The critically acclaimed horror franchise The Ring consists of several timelines, remakes, and sequels, making it hard to keep track of its fourteen films’ order by release date and chronology. While there have been several remakes of the franchise, The Ring movies’ popularity began with its 1998 feature-length film Ringu. The film became a pioneer for the J-horror genre and earned worldwide critical acclaim thanks to its achievements in visuals, sound design, and cinematography.
Since then, The Ring’s chilling supernatural tale has become a major influence on the horror genre, paving the way for J-horror crossovers like The Grudge and One Missed Call and introducing audiences to the supernatural icon Sadako Yamamura. The Ring’s chilling story about a mysterious girl who kills characters after watching a cursed tape has inspired countless nightmares and revamps, constantly introducing audiences to characters, storylines, and universes that can be hard to keep up with. When navigating the franchise, the most common ways to watch The Ring movies are in order of release date or chronology of events, which provide two very different sequences.
The Ring Movies In Release Order
The Ring franchise officially began with the 1995 film Ringu. The first of The Ring movies based on the 1991 book written by Koji Suzuki, Ringu was a straight-to-TV film released exclusively in Japan. Ringu was a hit with Japanese audiences, so much so that it was recreated as a feature-length film three years later. The introduction of 1998’s Ringu reset the movie’s timeline, which has since expanded ten-fold. Over the course of its 27-year run, The Ring franchise has expanded to new mediums, birthing timelines, spin-offs, and international remakes, including 2002’s The Ring starring horror icon Naomi Watts. So far, 14 The Ring movies have been released between 1995 and 2022.
- Ringu (1995)
- Ringu (1988)
- Rasen (1998)
- Ringu 2 (1999)
- Ring Virus (1999)
- Ring 0: Birthday (2000)
- The Ring (2002)
- The Ring 2 (2005)
- Sadako 3D (2012)
- Sadako 3D 2 (2013)
- Sadako Vs Kayako (2016)
- Rings (2017)
- Sadako (2019)
- Sadako DX (2022)
The Ring Movies In Chronological Order Of Events
Ring 0: Birthday (2000)
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes | Cast: Yuki Nakama (Sadako Yamamura), Seiichi Tanabe (Hiroshi Toyama), Kumiko Aso (Etsuko Tachihara), Takeshi Wakamatsu (Yusaku Shigemori)
The first movie in The Ring’s timeline is the 2000 prequel Ring 0: Birthday. The film depicts the backstory of the vengeful Sadako Yamamura, providing context into her character and the events that led to her becoming the urban legend she later became. Set between the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ring 0: Birthday explores Sadako’s struggles with her psychic powers and her complicated relationship with her father. As the film progresses, it sets up the supernatural events that become the foundation for Sadako’s curse and the cursed videotape in the Ringu series.
Ringu (1995)
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes | Cast: Katsunori Takahashi (Kazuyuki Asakawa), Ayane Miura (Sadako Yamamura), Mai Tachihare (Shizuka Asakawa), Maha Hamada (Mai Takano)
Chronologically, the next events in the franchise occur in the 1995 Japanese TV film Ringu. Set 30 years after Ring 0: Birthday, Ringu was the first-ever adaptation of the novel and is considered a stand-alone film. The story begins in Tokyo when a journalist becomes intrigued by a series of mysterious deaths occurring at an inn that have all been linked to a cursed videotape. After watching the tape, reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa becomes a victim of the curse and undergoes a quest to reverse it before his seven-day timeline runs out. The film marks the first introduction of the seven-day curse and the rule of copying the tape to break the curse.
Ringu (1998)
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes | Cast: Nanako Matsushima (Reiko Asakawa), Miki Nakatani (Mai Takano), Yuko Takeuchi (Tomoko Oishi), Hitomi Sato (Masami), Yoichi Numata (Takashi Yamamura), Rie Ino’o (Sadako Yamamura), Rikiya Otaka (Yoichi Asakawa), Hiroyuki Sanada (Ryuji Takayama)
Following the TV film in the timeline is 1998’s feature-length movie Ringu. Ringu follows Reiko Asakawa, a journalist actively investigating rumors of a cursed videotape. While investigating a series of murders, Reiko watches the tape and becomes the next victim of the curse. After the curse affects her son Yoichi, Reiko and her ex-husband embark on a quest to uncover the origins of the curse and find a way to break it before the seven-day deadline, which would claim the lives of herself and her son.
