Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
(Top): Logo as seen on one of the live-action films' trailers (Bottom): Logo for the animated film
Based on	Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Production companies	Live-action films: 20th Century Fox Fox 2000 Pictures Color Force TSG Entertainment Animated films: 20th Century Animation Bardel Entertainment Walt Disney Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox (2010–2017) Disney+ (2021–present)
Release dates	2010–2017 (live-action films) 2021–present (animated films)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of family comedy films based on the book series of the same name by Jeff Kinney. It consists of four live action films and three animated films.

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter(s)	Producer(s)
Live-action (20th Century Fox) films
Diary of a Wimpy Kid	March 19, 2010 (2010-03-19)	Thor Freudenthal	Jeff Filgo, Jeff Judah, Gabe Sachs & Jackie Filgo	Brad Simpson & Nina Jacobson
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules	March 25, 2011 (2011-03-25)	David Bowers	Jeff Judah & Gabe Sachs
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	August 3, 2012 (2012-08-03)		Maya Forbes & Wallace Wolodarsky
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	May 19, 2017 (2017-05-19)		Jeff Kinney & David Bowers
Animated (Walt Disney Pictures) films
Diary of a Wimpy Kid	December 3, 2021 (2021-12-03)	Swinton Scott	Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules	December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)	Luke Cormican
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever	December 8, 2023 (2023-12-08)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw	December 5, 2025 (2025-12-05)	Matt Danner

Live-action films

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010 film)

Principal production began on August 12, 2009, and was completed on October 16, 2009. The film was directed by Thor Freudenthal and starred Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley, Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman, Grayson Russell as Fregley, Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, and Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta. It was the only film in the series to be directed by Freudenthal. The musical score was composed by Theodore Shapiro. It received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on March 19, 2010, ^[1] as it moved up from a previously scheduled April 2 release date. ^[2]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011 film)

Based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, with elements from The Last Straw. Principal photography began on August 23, 2010, and was completed on October 27, 2010, with filming taking place in Vancouver and New Westminster. The film was directed by David Bowers, with Zachary Gordon reprising his role as Greg Heffley. New main characters include Holly Hills (Peyton List), Grandpa (Terence Kelly), and Bill Walter (Fran Kranz). Edward Shearmur composes the original score for the film. It also received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on March 25, 2011.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (film)

Based on the third book The Last Straw and the fourth book Dog Days, the film was directed by David Bowers and features the same familiar cast of characters, introducing a few new ones, and also focusing on lesser characters not elaborated on in previous films, including Frank Heffley (Steve Zahn), Mr. Jefferson (Alf Humphreys) and Holly Hills (Peyton List). The film is the last one to feature the original cast, as they had outgrown their roles after filming wrapped. It also received mixed reviews from critics. It was released on August 3, 2012.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (film)

Featuring an entirely new cast, the plot follows Greg and his brother, Rodrick, unwillingly being taken on a family road trip to their great-grandmother's house for her 90th birthday party. Greg sees this as an opportunity to meet his Internet idol, Mac Digby, and get people to forget about him being dubbed as a meme known as "Diaper Hands". The film was panned by critics and audiences, with most of the criticism aimed at the casting change. It was released on May 19, 2017.

Animated reboot films

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021 film)

In August 2018, 20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider announced that a fully animated television series based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid was in development. ^[3] On August 6, 2019, after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the project was confirmed to be still in development for their streaming service, Disney+. ^[4]

In December 2020, the project was confirmed to have been redeveloped as an animated film. ^[5] On September 2, 2021, Disney officially confirmed that the new movie would be simply titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and would be released on December 3, 2021. ^[6] The movie is a re-adaptation of the first book and the characters appear similar in design to their appearances in the book series. ^[7] The first trailer was officially released in October 2021. ^[8] Unlike the previous films, which were produced by 20th Century Fox, this film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, although it was originally in production at 20th Century Animation.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022 film)

On October 23, 2021, ahead of the first film's release, Jeff Kinney revealed that sequels are already in development. ^{[9] [10]} For Disney+ Day, Kinney revealed that the sequel, based on Rodrick Rules , was released on December 2, 2022. Unlike the first animated film, a copyright notice at the end of the trailer indicates that 20th Century Studios has involvement in the film. ^{[11] [12]}

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023)

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever

On September 8, 2023, it was announced that a film based on the sixth book, Cabin Fever, released on December 8, 2023. ^[13]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2025)

At D23 on August 30, 2025 it was announced that a film adapting the third book, The Last Straw , was scheduled for release on December 5, 2025. Like Cabin Fever, it will be Christmas themed. ^[14]

Future

Jeff Kinney stated that he intends to adapt all books into animated features for Disney+. ^[15]

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown short film

An animated short film set after the events of the third film, titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown, was included on the home media release of Dog Days in 2012. The short is told through Greg's point-of-view as he explains his humorous experience and why he deserves the title of Class Clown. Zachary Gordon reprises his role as Greg Heffley along with other cast members voicing their characters from the films in minor roles.

