My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is a 2023 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. The third installment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise, the film stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. It is the first entry not to star Michael Constantine (who died in 2021) and Bess Meisler. Filming took place in Athens, Greece, from June through August 2022.[4][5]

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNia Vardalos
Written byNia Vardalos
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBarry Peterson
Edited by
  • Annette Davey
  • Craig Herring
Music byStephanie Economou
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$38.4 million[2][3]

The film was released in the United States on September 8, 2023, by Focus Features. It received generally negative reviews from critics and has grossed $38 million worldwide.

Plot

Roughly a year after the events of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the family is still mourning following both Gus' and Ian's father Rodney's deaths. Meanwhile, Maria is being cared for by Athena and her husband Yianni due to dementia. A separated Nick is living back home and again behaving immaturely. Toula Portokalos-Miller is still very happily married to Ian, a recently retired teacher. Their daughter Paris is struggling in college.

The mayor of Vrisi (Gus' former village) has invited Toula, Ian, Paris, Nick, Aunt Voula, and Aunt Freida there for a supposed reunion. Aunt Voula secretly hires Aristotle, a Greek-American Paris knew in college, as her assistant, surprising everyone. Toula takes Gus's journal containing his life story to give to his three childhood friends in Greece as promised.

Upon arriving, the family meets distant relative Victory, the non-binary mayor who'd invited them. They drive by Athens' beautiful sights then have a ceremonial swim as they have made it to the homeland.

Finally arriving in the nearly abandoned Vrisi, they eventually find Gus' childhood home. Although unsure, they decide to make the best of the situation by living as Gus did. The next day, they meet Alexandra, Gus' old flame. Victory admits there is no reunion, and hopes enough will come to rejuvenate the village, but the Portokaloses are the first. Victory is only the mayor because the other five people left in Vrisi didn't want the job.

The next day, in a nearby town, Toula looks for Gus' friends, but no one there knows them. She's given several shots of ouzo, getting her very drunk, though she remembers a man watching her. Paris attempts to brush off Aristotle and is hiding a secret. Nick, after pranking Ian with a cold shower, searches for the oldest tree in the village. Meanwhile, Ian befriends a monk who has info on everyone's comings and goings from the village.

That night, at dinner, they meet Peter, the man Toula saw watching her. He is Alexandra's illegitimate son with Gus who she never told him about, Toula and Nick's half-brother. They also meet Christos, Peter's son, and Qamar, Alexandra's assistant originally from Syria. After dinner, Christos and Qamar take Aristotle and Paris to a club, where they reveal they are in a relationship and intend to marry.

The next day, Toula tells Maria, Athena and Yianni about Peter, but has no luck finding Gus' friends. However, Ian tells her the monk gave him a list of the people who left the village, revealing that one moved to Syros. As Cousin Nikki was recently on vacation there, Toula tells her. Nikki and her brother Angelo travel to Syros, and track him down. He leads them to the other two, and they travel to Vrisi.

Meanwhile, Toula finds out Nick brought their father's ashes to Greece, as it was Gus' wish they be spread around the oldest tree in Vrisi. That night, the family discovers Christos and Qamar are engaged and that Paris is on academic probation in college. Peter and Alexandra disapprove, while Ian offers to intercede for Paris, but the younger generation refuse, wanting to handle their own problems.

The next day, Peter accepts Christos and Qamar's relationship, while Alexandra takes more convincing, but eventually does too. Victory, realizing a wedding will be a great way to bring people to the village, plans theirs. Toula attempts to help, but her family tells her to relax. So instead, she and Ian enjoy their vacation while the others set up for another wedding, though they do help at the end. Alexandra tells Nick which tree in Vrisi is the oldest.

Qamar's family arrive in time for her and Christos' wedding in a great celebration. Paris admits to Aristotle she broke up with him due to her struggles to be independent, and they agree to start again slowly, to Aunt Voula's pleasure. Nikki and Angelo arrive with Gus' friends, and Toula gives them his journal. Later, Toula, Nick and Peter privately spread Gus' ashes around the tree.

Alexandra finally commends Victory's work as mayor. Meanwhile, Toula and Nick argue about who will become head of the family now, each saying it should be the other due to their actions on the trip.

On the way to the airport, Toula believes Gus knew they needed to return to the homeland. They bring Peter to welcome him into the family. At the airport, Ian gets Nick to act crazy in public. When the rest of the family arrives to pick them up, Nick offers Toula to host the next family dinner, and she responds with "wear your eating pants", an Alexandra expression.

Cast

Production

Development

In late June 2016, Nia Vardalos hinted at the possibility of a third film, saying that she had an idea for the plot, although no writing had been done.[6] In April 2021, it was reported that My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was in development as an independent film, written by Vardalos, who will also reprise her role as co-star.[7] As an independent film, the studio could not get insurance to begin filming amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.[8] In October 2021, Vardalos confirmed that the script for the third film had been completed and that it would involve another Greek wedding.[9] In June 2022, it was reported that Vardalos will serve as director on the third film.[10]

Filming

Principal photography commenced in Athens, Greece, on June 22, 2022.[4] Large portions of the film were shot on Corfu from July 5 to August 3, 2022.[11] On August 10, 2022, filming officially wrapped.[5]

Release

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released by Focus Features in the United States on September 8, 2023.[12] It was released on digital platforms on September 26, 2023, three weeks after its theatrical release.

Reception

Box office

As of October 25, 2023, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 has grossed $28.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $38.4 million.[3][2]

In the United States and Canada, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 made $3.7 million on its first day, including $550,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $10 million from 3,650 theaters, finishing third at the box office behind fellow newcomer The Nun II and holdover The Equalizer 3.[13] In its second weekend the film made $4.7 million (a drop of 53%), finishing in fourth.[14]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 29% of 94 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Amiable and sunny if often unamusing, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 repeats much of what audiences loved the first time around but suffers from diminishing returns."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[16] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 73% overall positive score, with 55% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[13]

References
  1. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  2. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023) — Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  3. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  4. Burton, Carson (June 22, 2022). "Nia Vardalos Announces 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' Is Filming Now in Greece". Variety. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  5. Echebiri, Makuochi (August 10, 2022). "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' Wraps Filming in Greece". Collider. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  6. Nia Vardalos Hints At My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. ITV. June 29, 2016. At time 5:36 – via YouTube.
  7. Guerrero, Bethany (April 8, 2021). "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Is Officially In The Works". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  8. Stone, Megan (April 8, 2021). "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' in the works, Nia Vardalos confirms". Good Morning America. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  9. Cordero, Rosy (October 1, 2021). "Nia Vardalos Tributes Michael Constantine; Shares Update On 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  10. Mendelsohn, Jon (June 22, 2022). "Let the Fun Begin! 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' Begins Filming in Greece". Collider. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  11. Bureau, Athens (May 15, 2022). "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: Nia Vardalos prepares for filming in Corfu". Greek City Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  12. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2023). "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' To Hit Theaters In Early Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 10, 2023). "'The Nun 2′ Answering Exhibitors' Prayers During Strikes With $32M+ Opening – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  14. "Spooky Times: 'A Haunting In Venice' Leading Second-Worst Box Office Weekend Year-To-Date". Deadline. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  15. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  16. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
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