Filming for Freakier Friday took place from June to August 2024. It premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025, and was released theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on August 8. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $153.1 million worldwide.
Plot
Twenty-two years after the body swapping incident, a now adult Anna Coleman works as a music producer and is a single parent by choice, raising her teenage daughter Harper with the occasional help of her mother Tess. At school, Harper is constantly annoyed by her new classmate, British immigrant Lily Reyes, due to her snobbish personality.
When Harper and Lily cause an incident in chemistry class, Anna is called to the principal's office, meets Lily's father Eric, and they fall in love. Six months later, they are engaged, and the soon-to-be stepsisters are dissatisfied with their predicament. Harper also worries that her mother will consider moving them to London as Lily wants to return there to attend a fashion academy in honor of her late mother. During Anna's bachelorette party, Anna and Tess and later Harper and Lily have separate palm readings from the supposed psychic Madame Jen, who tells Harper and Lily a fortune about their fractured lives. An earthquake then occurs, which only the four feel. The next morning, they discover that they switched bodies; Anna with Harper, and Tess with Lily.
The experienced Anna and Tess advise Harper and Lily to pretend to be each other rather than telling anyone about the switch until they can change back. Realizing their new identities could help them break their parents apart, Harper and Lily lie about Madame Jen giving them a reading to delay the reverse. Anna and Tess go to school and spend time in detention for a food fight Harper and Lily caused at a bake sale, while Harper and Lily enjoy the advantages of being adults and come up with a sabotage plan to cancel the wedding. At a photoshoot of Anna's client Ella, Harper and Lily help the young singer overcome her recent breakup. They learn about Anna's abandoned rock star dreams and find a love song, which they assume Anna wrote about her high school ex-boyfriend Jake Austin. They seek Jake, and Harper embarrasses herself when unsuccessfully trying to seduce him in Anna's body to disrupt the relationship with Eric.
After escaping detention, Anna and Tess find Madame Jen, who reveals Harper and Lily's fortune but warns them that all the four of them need to "change their hearts" in order to change back. Meanwhile, Harper, as Anna, goes to an immigration interview with Eric, and finds out how much he knows about and loves her mother. Eric also says that he thinks it would be the best for their families to stay in Los Angeles, causing Harper to have second thoughts about their sabotage plan. Lily, however, remains determined. She invites Jake to the rehearsal dinner and makes a scene by criticizing the Colemans, leading to a heated public argument. Eric decides he cannot continue this way, and calls off the wedding.
Following a heartfelt conversation with Tess about her homesickness and the loss of her mother, Lily starts to realize the error of her ways. As Tess, she tries to convince her father not to give up on Anna. At the same time, Anna, followed by Harper, is called to Ella's concert, learning that Ella invited her old band, the Pink Slip, so they could perform together again. Although happy for the reunion, Anna tells Harper she never regretted abandoning her musical aspirations because Harper is the best decision she ever made, and the love song was actually written about her. Mother and daughter reconnect as they play the song together on stage. Tess and Lily arrive in time to see it, with Lily happily stating she wants to be a part of this family. Having a change of heart, they all return to their original bodies. Eric arrives to the concert, and he and Anna rekindle their relationship.
The wedding is held the next day. Some time later, the family attends the launch event of Tess's latest book. Tess is shocked to learn that Lily, while she was in Tess's body, took an unflattering picture of her for the book's cover after applying lip plumper.