Canceled TV special

In 2012, Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever as the next installment. In an interview for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck , Kinney stated he was working with FOX on a half-hour special based on Cabin Fever, which was scheduled to air in late-2014. ^{[16] [17]} The special was meant to be an animated production developed at 20th Century Fox Animation, and had begun development while Kinney worked on the live-action films. Nothing regarding the special ever materialized.^{[ citation needed ]} A separate adaptation was eventually released in 2023 as Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever .

Recurring cast and characters

See also: List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters

List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

• An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•  ^E indicates an appearance not included in the theatrical cut.
•  ^O indicates an older version of the character.
•  ^U indicates an uncredited appearance.
•  ^V indicates a voice-only role.
•  ^Y indicates a younger version of the character.

•  ^S indicates an appearance as a character's singing voice.

Character	Live-action films				Short film	Animated films
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown	Diary of a Wimpy Kid	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever
Primary cast
Gregory "Greg" Heffley	Zachary Gordon Nathaniel Marten O Dylan Bell Y L.J. Benet U S	Zachary Gordon		Jason Drucker	Zachary Gordon V	Brady Noon V		Wesley Kimmel V
Rowley Jefferson	Robert Capron			Owen Asztalos	Robert Capron V	Ethan William Childress V		Spencer Howell V
Rodrick Heffley	Devon Bostick	Devon Bostick Conner Ingram Y	Devon Bostick	Charlie Wright	Devon Bostick V	Hunter Dillon V
Susan Heffley	Rachael Harris			Alicia Silverstone	Appeared	Erica Cerra V
Frank Heffley	Steve Zahn			Tom Everett Scott	Steve Zahn V	Chris Diamantopoulos V
Manny Heffley	Connor and Owen Fielding			Wyatt and Dylan Walters	Appeared	Gracen Newton V
Sweetie			Oliver
Supporting cast
Chirag Gupta	Karan Brar					Veda Maharaj V	Silent cameo
Fregley	Grayson Russell					Christian Convery V		Christian Convery U V
Patty Farrell	Laine MacNeil Madison Bell Y	Laine MacNeil
Coach [a]	Andrew McNee					Billy Lopez V
Mr. Jefferson	Alfred E. Humphreys				Alfred E. Humphreys V	Appeared		Randy Pearlstein V
Mrs. Norton	Belita Moreno
Bryce Anderson	Owen Best
Shelly	Samantha Page
Marley	Ava Hughes
Archie Kelly	Jake D. Smith
Pete Hosey	Nicholas Carey					Zeno Robinson V	Silent cameo
Carter [b]	Samuel Patrick Chu					Cyrus Arnold V
Wade [c]	Donnie MacNeil					Braxton Baker V
Principal [d]	Raugi Yu					Donny Lucas V
Mrs. Jefferson	Kaye Capron		Bronwen Smith			Photograph		Silent role
Preston Mudd	Rylee Stiles				Photograph
Mrs. Fregley	Gabrielle Rose E					Brenda Crichlow V
Bill Walter	Appears in end credits	Fran Kranz					Jimmy Tatro V
Holly Hills		Peyton List
Grandpa Heffley		Terence Kelly		Photograph			Ed Asner V	Photograph
Mr. Draybick		John Shaw
Ben Segal		Bryce Hodgson
Chris		Christopher Thorgard-De Schuster
Taylor Pringle		Dalila Bela
Mr. Hills		Jeff Kinney
Hulking Teen	Uncredited voice actor					John Omohundro V	Silent cameo

Crew

Role	Film
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023)
Composer	Theodore Shapiro	Edward Shearmur			John Paesano
Cinematographer	Jack N. Green		Anthony B. Richmond		—
Editor	Wendy Greene Bricmont	Troy Takaki			Sylvain Blais	Sylvain Blais Rob Levesque Matthew Sipple	Adam Pateman
Production companies	Fox 2000 Pictures Dune Entertainment Color Force			Fox 2000 Pictures TSG Entertainment Color Force	Walt Disney Pictures N Bardel Entertainment
Distributor	20th Century Fox				Disney+

Reception

Box office performance

Each film is linked to the "Box office" section of its article.

