Back in 2002, an independent romantic comedy shot on a $5 million budget in Toronto by the name of My Big Fat Wedding released to massive fanfare that made it a smash sleeper hit, grossing an astonishing $368.7 million USD at the worldwide box office, making it one of the most profitable films of all time, and the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time. For context, when adjusted for inflation in 2023, its gross comes to $613.2 million on a budget of $8.3 million. That is an absurd number with an equally absurd profit margin, and even modern-day rom-coms would struggle to draw its unadjusted returns alone, with one of the most recent major successes in the genre, 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, drawing $238.5 million at the worldwide box office.
One Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a middling (at best) sequel and a short-lived TV show later, and a third instalment is currently on the way, with filming having wrapped in Greece last August, and while a release date has yet to be announced, we can likely expect the threequel to be out sometime this year. In anticipation of it release, here is what we know about the upcoming romantic comedy.
As stated above, the film will be set in Greece this time around, and as the title suggests, will involve another wedding that is sure to come with some serious hijinks from the Portokalos family…and likely some Windex too. Manitoban Nia Vardalos has served as the lead star and writer of the franchise from the outset, and is not only returning in her usual roles but will also be the director this time around, the first time since her directorial debut, I Hate Valentine’s Day, which sadly was a critical and commercial flop. Regardless, no one knows this franchise and its quirky cast of characters better than Vardalos, and given that much of the original cast will once again return – barring Michael Constantine, who plays Toula’s father, as he passed away in 2021 – this could truly be a return to form for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Information is surprisingly sparse as of writing here, but given that shooting wrapped last August, the film is, in all likelihood, at the final stages of its postproduction, with this journalist predicting it could see a trailer in spring and a wide release sometime during the summer, which is likely given the Greek summer setting of this third instalment.
Considering the brand recognition that exists to this very day, those involved would be wise to hit the ground running with its marketing to drum up hype for another sequel to one of romantic comedy’s critical and commercial juggernauts.