# Carrie (franchise)

Carrie is an American horror media franchise, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by author Stephen King. The series consists of four films, a Broadway musical and a television special.

## 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 | November 3, 1976 (1976-11-03) | Brian De Palma | Lawrence D. Cohen | Paul Monash |
| The Rage: Carrie 2 | March 12, 1999 (1999-03-12) | Katt Shea | Rafael Moreu | Paul Monash |
| Carrie | November 4, 2002 (2002-11-04) | David Carson | Bryan Fuller | David Carson & Stephen Geaghan |
| Carrie | October 18, 2013 (2013-10-18) | Kimberly Peirce | Lawrence D. Cohen & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | Kevin Misher |

### Carrie (2013)
## Television
### Special

| Television | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
| Riverdale: A Night to Remember | April 18, 2018 (2018-04-18) | Jason Stone | Tessa Williams & Arabella Anderson | Jon Goldwater, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa |
A television special of The CW series Riverdale, based on Carrie: The Musical, from the series second season episode titled "Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember". The series' cast portrayed the characters from the musical, also with their respective characters of Archie Comics from the series. "A Night to Remember" also made references to the 1976 film.

### Miniseries

In December 2019, Collider reported that a new adaptation, a miniseries, is in development at FX and MGM Television.
In October 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced they were developing a series adaptation of the novel with American filmmaker Mike Flanagan. Flanagan had previously written and directed the Stephen King adaptations Doctor Sleep, Gerald's Game & The Life of Chuck.

### Cancelled projects

A television series which served as a follow-up to the 2002 film was in development, only to be cancelled by NBC due to the 2002 film's low ratings.

## Cast and characters

   * A $^Y$ indicates the actor portrayed the role of a younger version of the character.
   * An $^A$ indicates an appearance through archival footage.
   * A dark gray cell indicates the character does not appear.
| Characters | Films | Films | Films | Films | Stage | Stage | Television special |
| Characters | Carrie | The Rage: Carrie 2 | Carrie | Carrie | Broadway | Off-Broadway Revival | Riverdale: A Night to Remember |
| Characters | 1976 | 1999 | 2002 | 2013 | 1988 | 2012 | 2018 |
| The Cast ||||||||
| Carietta "Carrie" White | Sissy Spacek | Sissy Spacek | Angela BettisJodelle Ferland | Chloë Grace MoretzSkyler Wexler | Linzi Hateley | Molly Ranson | Madelaine Petsch (as Cheryl Blossom)Emilija Baranac (as Midge Klump) |
| Margaret White | Piper Laurie | Piper Laurie | Patricia Clarkson | Julianne Moore | Betty Buckley | Marin Mazzie | Mädchen Amick (as Alice Cooper) |
| Susan "Sue" Snell | Amy Irving | Amy Irving | Kandyse McClure | Gabriella Wilde | Sally Ann Triplett | Christy Altomare | Lili Reinhart (as Betty Cooper) |
| Rita Desjardin | Betty Buckley (as Miss Collins) | | Rena Sofer (as Miss Desjarden) | Judy Greer | Darlene Love (as Miss Gardner) | Carmen Cusack (as Miss Gardner) | Ashleigh Murray (as Josie McCoy and Miss Gardner) |
| Tommy Ross | William Katt | William Katt | Tobias Mehler | Ansel Elgort | Paul Gyngell | Derek Klena | KJ Apa (as Archie Andrews) |
| Chris Hargensen | Nancy Allen | Nancy Allen | Emilie de Ravin | Portia Doubleday | Charlotte d'Amboise | Jeanna de Waal | Camila Mendes (as Veronica Lodge) |
| Billy Nolan | John Travolta | | Jesse Cadotte | Alex Russell | Gene Anthony Ray | Ben Thompson | Jordan Calloway (as Chuck Clayton) |
| Norma Watson | P. J. Soles | P. J. Soles | Meghan Black | | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | Vanessa Morgan (as Toni Topaz and Norma) |
| Helen Shyres | Edie McClurg | | Chelan Simmons | Mentioned | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | Shannon Purser (as Ethel Muggs and Helen) |
| Rachel Lang | | Emily BerglKayla Campbell | | | | | |
| Barbara Lang | Mentioned | J. Smith-Cameron | | | | | |
| Jesse Ryan | | Jason London | | | | | |
| Mark Bing | | Dylan Bruno | | | | | |
| Eric Stark | | Zachery Ty Bryan | | | | | |
| Monica Jones | | Rachel Blanchard | | | | | |
| Tracy Campbell | | Charlotte Ayanna | | | | | |
| Brad Winters | | Justin Urich | | | | | |
| Supporting characters ||||||||
| Principal Morton | Stefan Gierasch | Stefan Gierasch | Laurie Murdoch | Barry Shabaka Henley | | | |
| Eleanor Snell | Priscilla Pointer | Priscilla Pointer | Mentioned | Cynthia Preston | | | |
| Mr. Fromm | Sydney Lassick | Sydney Lassick | | | | | |
| Freddy DeLois | Michael Talbott | | | | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | |
| George | Harry Gold | Harry Gold | | Demetrius Joyette | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | |
| Frank Geen / Freddy Holt The Beak | Doug Cox | | | Connor Price | | | Cole Sprouse (as Jughead Jones) |
| Cora Wilson | Cindy Daly | | | | | | |
| Rhonda Wilson | Deirdre Berthrong | | | | | | |
| Frieda Jason | Noelle North | Noelle North | | Mentioned | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | |
| Kenny Garson | Rory Stevens | | Miles Meadows | Kyle Mac | | | |
| Tommy Erbter | Cameron De PalmaBetty Buckley | | Andrew Robb | Tyler Rushton | | | |
| Lisa Parker | | Mena Suvari | | | | | |
| Chuck Potter | | Eli Craig | | | | | |
| Arnold | | Eddie Kaye Thomas | | | | | |
| Boyd | | John Doe | | | | | |
| Emilyn | | Kate Skinner | | | | | |
| Ralph White | Mentioned | Mentioned | | | | | |
| Jackie Talbot | | | Malcolm Scott | Max Topplin | | | |
| Tina Blake | | | Katharine Isabelle | Zoë Belkin | | | |
| John Hargensen | | | Michael Kopsa | Hart Bochner | | | |
| Detective John Mulcahey | | | David Keith | | | | |
| Nicki Watson | | | | Karissa Strain | | | |
| Lizzy Watson | | | | Katie Strain | | | |
| Heather | | | | Samantha Weinstein | | | |
| Erika | | | | Mouna Traoré | | | |
| Mr. Ulmann | | | | Jefferson Brown | | | |
| Mr. Stephens | | | | | | Wayne Alan Wilcox | |
| Stokes | | | | | Appears as ensemble | Appears as ensemble | |
| Kevin Keller | | | | | | | Casey Cott |
| Fred Andrews | | | | | | | Luke Perry |
| Penelope Blossom | | | | | | | Nathalie Boltt |
| Hiram Lodge | | | | | | | Mark Consuelos |
| Hal Cooper | | | | | | | Lochlyn Munro |

