It ’s unbelievable that myMy Big Fat Grecian hymeneals 2will defeatBatman v Supermanat the box seat office this weekend . But if the ability of Windex , feta , and family eventually exult over our favored dueling superheroes , I would n’t be surprised , because almost nothing aboutMy Big Fat Greek Weddinghas followed the stock Hollywood script .
Despite being made for a meagre $ 5 million with a largely unidentified cast and none of the traditional blockbuster earmark ( furiousness , limited core , caped crusaders ) , 2002’sMy bountiful Fat Greek Weddingwent on to earn $ 360 million domestically , pee-pee it – by some metrics – both the most successful fixed storage - com everandthe most successful self-governing movie of all time . In terms of return on investment , it is also one of the most profitable movies ever .
So why did n’t it leave a more lasting legacy ? Here ’s a flavor at what happened after Nia Vardalos ' little indie became a large fatty phenomenon .
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How in Aristotle’s name did it get so big?
AsFiveThirtyEightpoints out , My Big Fat Greek Weddingwent " viral " before virality was even a thing . While most Hollywood flick ' flight appear as a steep climb followed by a plateau when graph , the success ofMBFGWlooks like " the front one-half of a feather boa constrictor that swallowed an elephant . "
While most films last in theaters for about 12 weekends , MBFGWstuck around for a whopping 50 , thanks to skilful previous word - of - lip momentum . Much like before sleeper hitsLife Is BeautifulandThe Blair Witch Projectand successorNapoleon Dynamite , no big marketing budget was necessary : hoi polloi simply like the movie and tell their ally about it .
Did it change anything?
Other than spikingWindex sales , not exactly . My great Fat Greek Wedding ’s vitrine of strong female characters and ecological niche immigrant experiences are scarcely distinctive for megahit , even 14 years later . Vardalos struggled to get the project light-green - lighted , with Hollywood execs imploring her to cast a big - name actress or make the characters Italian . And despite her nonage success account , the moving-picture show landscape remains overwhelmingly homogenous ( read : white and male ) .
However , asVanity Fairpoints out , at least the moving picture heralded the end of the vainglorious studio apartment rom - com ( starring A - listers like Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts ) and ushered in the eld of the indie read-only storage - com . Wrote Kate Erbland , " what might have await like an outlier in 2002 was instead a harbinger of things to issue forth , as the romanticist comedy no longer belong to the studio system – it ’s go indie , and it ’s threatening to stay that way . "
Remember Nia Vardalos' other movies?
AfterMBFGW ’s runaway success , Vardalos write and starred in a number of other comedies , includingConnie and Carlawith Toni Collette;a rom - com set amid the Greek ruins , aptly namedMy Life in Ruins ; andI Hate Valentine ’s Day , which reunited Vardalos withWeddingbeau John Corbett . If you do n’t precisely have doting memories of these films , it ’s not your faulting – every post - MBFGWfilm project has been a decisive and financial flop , with not a individual one of Vardalos ’s follow - ups garner a " sassy " rating onRotten Tomatoes .
What about John Corbett?
Corbett has observe up a steady calling sinceMy Big Fat Greek Wedding , including reprising his character as Aidan inSex and the City 2 , recur roles on shows likeUnited States of TaraandParenthood , and a number of feature film – although none even amount close toMBFGW’ssuccess . Most recently , he was seen in romantic thrillerThe Boy Next Door , diametrical Jennifer Lopez .
And what happened to the TV show?
In 2003 , Vardalos , along withMy Big Fat Greek Weddingproducers Tom Hanks and his wife , Rita Wilson , administrator - produce a CBS sitcom call MyBig Fat Greek Life . Vardalos asterisk ( though her character ’s name was changed to Nia ) and Steven Eckholdt subbed in for Corbett . Alas , the show ’s trajectory release out to be the opposite of the motion-picture show ’s : despite have the highest - stag web premiere of any situation comedy in the five years that introduce it , rating quickly tanked and the show was invalidate . Smart move staying out of this one , Corbett .
Did people make a bunch ofBig Fatknockoffs?
You betcha!Greek Weddingkicked off a trend of putting " My handsome Fat " in front of many titles , mostly a bunch of bad reality - tv set shows ( My Big Fat Asiatic Wedding , My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé , My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding , My Big Fat Geek marriage , My freehanded Fat Fabulous Life , My Big Fat Revenge , My large Fat Independent Movie , et al . ) .
Why did it take 14 years to make a sequel?
While there was obvious interest in one back in 2002 , Nia Vardalos wanted to wait until she had a child herself to render what maternity was like onscreen . regrettably , Vardalos was unable to conceive and struggled through 13 IVF treatments and a number of miscarriage , which she detailed in the bookInstant ma . " It would have been unsufferable for me to save a story about maternity without having experienced it , " sheexplainedto Britain’sYouMagazine . In 2008 , she and her hubby adopted a 3 - year - one-time girl named Ilaria .
Is the new film any good?
With a 21 % favourable reception evaluation onRotten Tomatoes , it look like Vardalos is slat for another critical disappointment . Then again , the original only got middling inspection and still broke the box office , so the picture show may still get mess of butts in prat this weekend . Batman v Superman v Toula Portokalos ? It ’s on!Sign up herefor our everyday Thrillist email , and get your mess of the best in food for thought / drink / fun .
Anna Silmanis a stave writer at Thrillist Entertainment , and she still thinks Carrie should have pick Aidan over Big . detect her on Twitter:@annaesilman .
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