Ringu takes the premise of the original 1995 film and gives it a cinematic facelift, with visible upgrades to the visuals, plot, and characters that helped it become one of the most ground-breaking films of the J-horror genre. In addition to being a pioneer of horror, Ringu is credited with a lot of firsts for The Ring franchise. Ringu marks the directorial debut of J-horror legend Hideo Nakata in the franchise and the first time Sadako is shown on screen crawling out a TV.
Rasen (1998)
Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes | Cast: Nanako Matsushima (Reiko Asakawa), Miki Nakatani (Mai Takano), Yuko Takeuchi (Tomoko Oishi), Hitomi Sato (Masami), Yoichi Numata (Takashi Yamamura), Hinaka Saeki (Sadako Yamamura)
Immediately following Ringu (the sequel was released the same day) is 1998’s Rasen, or Spiral, as it’s known in the US. As the first official sequel to Ringu, Rasen is based on the Koji Suzuki novel of the same name. It follows a pathologist named Dr. Mitsuo Ando, who becomes involved in a series of mysterious deaths after he discovers that one of the deceased individuals has a connection to the same cursed videotape from Ringu.
After being affected by it, Dr. Ando must race against time to unravel the secrets behind the curse and the medical conspiracies rumored to be linked to it. Rasen’s complexity and convoluted plot resulted in its poor critical reception, which inspired a reboot of The Ring’s timeline. Although it wasn’t considered canonical for years, the subsequent sequels throughout the 2000s reintroduced Rasen to The Ring’s timeline.
Ringu 2 (1999)
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes | Cast: Miki Nakatani (Mai Takano), Hitomi Sato (Masami Kurahashi), Kyoko Fukada (Kanae Sawaguchi), Fumiyo Kohinata (Kawajiri Ishi), Rikiya Otaka (Yoichi Asakawa)
Completely disregarding Rasen, 1999’s Ringu 2 reboots The Ring’s timeline. The film goes back to the events immediately following 1998’s Ringu, reintroducing characters like Reiko and Yoichi to the story. Ringu 2 puts Mai Takano in the forefront as Reiko still grapples with the effects of the curse. While Yoichi begins exhibiting signs of paranormal abilities, Sadako’s supernatural powers grow out of control, pushing Mai to uncover the secrets behind the curse and save Yoichi from its influence.
The Ring Virus (1999)
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes | Cast: Shin Eun Kyung (Hong Sun Joo), Jung Jin Young (Choi Yeol), Bae Doo Na (Park Eun Suh) Kim Chang Wan (Reporter Kim)
The Ring Virus enters the franchise as The Ring’s first international remake. Set in South Korea, the film follows the same formula as Ringu, replacing Sadako Yamamura with Park Eun Suh. The Ring Virus follows journalist Sun-Joo as she investigates a series of mysterious deaths, all linked to the viewing of a cursed videotape. The Ring Virus is a reimagining of The Ring’s source material and is not considered canonical to the rest of the franchise.
The Ring (2002)
Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes | Cast: Naomi Watts (Rachel), Martin Henderson (Noah), Brian Cox (Richard Morgan), David Dorfman (Aidan), Amber Tamblyn (Katie), Jane Alexander (Dr. Grasnik), Daveigh Chase (Samara)
The next movie in the timeline is the critically acclaimed American horror remake, The Ring (2002). Set sometime between 2002 and 2005, the film follows Rachel Keller, a journalist investigating a videotape that’s been linked to the sudden death of a group of teens. The tape is rumored to be the source of an urban legend in which the viewer will die seven days after watching it. After watching the tape, Rachel has to work quickly to save her life and that of her son Aidan. The film expands on The Ring’s ever-evolving mythos, introducing several new key characters to the timeline, including Aidan and the story’s new eerie figure Samara.
The Ring 2 (2005)
Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes | Cast: Naomi Watts (Rachel), David Dorfman (Aidan), Sissy Spacek (Evelyn), Simon Baker (Max Rourke), Elizabeth Perkins (Dr. Emma Temple), Gary Cole (Martin Savide), Ryan Merriman (Jake)
Six months after the events of The Ring comes its 2005 American sequel, The Ring 2. The Ring 2 reintroduces director Hideo Nakata to the franchise and finds Rachel and her son Aidan trying to escape the horrors of the cursed tape in their new hometown of Astoria, Oregon. Their peace is short-lived, as the evil spirit of Samara begins to haunt Aidan once again. As Samara desperately tries to possess Aidan’s body, Rachel once again has to confront the terrifying curse and save her son.
