Carrie is an American horror media franchise, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by author Stephen King, and owned by Amazon MGM Studios under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It mainly follows Carrie White, a high school girl from an abusive household who has telekinetic powers.
The franchise includes four films and a television miniseries. It also spawned a stage musical adaptation, which in turn, inspired an unofficial parody show, and was the focus of a musical episode of the American television series Riverdale. The 1976 film and the television miniseries received positive reviews from critics, while the 1999 sequel and two film adaptations received mixed reviews.
Novel
In the novel, which was King's first work, a slightly overweight, shy, and usually bullied girl named Carietta "Carrie" Nadine White is being raised by Margaret, an unstable religious fanatic who thinks almost everything could be sinful. The book describes an odd incident of her exhibiting signs of telekinesis as a child, before focusing on her as a teen in high school; when she gets her first period in the shower, she panics as Margaret never taught her to prepare for having a period. Popular girls Christine "Chris" Hargensen and Susan "Sue" Snell ringlead the other girls to chant "period" and taunt Carrie. A few of the girls even throw tampons, further confusing Carrie, who believes she is dying. The gym teacher, Rita Desjardin, punishes the girls with a week of detention and suspends Chris when she refuses to comply. Desjardin also sends Carrie home with Margaret, believing Carrie should confront her mother about never being taught about a period. Margaret locks Carrie in the "praying closet," as Margaret believes that periods are a symbol of a sexual sin on Carrie's part. However, she lets Carrie out much earlier than she does normally, and Carrie believes it is because her mother knows that Carrie has become aware of her own powers.
Meanwhile, Chris is furious at her suspension and decides to take revenge on Carrie. Sue, however, feels bad about her part in the incident and wants to apologize, but is too nervous to do so. She tells her boyfriend Thomas "Tommy" Ross to ask Carrie to prom, noting that Carrie has a crush on him “like half the girls in the school.” Carrie originally thinks that the invitation was a means of tricking her, but Tommy pleads, and Carrie realizes that his invitation is genuine and accepts. She then sews herself a beautiful white dress to wear to the prom. Meanwhile, Chris and her boyfriend Billy Nolan collect pigs’ blood in a bucket and hang it over the auditorium stage. Chris employs her friend Tina Blake to make fake Prom Queen ballots with Carrie's name on them so that she will be called onstage, where the blood will dump on Carrie and humiliate her. On prom night, Margaret initially forbids Carrie to attend prom, claiming that Tommy and the others will laugh at her, but Carrie is tired of her mother controlling her life and uses her powers to shove her mother into the "praying closet." At prom, the blood is dumped on Carrie, but in the process the bucket falls and hits Tommy on the head, killing him.
Carrie at first flees in sadness, but is soon overtaken by rage and locks the gymnasium doors with her powers and sets the room on fire. She continues to wreak havoc on the scene, killing multiple students and teachers. Leaving a path of destruction in her wake, Carrie returns home, where Margaret tells Carrie that she was conceived in a bizarre instance of marital rape. Margaret then comes to the conclusion that Carrie's powers come from Satan and stabs her with a knife. Carrie telekinetically stops Margaret's heart in an attempt to save herself, but is immediately regretful of this and of all she has done. Carrie attempts to flee, but she is bleeding so heavily from the stab wound that she can barely walk. Sue finds Carrie, and after a brief telepathic conversation, Carrie forgives Sue. Soon after, Carrie dies crying out to her mother.
Films Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Carrie Brian De Palma Lawrence D. Cohen Paul Monash The Rage: Carrie 2 Katt Shea Rafael Moreu Carrie Kimberly Peirce Lawrence D. Cohen & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Kevin Misher
Carrie (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Lawrence D. Cohen, the film stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy teenage girl who is constantly mocked and bullied at her school. She later develops the power of telekinesis and uses it to wreak vengeance on her tormentors. The film also features Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, P. J. Soles, Betty Buckley, and John Travolta in supporting roles.
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
A sequel to the 1976 film directed Katt Shea from a screenplay written by Rafael Moreu, the film stars Emily Bergl as Rachel Lang, the younger half-sister of Carrie White, also suffering with telekinesis, who finds that her best friend Lisa Parker's suicide was spurred by a group of popular male classmates who exploited her for sexual gain.
Carrie (2013)
A remake of the 1976 film while including some elements from Stephen King's 1974 novel that were not included in the first adaptation. Directed by Kimberly Peirce from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, it stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character.
Television film Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Network(s) Carrie David Carson Bryan Fuller David Carson & Stephen Geaghan NBC
Carrie (2002)
Written by Bryan Fuller, and directed by David Carson, the film stars Angela Bettis in the leading role. In the story, Carrie White, a shy girl who is harassed by her schoolmates, disappears and a series of flashbacks reveal what has happened to her.
Unproduced sequel television series Despite being commissioned as a stand-alone feature by NBC, the 2002 television film was intended as a backdoor pilot for a potential television series by MGM Television and Bryan Fuller. In order to allow for a continuation of the story, the ending of the film was changed so that Carrie White remained alive at the end. The film was developed with the intention of creating a sub-plot for the series, featuring Jasmine Guy as Ruby Moore, a paranormal investigator, but these scenes were ultimately cut.
Angela Bettis and Kandyse McClure were expected to reprise their roles, and Fuller had a concept in mind. The series would feature Carrie and Sue on a journey to help other people with telekinetic powers. Carrie also had to deal with the remorse and the responsibility for killing several people. Fuller wrote the outline for a second episode, but NBC had no interest in it, and MGM ended their deal. In Fuller's opinion, "the network [n]ever intended to do a series, they were just playing the studio".
