How to Watch The Exorcist Movies in Order?

When it comes to horror movies, there is perhaps no franchise that is more famous than The Exorcist. Let's see how you can watch The Exorcist movies in order. 

The film series began back in 1973, and they are all based on the same-named novel by William Peter Blatty. Nowadays, there are five movies in total that have been released. 

With a budget of just over $140 million across all five movies, they've managed to bring in over $660 million at the box office, although the movies have perhaps been more successful on home TVs than the big screens. The first movie was, by far, the most successful, even winning two of the ten Academy Awards.

Who Plays in The Exorcist?

If you want to watch the Exorcist, you need to know a few of the iconic names that have been a part of the series so far. We can name Linda Blair, Mary Beth Hurt, Max von Sydow, Stellan Skarsgard, Ellen Burstyn, and Jason Miller, to name a few. 

What is the Best Order to Watch The Exorcist?

When it comes to watching The Exorcist, there are a couple of ways you can go about this. You can choose the same order that everyone else in the world has watched the series - the order of release - or try to follow a chronological timeline instead. 

The Exorcist by Release Date

• The Exorcist (1973)
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Exorcist III (1990)
• Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
• Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

There you go. This is the order the movies have been released in, so you can watch them as such if you want. 

The Exorcist in Chronological Order

Now, when it comes to watching the movies in a chronological way, there are also a couple of ways to go about things. The prequel for The Exorcist went into production in the mid-'00s, focusing on Father Merrin, which links back to the first two movies in the series. When filming was done, the studio decided to shelve the project. They removed the original director and brought in Renny Harlin. The movie was originally supposed to get only some reshoots but ended up getting redone completely. 

When that movie was tested with audiences, the results weren't that great. Not knowing what to do and with two movies loosely telling the same story, the studio ended up releasing both prequels - Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist. 

That being said, it's why we have two different timelines to follow: Merrin 1 and Merrin 2. 

The Merrin Prequel 1

• Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Exorcist III (1990)

The Merrin Prequel 2

• Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Exorcist III (1990)

Where to Stream The Exorcist Movies?

Regardless of which order you want to watch the movies in, it's time we dived into where exactly you can stream the movies. If you don't like the options, you can always rent or purchase the movies instead. 

• The Exorcist (1973) - HBO Max, Tubi
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - not available for streaming
• The Exorcist III (1990) - fuboTV, Hoopla, Shout Factory TV, Tubi, Pluto TV, Peacock, Plex, Vudu, PopcornFlix, Crackle
• Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) - fuboTV
• Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) - fuboTV, Tubi, Plex, Crackle

Please keep in mind that movies often change platforms as the licensing deals expire. Right now, at the time of publishing, these are the services where you can stream the on.