It’s been more than two decades since Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan first swapped bodies—and lives—in the beloved 2003 comedy Freaky Friday. Now, in 2025, audiences are being treated to a sequel, Freakier Friday, which brings back the original stars and throws in a new generation of chaos, comedy, and heartfelt moments. The film, directed by Nisha Ganatra, has not only reignited nostalgia among fans but is also making waves at the box office, with the potential to surpass the original’s global earnings.
When the first trailers for Freakier Friday dropped, some fans worried that the film would lean too heavily on nostalgia without offering anything new. But, as Jackson Toyon wrote in his review for Crescenta Valley Weekly, the sequel “ended up defying my expectations.” Instead of simply repeating the formula, the film ups the ante with a four-way body swap involving not just Tess and Anna (Curtis and Lohan), but also Anna’s teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters) and her soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily Reyes (Sophia Hammons).
The story picks up years after Tess and Anna’s life-altering switch. Anna, now an adult, has a daughter of her own and is about to merge families with her fiancé Eric (Manny Jacinto), who brings his British immigrant daughter Lily into the mix. Harper and Lily, classmates who immediately disliked each other, find themselves forced together as their parents plan to move the new family to London. The situation comes to a head after a palm reading at Anna’s bachelorette party by a supposed psychic (Vanessa Bayer), which triggers the body swap—this time, not just between mother and daughter, but across both generations and families.
This expanded premise brings plenty of comedic opportunities, but also presents new challenges. As Toyon notes, “The largest issue I have with this film is that it lacks the rich world from the first film. When the situation was a mother-daughter relationship, there was little need for exposition because you visually understood the conflict right off the bat, freeing up time to focus on the story and other elements. With a complex four-way body swap, there’s not much room for the charming, tinier relationships that made the original so full of life.” Gone are some of the smaller, quirky moments that gave the original its heart, such as Tess’s interactions with her anxious patient or Anna’s quiet routines at school.
Still, the film retains the essential pillars of the franchise: comedy and sweetness. Jamie Lee Curtis, as expected, delivers most of the laughs, while Lindsay Lohan slips comfortably back into the role of Anna. The new cast members, including Butters and Hammons, bring their own likable chemistry, making the expanded family dynamics believable and engaging. The emotional beats may not reach the heights of the 2003 predecessor, but they “still land,” according to Toyon.
Fans of the original will be pleased to see that nearly every major character makes a return appearance, from Anna’s ex-boyfriend Jake (Chad Michael Murray) to her old teacher Mr. Bates (Stephen Tobolowsky). However, Toyon does point out that the visuals have a “not-so-great ‘Disney+ Original’ sheen,” which slightly detracts from the overall experience. Even so, the film’s story and energetic conflicts help recapture much of the lively spirit of the early 2000s.
On the business side, Freakier Friday is proving to be a box office contender. According to Koimoi, the film has earned $72.4 million domestically in North America after just 19 days in theaters, with an additional $42.9 million coming from international markets. That brings its worldwide total to $115.3 million as of August 28, 2025. For a comedy sequel, especially one released more than twenty years after its predecessor, these are impressive numbers.
But how does this compare to the original? Freaky Friday (2003) pulled in $110.2 million domestically and $160.8 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo figures cited by Koimoi. That means the sequel is less than $50 million away from surpassing the original’s global haul—a feat that seems well within reach, given its current momentum. The sequel would need about a 40% increase in earnings to claim the title of highest-grossing film in the franchise.
What’s driving this box office success? Part of it is certainly nostalgia—audiences who grew up with the original are now bringing their own children to see the new film. But there’s also the universal appeal of the story: the challenges of blending families, the misunderstandings between generations, and the comic chaos that ensues when people are forced to literally walk in each other’s shoes. These themes resonate just as much today as they did in 2003, even if the world has changed a bit since then.
While Freakier Friday may not have recaptured every bit of the original’s magic, it manages to stand on its own as a worthy addition to the franchise. As Toyon concludes, “It may not be as satisfying as the original 2003 film, but ‘Freakier Friday’ ends up delivering on the premise of the franchise just fine. The four-way swap and exposition needed for the new characters holds the film back from carrying all the delightful background quirks that ‘Freaky Friday’ had in spades, but it succeeds in being funny and sweet, which are the essential pillars that the franchise is built on. Wrapped in nostalgia as it is as legacy sequels go, this is one of the better ones to come out this year.”
For those who loved the original, Freakier Friday offers a fresh twist on a familiar story, with enough laughs and heart to make it worth a trip to the theater. Whether it will ultimately surpass its predecessor at the box office remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the body-swap comedy still has plenty of life left in it, and audiences are here for the ride.