Film	Budget	Box office gross			All-time ranking		Ref.
		U.S. and Canada	Other territories	Worldwide	U.S. and Canada	Worldwide
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)	$15 million	$64,003,625	$12,192,913	$76,196,538	1,341	2,127	[18] [19]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules	$18–21 million	$52,698,535	$19,828,461	$72,526,996	1,685	2,189	[20] [21]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	$22 million	$49,008,662	$28,221,033	$77,229,695	1,826	2,695	[22] [23]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	$22 million	$20,738,724	$19,402,248	$40,140,972	3,634	3,800	[24] [25]
Total	$77-80 million	$186,449,546	$79,644,655	$266,094,201	211	273	[26]

Critical and public response

Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.

Critical and public response of Diary of a Wimpy Kid films

Film	Critical		Public
	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)	54% (106 reviews) [27]	56 (27 reviews) [28]	A− [29]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)	47% (99 reviews) [30]	51 (23 reviews) [31]	A− [29]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	53% (74 reviews) [32]	54 (22 reviews) [33]	A− [29]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul	18% (72 reviews) [34]	39 (16 reviews) [35]	B [29]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)	75% (16 reviews) [36]	50 (4 reviews) [37]	—
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)	56% (9 reviews) [38]	50 (4 reviews) [39]	—
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023)	75% (8 reviews) [40]	—	—

Notes

1. In the live-action films, the coach who manages Westmore Middle Schools Gym activities and saves Greg and Rowley from Pete Hosey's gang is known as Coach Malone. In the animated film, he is known as Mr. Underwood, his name in the books.
2. Known as Teen Driver in the animated film.
3. Known as Teen with Mullet in the animated film.
4. Known as Vice Principal Roy in the first live-action film as in the original books and Mr. Humphreys in the animated film.

References

1. ""Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on". Comingsoon.net. March 19, 2010. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
2. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – On Double DVD and Blu-ray Now". Wimpy Kid. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
3. Paz, Maggie Dela (August 10, 2018). "Fox Developing Wimpy Kid, Ice Age, and Night at the Museum TV Shows". ComingSoon.net . Retrieved August 11, 2018.
4. "Disney Plans To Reboot Home Alone, Night at the Museum and Diary of a Wimpy Kid". GeekTyrant. August 6, 2019.
5. Polo, Susana (December 10, 2020). "A Diary of a Wimpy Kid animated movie is coming to Disney Plus". Polygon. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
6. @Disney (September 2, 2021). "New school. Old cheese. 🧀 The all-new animated adventure Diary of a #WimpyKid is streaming December 3 on…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' animated film coming to Disney+ in December". UPI.
8. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Official Trailer | Disney+" – via www.youtube.com.
9. Kozelsky, Holly (October 23, 2021). "Local boys interview "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" author Jeff Kinney". Martinsville Bulletin. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
10. Palmer, Roger (October 26, 2021). "More Animated "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" Movies Coming To Disney+". What's On Disney Plus. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
11. @disneyplus (November 12, 2021). "Our very own @WimpyKid, Jeff Kinney, has a special #DisneyPlusDay message for you" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | Official Trailer | Disney+ , retrieved October 18, 2022
13. "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever' Sets Release Date on Disney+". September 8, 2023.
14. Coman, Monica (August 30, 2025). "Disney Officially Confirms New Original Animated Film Hexed". CBR. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
15. Murphy, Charles (December 3, 2021). "Exclusive: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Author Hopes to Adapt the Entire Series into Disney + Films". Murphy's Multiverse. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
16. "Hard Luck and Big Dreams: SLJ Chats with "Wimpy Kid" Creator Jeff Kinney". School Library Journal . Retrieved November 11, 2013.
17. Minzesheimer, Bob (August 8, 2013). "Narrator hits 'Hard Luck' in eighth Wimpy Kid book". USA Today . Retrieved November 11, 2013.
18. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
19. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
20. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
21. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
22. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
23. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
24. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
25. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
26. "Franchises". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
27. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
28. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
29. Serrao, Nivea (May 21, 2017). "Box office report: Alien: Covenant edges out Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for No.1 spot". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022. The film also received a more tepid response (a B on CinemasScore) than previous films, which have mostly gone over well with families, having earned a consistent A- on CinemaScore for the first three movies.
30. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
31. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
32. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
33. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
34. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved May 29, 2022.
35. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
36. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved January 30, 2025.
37. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
38. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 2, 2023.
39. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
40. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved November 8, 2024.