Will 'Freakier Friday' Outperform the Cult Classic?

_{Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reprise their iconic roles in Freakier Friday, the long-awaited sequel to Disney’s 2003 cult classic comedy. (Image: BFA / Glen Wilson / Disney Enterprises)}

“Freaky Friday” was a true laugh-out-loud comedy that smashed it at the box office and rated well. And 22 years on, legacy sequel Freakier Friday is set to hit cinemas on Friday, August 8.

In the original, which was based on Mary Rodgers's 1972 novel, Jamie Lee Curtis portrayed single mother Tess Coleman, who regularly clashed with her teenage daughter Anna, who is played by Lindsay Lohan.

After receiving fortunes at a Chinese restaurant, the pair inadvertently switched bodies through the magic of fortune cookies, resulting in both learning important lessons about one another. Lightning looks set to strike twice in Freakier Friday and this time it's Anna who has a teenage daughter. 

The main asset for this sequel is that Curtis and Lohan are reprising their roles.

Former troubled star Lohan has been on the comeback trail in recent years, after some addiction and legal issues, and this movie could be the comeback film she has been waiting for.

Curtis has been smashing it in everything, as always, lately, including the Disney+ series The Bear, and Freakier Friday should be no different.

While fans seem pleased a sequel has finally emerged, some are still asking: Why on earth did it take 22 years? And everyone will be keen to see if it is worth the wait.

Tough Act To Follow

While there is plenty of fan buzz amid Freakier Friday ahead of its release, bosses will be hoping it can do well at the box office. 

The original “Freaky Friday” grossed $160.8 million worldwide from a production budget of just $26 million.

The movie remains Lohan's highest-grossing motion picture to date—yes, even defeating “Mean Girls,” which only raked in around half as much as “Freaky Friday” with $83 million worldwide.

According to recent projections from the website Box Office Theory, Freakier Friday looks set for a domestic box office haul of between $77 million and $131 million.

This may not be an improvement on the original movie, which grossed $110.2 million in North America and added just over $50 million in other territories to take it over the $160 million worldwide mark.

However, a nostalgia cult following could help push the numbers further. Speaking to The Wrap recently, Curtis said, "In a time of turmoil, you cling to something nostalgic and familiar. It's like comfort food."

"Freakier Friday" sounds like it will be a comforting watch, and that could boost cinema numbers. It's 11/8 favorite for Freakier Friday to gross between $150 million and $199 million worldwide.

However, if the domestic gross does end up at the lower end of the predicted scale, then “Freakier Friday” may have a job on its hands to make between $100 million and $149 million worldwide (6/4), but it's a 5/1 outsider to gross less than $100 million globally. 

Freakier Success

We know the long-awaited follow-up is going to be freakier than the original movie, but will it be as successful?  

At the time of writing, the critic reviews were yet to be revealed on the Tomatometer, but all the early signs are that the hotly anticipated motion picture will do well.

_{Tess and Anna Coleman hilariously clashed in Freaky Friday, the cult classic whose nostalgic pull may fill seats again. (Image: Pictorial Press Ltd)}

The nostalgia lure will no doubt put bums on seats but will the audience be recommending the movie to others after the end credits have rolled? 

The trailer suggests we are in for more of the same: a cozy, energetic, and kooky two-hour break from reality.

Freakier Friday is not pretending to be an equal among some of the blockbuster big-screen releases in 2025, and fans won't want it to try too hard and fail.

As a result, it would be a surprise if Freakier Friday didn't hit between 75 and 100 percent on the Tomatometer.

It is 10/11 to be in that bracket and 2/1 to drop to between 50 and 74 percent.

We have seen many a sequel flop in the past, but Disney has had 22 years to get this right, and they shouldn't be concerned about scoring less than 25 percent, which is a 10/1 outsider, from the critics.

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Oscar Would Be Freak Result

Despite the comforting buzz surrounding "Freakier Friday," it may not trouble some of the big hitters during next year's awards season. 

_{Lohan and Curtis pulled off their body-swap comedy with charm and chaos in 2003. (Image: Photo 12 / Alamy)}

First time round, Curtis received a Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination at the Golden Globes for her performance in the original, but she lost out to Something's Gotta Give actress Diane Keaton.

And at the 2004 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" defeated “Freaky Friday” for the Best Family Film gong.

Despite this, the movie did take home some silverware in 2004.

Lohan won Best Breakthrough Performance - Female at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and she picked up two prizes, Choice Breakout Movie Actress and Choice Hissy Fit, at the Teen Choice Awards, where “Freaky Friday” was nominated in the Choice Movie - Comedy category.

Despite the accolades and near misses, “Freaky Friday” didn't receive a nod at the Academy Awards.

While Oscar-winner Curtis is still as great as she's ever been, and Lohan has continued to impress of late, a “Freakier Friday” Academy Award could be a step too far. It's just 1/4 for the movie to be snubbed at the Oscars, but the feel-good motion picture is a 4/1 shot to land one of the statuettes.

Perhaps it could body swap with Bugonia or one of the other early favorites?

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