Curtis insisted that the movie be filmed in Los Angeles and they considered it a "love letter" to the city, particularly in light of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires after many of the filming locations were destroyed.[16][17] The family house used for both the sequel and the 2003 film burned down, and the production team was able to provide the homeowner with their location-scout photos for insurance claim and FEMA aid.[18] Ganatra talked about getting permission to shoot in the city and being able to showcase certain parts of it she found that hadn't been previously captured on film: "[LA] has so much diversity, both in the people and places. [...] It was incredible to explore the city, but it then became a sad reality, as much of what we captured has disappeared due to the fires," and spoke of its importance in the film, "LA is her own character, and there are so many versions of LA, but I think for this movie, the right version was all of her. It was about showcasing the beauty, nature, from Downtown to the beaches."[19] The scene featuring Curtis and Lohan driving a Chevrolet Camaro is a direct homage and recreation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Furthermore, Ganatra was inspired by her love for Lucille Ball and physical comedy.[20]Ferris Bueller's Day Off along with "a lot of the films from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s" also influenced the lensing used, with Ganatra detailing: "We even went with the 1.85:1 aspect ratio because I wanted it to feel like the classic studio films that we grew up with. There's a little more grain in the lenses, so you feel like it's new and nostalgic all at the same time."[19]
The film's official title was announced by Curtis and Lohan at the 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on August 9.[21] In January 2025, it was revealed that Vanessa Bayer joined the cast.[22] Following the release of the teaser trailer, it was disclosed Elaine Hendrix, who had previously starred in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap alongside Lohan, would also be appearing in the film.[23][24] Eleanor Infante edited the film.[25] Disney initially planned to produce the film for a direct-to-streaming release, but Curtis and Lohan pushed for a theatrical rollout, with Curtis revealing she pointed to the strong audience reception of Barbie (2023) to help persuade executives.[26][27][28] Ganatra addressed the need to update the 2003 film's Asian representation, which was viewed as "problematic," explaining, "There were some stereotypes that were hurtful." While Chao and Soong both returned for the sequel, they are not involved in the body swapping: "It was a different time and wasn't done intentionally [in the 2003 film], but it's a real thing. It's something I, being Asian, was super conscious of."[29] Ganatra said the scene featuring Lohan and Curtis on a beach was unscripted. She talked about directing the actresses, saying: "Comedies get a lot of flak for not being serious films, but the acting that those four actors are doing is really sophisticated. Then directing it is confusing, because it's eight different characters with the same four actors."[30] She noted that they coordinated rehearsals and worked with the costume and production designers to ensure each character's identity was clear, reflecting their individual style, while the actors helped each other capture one another's mannerisms.[31]
Freakier Friday marked Lohan's first Walt Disney feature since 2005's Herbie: Fully Loaded, following her debut with the studio in 1998 and multiple other projects in subsequent years.[32][33] The film includes several references to the 2003 film as well as Lohan's other movies.[34] American indie pop band Muna make a cameo appearance as part of the fictional artist Ella's band.[35] Producer Kristin Burr stated that the fictional band Pink Slip was always intended to be featured in the sequel due to its long-lasting impact and meaningful role in the 2003 film's story. However, there was debate over whether Lohan's character and Muna would be a part of the band, with the decision ultimately made to retain all of the original members. Two of the Pink Slip members, Hudson and Danny Rubin, decided to form their own real-life band after reconnecting for the sequel.[36]
In March 2025, it was announced that Amie Doherty would compose the film's score, after previously collaborating with Ganatra on The High Note (2020).[37] Doherty detailed, "I think 29 tracks on the soundtrack aren't score. There's everything on there from the Spice Girls to Chappell Roan, some really nostalgic pieces mixed with very modern pieces." She elaborated that the songs were meant to establish and reference the "older two characters and the younger two in this movie, so the score was there to help with the emotional beats, first and foremost." The score blends punk-rock influences, orchestral themes recorded with a live string ensemble in Los Angeles, and modern electronic elements to create a unified musical palette inspired partly by the fictional band Pink Slip from the 2003 film.[38] On July 11, 2025, a new version of the song "Take Me Away" by Pink Slip was released by Hollywood Records as a single for Freakier Friday. A previous version of the song appeared in Freaky Friday.[39] The full soundtrack was released by Hollywood Records on August 1, 2025. It features three different renditions of an original song performed by Lohan titled "Baby", and a cover of "Ultimate", which she had originally recorded for the 2003 film, by Canadian rock band The Beaches.[40][41]