Television series
Carrie (2026)
In December 2019, Collider reported that a miniseries adaptation was in development at FX with MGM Television producing. This version was rumored to be feature a Carrie played by either a trans performer or an actress of color. However, this version of the project was never ordered by FX.
In October 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced that they were developing a miniseries adaptation of the novel with American filmmaker Mike Flanagan for Amazon Prime Video. Flanagan had previously written and directed multiples Stephen King's adaptations including Gerald's Game (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019) , and The Life of Chuck (2024). Summer H. Howell stars as Carrie White, while Siena Agudong plays Sue Snell. The rest of the cast include Samantha Sloyan as Margaret White, Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen, Amber Midthunder as Rita Desjardin, Josie Totah as Tina, Arthur Conti as Billy, and Joel Oulette as Tommy. Stephen King also executive produces the series.
Although the serialized miniseries includes differences to the original novel, Flanagan confirmed that core events from the original story like familiar characters will still be mantained. The series include characters from the novel who did not appear in previous adaptations, like Principal Grayle or Ralph White, as well as new characters written for the miniseries. To expend the story, Flanagan built out from the book's mythology, using the panicked 911 calls, police reports, newspapers articles, courtroom testimonies and scientific investigations, that were ignored by most of the previous adaptations. The series premiered on October 7, 2026 on Amazon Prime Video.
Recurring cast and characters A dark gray cell indicates the character does not appear. An indicates an appearance through archival footage. A indicates the actor portrayed the role in a scene cut from the film. A indicates an uncredited appearance. A indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character. A indicates a voice-only role. Characters Films Television miniseries Stage Original series Television film Remake Carrie Carrie 2 Carrie Carrie Carrie Broadway Off-Broadway Revival Main cast Carietta "Carrie" White Sissy Spacek Angela Bettis Chloë Grace Moretz Summer H. Howell Linzi Hateley Molly Ranson Margaret White (née Brigham) Piper Laurie Patricia Clarkson Julianne Moore Samantha Sloyan Betty Buckley Marin Mazzie Susan "Sue" Snell Amy Irving Kandyse McClure Gabriella Wilde Siena Agudong Sally Ann Triplett Christy Altomare Miss Rita Desjardin Betty Buckley Rena Sofer Judy Greer Amber Midthunder Darlene Love Carmen Cusack Thomas "Tommy" Ross William Katt Tobias Mehler Ansel Elgort Joel Oulette Paul Gyngell Derek Klena Christine "Chris" Hargensen Nancy Allen Emilie de Ravin Portia Doubleday Alison Thornton Charlotte d'Amboise Jeanna de Waal William "Billy" Nolan John Travolta Jesse Cadotte Alex Russell Arthur Conti Gene Anthony Ray Ben Thompson Norma Watson P. J. Soles Meghan Black Karissa and Katie Strain colspan="2" Helen Shyres Edie McClurg Chelan Simmons colspan="2" Tina Blake colspan="2" Katharine Isabelle Zoë Belkin Josie Totah colspan="2" Rachel Lang Emily Bergl colspan="5" Jesse Ryan Jason London colspan="5" Supporting characters Peter Morton Stefan Gierasch Laurie Murdoch Barry Shabaka Henley Tim Bagley colspan="2" Eleanor Snell Priscilla Pointer Cynthia Preston Mapuana Makia colspan="2" Mr. Fromm Sydney Lassick colspan="5" George Dawson Harry Gold Demetrius Joyette colspan="2" Freddy Holt Doug Cox colspan="2" Connor Price colspan="2" Frieda Jason Noelle North colspan="2" Kenny Garson Rory Stevens Miles Meadows Kyle Mac colspan="2" Tommy Erbter Cameron De Palma Andrew Robb Tyler Rushton colspan="2" Estelle Horan Michaela Mann colspan="2" Mrs. Horan Deborah DeMille colspan="2" Jackie Talbot Michael Talbott Malcolm Scott Max Topplin colspan="2" John Hargensen colspan="2" Michael Kopsa Hart Bochner Michael Trucco colspan="2" Ralph White colspan="2" colspan="2" Tahmoh Penikett colspan="2"
Additional production and crew details Title Crew/detail Composer(s) Cinematographer Editor(s) Production companies Distribution companies Running time Carrie Pino Donaggio Mario Tosi Paul Hirsch Red Bank Films United Artists 98 minutes The Rage: Danny B. Harvey Donald M. Morgan Richard Nord 105 minutes Carrie Laura Karpman Victor Goss Jeremy Presner Trilogy Entertainment GroupMGM Television NBC 132 minutes Carrie Marco Beltrami Steve Yedlin Lee PercyNancy Richardson Misher FilmsScreen GemsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Sony Pictures Releasing 99 minutes Carrie The Newton Brothers Michael FimognariMaria RuscheMichael Wale Brett W. BachmanMike Flanagan Red Room PicturesReunion Pacific EntertainmentAmazon MGM Studios Amazon Prime Video
Reception Box office performance Film Year Box office gross Budget North America Other territories Worldwide Carrie 1976 $33,800,000 $33,800,000 $1.8 million The Rage: Carrie 2 1999 $17,762,705 $17,762,705 $21 million Carrie 2013 $35,266,619 $49,524,059 $84,790,678 $30 million Total $86,829,324 $49,524,059 $136,353,383 $52.8 million