Paranormal Activity watch order

All seven Paranormal Activity films, in the order they came out and in the order of the Katie and Tobi story. It is the same order the emberslate app uses for its saga.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By emberfold labs

The short answer

Watch in release order, starting with Paranormal Activity (2009). Story order starts with the third film, set in 1988. All seven films take about 10 hours, and the place of Next of Kin in the timeline is unclear.

Titles: 7 films, 0 series
Everything: about 10 hours
Core path: about 10 hours
Films only: about 10 hours

Release order

Paranormal Activity in release order

The order they came out.

01
01
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Film · 1h 26mCore
Core
02
02
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Film · 1h 31mCore
Core
03
03
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Film · 1h 23mCore
Core
04
04
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Film · 1h 27mCore
Core
05
05
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Film · 1h 24mCore
Core
06
06
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Film · 1h 27mCore
Core
07
07
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Film · 1h 38mCore
Its place in the timeline is unclear.
Core

Chronological order

Paranormal Activity in chronological order

The order the Katie and Tobi story happens in, starting with the third film in 1988.

01
01
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Film · 1h 23mCore
Core
02
02
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Film · 1h 31mCore
Core
03
03
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Film · 1h 26mCore
Core
04
04
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Film · 1h 27mCore
Core
05
05
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Film · 1h 24mCore
Core
06
06
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Film · 1h 27mCore
Core
07
07
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Film · 1h 38mCore
Its place in the timeline is unclear.
Core

Release order or chronological order?

Release order is the best way in. Each film adds to what you know, so watching them as they came out keeps the reveals in place.

Chronological order starts with Paranormal Activity 3, set in 1988, then the second film, then the first. It works as a rewatch.

Next of Kin

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) is the last film, and its place in the timeline is unclear, so the app keeps it at the end of both orders.

Track it

Track the Paranormal Activity saga in emberslate

The Sagas tab in the emberslate app has this exact order. Switch between release and chronological order, mark the next step watched, and see how far through you are. It is free on Android.

Get emberslate on Google Play

The Paranormal Activity saga in the emberslate app: 7 films, with Paranormal Activity from 2009 up next, Mark watched and Skip buttons, and a switch between Release and Chronological order.

Paranormal Activity watch order questions

What order should I watch the Paranormal Activity movies in?

Release order: Paranormal Activity, 2, 3, 4, The Marked Ones, The Ghost Dimension and Next of Kin.

Should I watch Paranormal Activity 3 first?

Only on a rewatch. It is set in 1988, so it comes first in story order, but newcomers should start with the first film.

Where does Next of Kin fit?

Its place in the timeline is unclear, so it sits at the end of both orders.

How long does it take to watch all the Paranormal Activity films?

About 10 hours for all seven.

The order and the core, optional and save-for-later marks are the ones the emberslate app uses for this saga. Titles, years and runtimes come from TMDB; series runtimes count aired episodes only and are rounded. First published 9 November 2026.