Release
Theatrical
Freakier Friday had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025, and was released theatrically in the United States on August 8.[42][43] Internationally, the film was first released in selected territories on August 6, 2025. It was followed by Taiwan on August 21, and by Japan on September 5.[4]
As of October15,2025[update], Freakier Friday has grossed $94.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $59 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $153.1 million.[4][5]
In the United States and Canada, Freakier Friday was released to 3,975 theaters during its opening weekend.[46][47] It earned $3.1 million from Wednesday and Thursday preview screenings.[48][49][50] The film debuted to $28.6 million,[5] finishing second behind Weapons for two consecutive weekends.[51][52] It was reported that the film earned nearly $45 million in its opening weekend worldwide and had the biggest August debut ever for a PG-rated movie.[30] The film dropped to third place in its third weekend, grossing $8.8 million.[53]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 224 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Freakier Friday doesn't reinvent the original's story so much as it swaps the formula around for a frothy good time, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan easily slipping back into roles that fit them like mixed-and-matched gloves."[54]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[55] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, up from the 2003 film's "A-."[3]
Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A- and described it as "a heart-on-its-sleeve ode to strengthening and forging bonds, the power of deep and unconditional love, and the warmth and safety of one's chosen family, most especially when it's at its freakiest."[56]Time Out's Olly Richards gave the film three stars out of five and wrote, "There are almost endless holes you could pick in its logic and storytelling, but it gives you few reasons to want to. This Friday's freakier, but it's kind of… funner too."[57] Writing for IndieWire, Kate Erbland stated: "Leave it to Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan to crack the code as to what makes a good legacyquel, which they've done quite handily," calling it "charming and quite fun," crediting the "actual verve, obvious joy, and performances that are about three times better than they need to be," while positively comparing it to the 2003 film.[58]TheWrap's William Bibbiani similarly declared that it "is the best kind of legacy sequel. It harkens back to what made the original work without literally doing the same thing all over again," continuing that it "reunites a great cast and gives the new stars just as much time to shine," concluding that "it's still sweet, it's still funny, it's still freaky, and it's still Friday. Thank God."[59]
Kevin Maher of The Times wrote: "There is, to repeat, a lot going on here. But one of the delights of Jordan Weiss's hugely ambitious screenplay is that everything, somehow, makes loose sense," praising the performances of Curtis and Lohan who "excel at "being" teens together, complete with exaggerated mannerisms and cartoonish facial expressions."[60]Paste's Matt Goldberg also complimented the duo, saying, "Curtis and Lohan haven't missed a beat in their comic chemistry," adding, "Rather than an attempt at some lofty reinvention, Ganatra's take is more of a reunion tour where we bop our heads along to the familiar tunes," assessing that the film "understands why we keep coming back to this silly dynamic.[61]Owen Gleiberman of Variety commented that "none of these characters, after the swap, seem different enough from themselves to allow the comedy to detonate," but "the double swap lends Freakier Friday a juggling-balls-in-the-air quality that gives off a pleasant hum" and "it's fun to ride the film's complications," calling it "rather touching."[62]
Angie Martoccio reviewed the film for Rolling Stone, writing that, "against all odds, it's actually kind of great [...] Freakier Friday is a charming love letter to Lohan and her generation, and marks the actress' official comeback."[63]Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "won't trade places with the original in audience's hearts. But this disposable delight will at least allow fans who've grown up alongside Lohan to take their own offspring to the theater and bond about what the series means to them."[64] Alissa Wilkinson of the New York Times observed that, by the middle of the film, it struggles to maintain "the narrative tension to keep things interesting" and the swaps become confusing, pointing out that, "To its credit, the movie ends in a satisfying place that echoes its predecessor" and determining the film "works best if you're there for the memories."[65] Meanwhile, Stephanie Zacharek of Time said that the movie "appears to exist largely for one reason: to grift off the fondness many adults have for the original, even though the sequel has none of that picture's breezy, observant charm."[66]
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