| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | |
| Creator: | Nia Vardalos |
| Years: | 2002 - 2023 |
| Tv: | My Big Fat Greek Life (2003) |
The My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise, consists of American romantic comedies, including three theatrical films, and a television series. The series was created by Nia Vardalos.
The two films grossed $460 million worldwide[1] [2] against a $23 million combined budget.[1] [3] The first film received positive reviews from critics, while the sequels received mostly negative reviews.
See main article: My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 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.
See main article: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. 17 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.
See main article: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. In late June 2016, Nia Vardalos hinted at the possibility of a third film, saying that although no writing has been done, she does have an idea.[6] On April 8, 2021, it was announced that My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was in development, to be written by Vardalos as an independent film, who will also reprise her role as co-star. The project was also revealed to have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which production will commence once the studios maintains insurance for its crew, with principal photography scheduled to take place in Greece.[7] [8] On October 1, 2021, Vardalos confirmed that the script for the third film had been completed and that it would involve another Greek wedding.[9] On May 15, 2022, it was announced that filming will take place throughout Greece in the summer of 2022, with large portions being shot on Corfu from July 5 to August 3, 2022.[10] The film will be dedicated to the memory of Michael Constantine, who died on August 31, 2021, at the age of 94.[11] In June 2022, Vardalos was announced to serve as director, with a script that she wrote. Principal photography commenced in Athens, Greece on June 22, 2022, and wrapped on August 10, 2022.[12] The project will be a joint-venture production between Playtone, Gold Circle Films, HBO Films, and Focus Features.[13] [14] The film was released on September 8, 2023. The film follows the Portokalos family on a trip to Greece for a family reunion following the death of Toula's father, Gus.[15]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Producers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Joel Zwick | Nia Vardalos | Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson & Gary Goetzman | Released | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Kirk Jones | ||||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | [16] | Nia Vardalos |
See main article: My Big Fat Greek Life.
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.
| Characters | Film | Television | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | 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 | ||||
| Costas "Gus" Portokalos | Michael Constantine | Michael Constantine | ||
| Theia Voula | Andrea Martin | |||
| Nikki Portokalos | Gia Carides | |||
| Uncle Taki | Gerry Mendicino | |||
| Cousin Angelo | Joey Fatone | |||
| Mana-Yiayia | Bess Meisler | colspan="2" | ||
| Athena Portokalos | Stavroula Logothettis | |||
| Mike | Ian Gomez | colspan="2" | ||
| Rodney Miller | Bruce Gray | colspan="2" | ||
| Harriet Miller | Fiona Reid | colspan="2" | ||
| Mrs. White | Jayne Eastwood | colspan="1" | ||
| Thiea Freida | Maria Vacratsis | |||
| Yianni | Peter Tharos | colspan="1" | ||
| Jennie | Chrissy Paraskevopoulos | colspan="1" | ||
| Marianthi | Kathryn Haggis | colspan="1" | ||
| Ilaria | Jeanie Calleja | colspan="1" | ||
| Marge | Kathryn Greenwood | colspan="1" | ||
| Edie | Tannis Burnett | colspan="1" | ||
| Panos Portakalos | Mark Margolis | colspan="2" | ||
| George | John Stamos | colspan="2" | ||
| Anna | Rita Wilson | colspan="2" | ||
| Bennett | Alex Wolff | colspan="2" | ||
| Northwestern Rep | Rob Riggle | colspan="2" | ||
| Wedding Planner | Ashleigh Rains | colspan="2" | ||
| Patrick | Jeff White | colspan="2" | ||
| Aristotle | Elias Kacavas | colspan="1" | ||
| Victory | Melina Kotselou | |||
| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Chris Wilson Alexander Janko | Jeffrey Jur | Mia Goldman | HBO Films Playtone Films Gold Circle Films MPH Entertainment | IFC Films | 95 min | |
| My Big Fat Greek Life | John Adair Chris Wilson Steve Hampton | Gil Hubbs | Barry L. Gold Michael Karlich | Playtone Television Brad Grey Television Sony Pictures Television Marsh McCall Productions | CBS Sony Pictures Television | 210 min | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Christopher Lennertz | Jim Denault | Markus Czyzewski | HBO Films Playtone Films Gold Circle Films | Universal Pictures | 94 min[17] | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | Stephanie Economou | Barry Peterson | Annette Davey Craig Herring | HBO Films Focus Features Gold Circle Films The Playtone Company | Focus Features | 92 min[18] | |
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States opening weekend | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | ||||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | April 19, 2002 | $3,002,241 | $241,438,208 | $127,305,836 | $368,744,044 |
|
| $5 million | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | March 25, 2016 | $17,861,950 | $59,689,605 | $30,943,036 | $90,632,641 |
| $18 million | ||
| Totals | $ | $ | $ | $23 million | [19] | ||||
| Film | Critical | Public | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | ||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | [20] | 62/100 (29 reviews)[21] | A– | |
| My Big Fat Greek Life | [22] | 40/100 (13 reviews)[23] | ||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | [24] | 37/100 (32 reviews)[25] | A−[26] | |
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 | 30% (76 reviews)[27] | 34/100 (23 reviews)[28] | B | |