## Additional crew and production details

| Role | Films | Films | Films | Films | Television special |
| Role | Carrie | The Rage: Carrie 2 | Carrie | Carrie | Riverdale: A Night to Remember |
| Role | 1976 | 1999 | 2002 | 2013 | 2018 |
| Composer(s) | Pino Donaggio | Danny B. Harvey | Laura Karpman | Marco Beltrami | Blake Neely Sherri Chung |
| Cinematography | Mario Tosi | Donald M. Morgan | Victor Goss | Steve Yedlin | Brendan Uegama |
| Editor(s) | Paul Hirsch | Richard Nord | Jeremy Presner | Lee Percy | Gaston Jaren Lopez |
| Production companies | Red Bank Films | United Artists Red Bank Films | MGM Television MGM Home Entertainment Trilogy Entertainment Group | Misher Films Screen Gems Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures | Archie Comics Berlanti Productions CBS Television Studios Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor | United Artists | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | NBC | Sony Pictures Releasing | The CW |
| Running time | 98 min | 105 min | 132 min | 99 min | 42 min |

## Reception
### Box office performance

| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office gross | Budget | Ref. |
| Film | Release date | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | Budget | Ref. |
| Carrie | November 3, 1976 | $33,800,000 | — | $33,800,000 | $1.8 million | |
| The Rage: Carrie 2 | March 12, 1999 | $17,762,705 | — | $17,762,705 | $21 million | |
| Carrie | October 18, 2013 | $35,266,619 | $49,524,059 | $84,790,678 | $30 million | |
| Total | Total | $86,829,324 | $49,524,059 | $136,353,383 | $52.8 million | |

### Critical and public response

| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
| Film series ||||
| Carrie | 93% (67 reviews) | 85 (14 reviews) | — |
| The Rage: Carrie 2 | 19% (36 reviews) | 42 (21 reviews) | C+ |
| Carrie | 20% (10 reviews) | — | — |
| Carrie | 50% (183 reviews) | 53 (34 reviews) | B− |
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
| Television special ||||
| Riverdale: A Night to Remember | 100% (14 reviews) | — | — |

## Music
### Musical

In 1988, a Broadway adaptation of Carrie was produced to scathing reviews. It closed after 16 previews and 5 performances. An Off-Broadway revival began previews on January 1, 2012 and officially opened on March 1, 2012. It closed on April 8 of the same year.

### Soundtracks

| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Performed by | Label |
| Carrie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | 1976 | 36:02 | Pino Donaggio | United Artists Records |
| The Rage: Carrie 2 - Music from and Inspired by United Artists Motion Picture | March 23, 1999 | 55:14 | Various artists | Edel Records |
| Carrie: Music from the NBC Movie Event | 2002 | — | Various artists | — |
| Carrie: The Musical (Premiere Cast Recording) | September 25, 2012 | 1:10:29 | Various artists | Ghostlight Records |
| Carrie: Music from the Motion Picture | October 11, 2013 | 50:27 | Various artists | Columbia Records |
| Carrie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | October 15, 2013 | 48:57 | Marco Beltrami | Sony Classical |
| Riverdale: Special Episode - Carrie: The Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) | April 19, 2018 | 26:38 | Riverdale Cast | WaterTower Music |