My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is a 2023 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. It is the third movie in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding series. The film features actors Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. This movie is the first in the series not to include actors Michael Constantine, Bruce Gray, Bess Meisler, and Ian Gomez, who are no longer part of the cast due to their deaths. Filming happened in Athens, Greece, from June to August 2022.
The film was released internationally by Universal Pictures on September 6, 2023, and in the United States and Canada by Focus Features on September 8, 2023. Critics gave the movie mostly negative reviews, and it made $38 million worldwide.
Plot
After the deaths of Gus Portokalos and Ian’s father, Rodney, a year ago, the Portokalos family is dealing with sadness. Nick, who is now separated from his wife, returns home and acts in a childish way. Athena and her husband, Yiannis, are taking care of Maria, who is struggling with memory loss. Toula and Ian, who are happily married, are raising their children but face challenges. Their daughter, Paris, is dealing with the pressures of college, though Toula and Ian are not aware of this.
Victory, a distant relative and the mayor of Gus’ hometown, Vrisi, invites the family for a reunion. During a flight to Greece, Aunt Voula introduces her assistant, Aristotle, who is also Paris’ college friend. Toula brings Gus’ journal, which contains his life story, to give to his childhood friends in Greece as promised.
The family arrives in Athens, where Victory greets them, and they visit sights. In the nearly empty village of Vrisi, they find Gus’ childhood home and meet Alexandra, Gus’ former love interest. Victory explains that there is no reunion, but hopes the family will help revive the village. The next day, the family visits a nearby town. Toula searches for Gus’ friends without success and drinks ouzo. Nick looks for the village’s oldest tree, and Ian befriends a monk who knows about the family’s activities. Meanwhile, Aristotle tries to talk to Paris, but she refuses to explain why.
At dinner, Toula and Ian meet Peter, Alexandra’s son with Gus, and his son, Christos, as well as Alexandra’s assistant, Qamar. Later, Christos and Qamar take Aristotle and Paris to a club, where they reveal they are secretly engaged. The next day, Toula tells her family about Peter but cannot find Gus’ friends. The monk gives Ian a list of people who left the village, pointing to someone who moved to Syros. Toula shares this with Nikki and Angelo, who travel to Syros and return with them.
Toula later learns that Nick brought Gus’ ashes to Greece, as Gus wished for them to be scattered by the village’s oldest tree. That evening, the family learns about Christos and Qamar’s engagement and finds out Paris is on academic probation. Peter and Alexandra disapprove of Paris’ situation, but Ian offers help. The younger family members refuse outside help, choosing to handle their problems on their own.
The next day, Peter accepts Christos and Qamar’s relationship, and Alexandra agrees. Victory sees a chance to revitalize the village through a wedding and starts planning. Toula and Ian are encouraged to relax and enjoy their vacation while the rest of the family helps organize the wedding, with their help in the final stages.
At the wedding, Qamar’s family joins the celebration. Paris shares that she ended her relationship with Aristotle because she struggled with independence, and they agree to take things slowly, which pleases Aunt Voula. Nikki and Angelo arrive with Gus’ friends, and Toula gives them his journal.
Later, Toula, Nick, and Peter scatter Gus’ ashes around the tree. Victory’s leadership is praised. Toula and Nick decide to bring Peter to America, now part of the family. As the siblings travel home, they playfully argue about who should lead the family, each mentioning their actions during the trip.
Production
In late June 2016, Nia Vardalos said there might be a third film, explaining she had an idea for the story, but no one had written it yet. In April 2021, news reports said that My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was being planned as an independent film. Vardalos wrote the script and will play the same character again. Because the film was independent, the studio could not get insurance to start filming during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. In October 2021, Vardalos confirmed the script for the third film was finished and that the story would include another Greek wedding. In June 2022, news reports said Vardalos would direct the third film.
Main filming for the movie began in Athens, Greece, on June 22, 2022. Much of the film was shot on the island of Corfu from July 5 to August 3, 2022. Filming officially ended on August 10, 2022.
Release
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in the United States by Focus Features on September 8, 2023. In February 2023, a first look image of the film, showing the Portakalos family in Greece, was shared at the same time as the film's release date announcement. On May 11, 2023, the film's official trailer was released. Promotional activities included items with the movie's logo, social media campaigns that asked fans to share family stories, and a video that summarizes the first two films. Focus Features also held "Greek Week" fan events in September 2023, which included special screenings of the film, Q&A sessions with the cast, and cultural activities at theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film became available on digital platforms on September 26, 2023, three weeks after its theatrical release. It was later released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 31, 2023.
Reception
As of October 31, 2023, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 has earned $28.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $10.3 million in other countries, totaling $38.8 million worldwide.
In the United States and Canada, the film earned $3.7 million on its first day, including $550,000 from previews shown on Thursday nights. It opened in 3,650 theaters, earning $10 million in its first weekend. It ranked third at the box office, behind The Nun II and The Equalizer 3. In its second weekend, the film earned $4.7 million, a decrease of 53%, and finished in fourth place.
On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 29% of 94 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average score of 4.4 out of 10. The website’s summary states: “Friendly and cheerful but often not funny, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 repeats elements from the first film but lacks new ideas.” Metacritic, which calculates scores based on weighted averages, gave the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating mostly negative reviews. Audiences who saw the film rated it an average of “B” on a scale from A+ to F, while 73% of those surveyed on PostTrak said they liked the film, and 55% said they would recommend it.
Critics praised the film’s portrayal of family relationships and the cast’s teamwork, as well as the realistic depiction of Greek-American traditions during the Portokalos family’s trip to Greece. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com noted that the film’s focus on family loyalty, where characters stay kind through blood, marriage, or friendship, creates a comforting and familiar feel. Jesse Hessenger of The Guardian highlighted the film’s humor about immigrant families and its emotional exploration of aging and loss, such as how family roles change over time. Nia Vardalos’s performance as Toula Portakalos was often praised for being sincere, and Arezou Amin of Collider commended her direction for showing real cultural traditions in scenes of family reunions and reconciliation.
Many critics criticized the film’s predictable story and lack of originality. Matt Zoller Seitz wrote that the plot creates “non-conflicts” that are easily resolved without meaningful challenges or character growth, making the story feel repetitive. Jesse Hessenger agreed, pointing out that the film’s story is limited to “family getting older” and that the editing missed comedic timing, making the film feel like a “long and repetitive journey.” The way the film handles deceased characters, especially Gus Portakalos, the family’s patriarch, was criticized for being too simple. Seitz noted that the film avoids discussing the emotional impact of loss and instead uses absence as a plot device. Jen Chaney of Vulture called the film’s structure a “mess,” saying new ideas were underdeveloped and jokes were overused, though she praised Andrea Martin’s performance as Aunt Voula for providing genuine humor through her dry delivery.