My Big Fat Greek Wedding (franchise)
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| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Based on | Characters created by Nia Vardalos |
Release date | 2002–present |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise, consists of American romantic comedies, including two theatrical films, and a television series.
The two films grossed $457.1 million worldwide[1][2] against a $23 million combined budget.[1][3] The first film received positive reviews from critics, while the second film received mostly negative reviews.
The franchise will continue with a third film currently in development.
Films[]
| Film | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriter | Producers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | April 19, 2002 | Joel Zwick | Nia Vardalos | Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson | Released |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | March 25, 2016 | Kirk Jones | |||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | TBA | TBA | TBA | In development |
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)[]
Everyone in the Portokalos family worries about Toula (Nia Vardalos). Still unmarried at 30 years old, she works at Dancing Zorba's, the Greek restaurant owned by her parents, Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan). After taking a job at her aunt's travel agency, she falls in love with Ian Miller (John Corbett), a teacher who is tall, handsome, and definitely not Greek. Toula isn't sure which will be more upsetting to her father, that Ian is a foreigner or that he's a vegetarian.
The film was a sleeper hit, and the film became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time.[4] The film grossed $241 million domestically for a worldwide total of $368 million, despite not reaching No. 1 at the box office, against a $5 million budget.[5] The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 75th Academy Awards.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)[]
Ten years after the first film, parenting and marriage is becoming tougher and tougher for Toula (Nia Vardalos) and her husband Ian (John Corbett). Not only has their relationship lost some of its spark, but they're also dealing with a rebellious teenage daughter who clashes with Greek traditions. On top of that, Toula must contend with aging parents and the endless need of cousins and friends. But when a shocking family secret comes to light, the entire Portokalos clan makes plans to come together for an even bigger wedding than before.
The film was less successful than the original, grossing $59 million domestically, with a $88 million worldwide gross, against an $18 million budget.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (TBA)[]
In April 2021, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was announced to be in development. Written by Nia Vardalos as an independent film, who will also reprise her role as co-star, the project was revealed to have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Production will commence once the studios attain insurance for its crew, with principle photography scheduled to talk place in Greece.[6][7]
Television[]
The film inspired the short-lived television spin-off My Big Fat Greek Life (2003). Most of the major characters were played by the same actors, with the exception of John Corbett being replaced by Steven Eckholdt.
The show received poor reviews from critics noting the random character entrances and serious plot "adjustments" that did not match the film. The seven episodes from the series are available on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, whose TV studio division produced the show.
Primary cast and characters[]
| Characters | Film | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | My Big Fat Greek Life | |
| Fortoula "Toula" Nia Portokalos-Miller | Nia Vardalos | ||
| Ian Thomas Miller | John Corbett | Steven Eckholdt | |
| Paris Miller | Arielle Sugarman | Elena Kampouris | |
| Maria Portokalos | Lainie Kazan | ||
| Nick Portokalos | Louis Mandylor | ||
| Costas "Gus" Portokalos | Michael Constantine | ||
| Theia Voula | Andrea Martin | ||
| Nikki Portokalos | Gia Carides | ||
| Uncle Taki | Gerry Mendicino | ||
| Cousin Angelo | Joey Fatone | ||
| Mana-Yiayia | Bess Meisler | ||
| Athena Portokalos | Stavroula Logothettis | ||
| Mike | Ian Gomez | ||
| Rodney Miller | Bruce Gray | ||
| Harriet Miller | Fiona Reid | ||
| Mrs. White | Jayne Eastwood | ||
| Panos Portakalos | Mark Margolis | ||
| George | John Stamos | ||
| Anna | Rita Wilson | ||
| Bennett | Alex Wolff | ||
| Marge | Kathryn Greenwood | ||
| Northwestern Rep | Rob Riggle | ||
| Wedding Planner | |||
| Patrick | Jeff White | ||
Additional crew and production detail[]
| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies |
Distributing companies |
Running time | ||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Alexander Janko & Chris Wilson | Jeffrey Jur | Mia Goldman | Gold Circle Films, HBO Films, MPH Entertainment, Playtone Films |
IFC Films | 95 minutes | |
| My Big Fat Greek Life | John Adair, Steve Hampton & Chris Wilson | Gil Hubbs | Barry L. Gold & Michael Karlich | Sony Pictures Television, Playtone Television, Brad Grey Television, Marsh McCall Productions |
Sony Pictures Television, CBS |
210 minutes (@ 30mins/episode) | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Christopher Lennertz | Jim Denault | Markus Czyzewski | Gold Circle Films, HBO Films, Playtone Films |
Universal Pictures | 94 minutes | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Reception[]
Box office performance[]
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States opening weekend |
North America | Other territories |
Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide | |||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding[8] | April 19, 2002 | $3,002,241 | $241,438,208 | $127,305,836 | $368,744,044 | #132 | #333 | $5 million |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2[9] | March 25, 2016 | $17,861,950 | $59,689,605 | $29,233,646 | $88,923,251 | #1,389 | N/A | $18 million |
| Total[10] | $301,127,813 | $156,539,482 | $457,667,295 | $23 million | ||||
Critical and public response[]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | 76% (129 reviews)[11] | 62/100 (29 reviews)[12] | N/A |
| My Big Fat Greek Life | TBD[13] | 40/100[14] | N/A |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | 28% (163 reviews)[15] | 37/100 (32 reviews)[16] | A−[17][18] |
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating 76% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though it sometimes feels like a television sitcom, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is good-hearted, lovable, and delightfully eccentric, with a sharp script and lead performance from Nia Vardalos."[11] On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 62 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second film has an approval rating of 28% based on 163 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is as sweet and harmless as the original, but its collection of sitcom gags and stereotypes never coalesces into anything resembling a story with a purpose."[15] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[17][18]
References[]
- ^ a b "My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Tartaglione, Nancy. "'Batman V. Superman' Targets Second-Best Pre-Summer Global Opening With $350M". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ "TV Review - My Big Fat Greek Life". Entertainment Weekly. 2003-04-07. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
- ^ "Top Grossing Movies that never hit #1". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
- ^ Guerrero, Bethany (April 8, 2021). "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Is Officially In The Works". Screent Rant. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Stone, Megan (April 8, 2021). "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' in the works, Nia Vardalos confirms". Good Morning America. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 2, 2019.[dead link]
- ^ a b "My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Metacritic.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Life". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Life". Metacritic.
- ^ a b "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2". Metacritic.
- ^ a b "'Batman V Superman' Looks To Punch Out 'Hunger Games' For Best Pre-Summer Debut With $157M-$170M". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ a b "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
External links[]
- English-language films
- Film series introduced in 2002
- Film franchises
- Works about Greek-American culture