Ringu 0: Birthday
Ringu
Rasen
Ringu 2
Ringu: Kanzenban
Sadako 3D
Sadako 3D 2
Sadako vs Kayako
Sadako (2019)
And then there's the American adaptations, which you can watch in order like this:
Another way to watch this franchise is by following their release order—watching the movies the same way as long-term fans saw them in theaters. If you're interested in watching all the Ring movies in release order, check out the complete list below.