Sadako 3D (2012)
Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes | Cast: Koji Seto (Takanori Ando), Ai Hashimoto (Sadako), Tsutomu Takahashi (Detective Nakamura), Shota Sometani (Enoki), Hikaro Takara (Risa Kitayama), Yusuke Yamamoto (Seji Kashiwada)
Loosely inspired by Koji Suzuku’s S, Sadako 3D jumps into The Ring franchise as a sequel to 1998’s Rasen. Set in 2012, Sadako 3D takes the supernatural curse from VHS to digital as Sadako begins terrorizing people across the internet. The catch is, instead of viewers of the haunted footage being killed by a ghost, the curse forces people to die by suicide. In addition to expanding on the lore of the curse, Sadako 3D gives The Ring a modern-day facelift, incorporating the internet and digital technology into its iconic supernatural story.
Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes | Cast: Mizuki Yamamoto (Yuri Kurahashi), Tina Tamashiro (Suzuka Takagi), Aimi Satsukawa (Natsumi Ueno), Misato Tanaka (Ayako Takagi), Masahiro Kômoto (Shin’ichi Morishige), Masanobu Andô (Tokiwa Kyozo), Elly Nanami (Sadako Yamamura), Runa Endo (Kayako Saeki)
The timeline in The Ring takes a detour with the introduction of 2016’s J-horror crossover Sadako vs Kayako. As a standalone film, Sadako vs Kayako opens the door to another timeline where J-horror classics The Ring and The Grudge co-exist. What started off as an April Fool’s gag was brought to life due to its high demand, depicting a supernatural face-off against J-horror icons Sadako and Kayako, resulting in a mash-up of sinister proportions.
Rings (2017)
Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes | Cast: Matilda Anna Ingride Lutz (Julia), Alex Roe (Holt), Johnny Galecki (Gabriel), Vincent D’Onofrio (Burke), Aimee Teegarden (Skye), Bonnie Morgan (Samara)
Next in the timeline is the third installment to the American remake, 2017’s Rings. Rings takes the story to 2015, where a girl named Julia begins investigating a mysterious tape that has been influencing her boyfriend Holt’s distant behavior. As Julia dives deeper, she discovers the existence of a “movie within a movie,” an additional cursed video that gives viewers seven days to pass it along to avoid death. Julia and Holt race to uncover the origins of this new curse, which has been linked to Samara’s past, quickly realizing that Samara’s powers extend beyond the cursed videotape.
Sadako 3D 2 (2013)
Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes | Cast: Matilda Anna Ingride Lutz (Julia), Alex Roe (Holt), Johnny Galecki (Gabriel), Vincent D’Onofrio (Burke), Aimee Teegarden (Skye), Bonnie Morgan (Samara)
Set five years after Sadako 3D, the 2013 movie Sadako 3D 2 enters The Ring’s timeline as the franchise’s 12th installment. Continuing the Rasen storyline, Sadako 3D 2 further explores the evolution of Sadako’s curse in the digital era, providing new perspectives on her origins and motivations. The film entangles a new group of characters in its supernatural world, including a university professor, a detective, and a young woman with supernatural abilities. Together, they uncover the secrets of Sadako’s curse and find a way to put her spirit to rest.
Sadako (2019)
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes | Cast: Elaiza Ikeda (Mayu Akikawa), Takashi Tsukamoto (Yusuke Ishida), Hiroya Shimizu (Kazuma Akikawa), Himeka Himejima (Mysterious Girl), Ren Kiriyama (Minoru Fujii)
Based on Koji Suzuki’s Tide, Sadako is the next entry in The Ring franchise and is considered a direct sequel to Ringu 2. Helmed by the great Hideo Nakata, Sadako’s upgraded visuals introduce a refreshing contemporary look to the franchise. It follows psychologist Mayu Akikawa, who discovers that the legendary cursed video has resurfaced, and is spreading a new wave of fear and death throughout Japan. Sadako evolves the lore of Ringu, introducing a reincarnated version of Sadako while exploring the curse’s adaptation into the digital age.
Sadako DX (2022)
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes | Cast: Fuka Koshiba (Ayaka Ichijo), Kazuma Kawamura (Oji Maeda), Mario Kuroba (Bunka), Hiroyuki Ikeuchi (Kenshin), Yuki Yagi (Futaba Ichijo), Naomi Nishida (Chieko Ichijo)
The last entry of The Ring‘s franchise is 2022’s Sadako DX. Continuing Rasen’s storyline, Sadako DX is considered a sequel to 2013’s Sadako 3D 2, though it has little to do with the characters or plot. The film takes a break from its renowned supernatural horror and dives into its funny side, with over-the-top performances and parodies of Gen Z culture that make the movie unintentionally funny. In addition to its quirky new cast and tone, Sadako DX refreshes the rules of the curse, shortening the time span from 7 days to 24 hours.
