Freakier Friday
Freakier Friday is a 2025 American fantasy comedy film directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Jordan Weiss. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is the sequel to Freaky Friday, itself based on Mary Rodgers's 1972 novel, and the fifth feature film in the franchise. The entire cast reprise their roles from the original film, with Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons and Manny Jacinto joining the cast.
The film features Anna Coleman and Tess Coleman trying to regain their bodies after respectively switching with the former's daughter Harper and soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily Reyes before her wedding to the lattermost's father Eric.
Freakier Friday 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 grossed over $153 million against a budget of $42–$45 million.
Plot
Twenty-two years after the body swapping incident, a now adult Anna Coleman works as a music producer. She raises her teenage daughter Harper as a single parent with the help of her mother Tess. At school, the teen is constantly annoyed by her new classmate Lily Reyes, due to her snobbish personality.After Harper and Lily cause an incident in chemistry class, Anna is called to the principal's office. When she meets Lily's widowed father Eric, they fall in love and become engaged six months later. The soon-to-be stepsisters are dissatisfied with their predicament; Harper is worried that her mother will relocate them to London, while Lily is adamant to return there so she can attend a fashion academy in honor of her deceased 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 reversal. Anna and Tess go to school and spend time in detention for a food fight that Harper and Lily caused at a bake sale, while Harper and Lily enjoy the advantages of being adults and come up with a plan to sabotage the wedding.
At a photoshoot of Anna's client, Harper and Lily help the young singer Ella overcome her recent breakup. They learn about Anna's former rock star dreams and find a love song, which they assume Anna wrote about her high school ex-boyfriend Jake Austin. Upon finding him, Harper embarrasses herself when unsuccessfully trying to seduce him in Anna's body.
After escaping detention, Anna and Tess find Madame Jen, who reveals Harper and Lily's fortune but warns them that all four of them need to "change their hearts" in order to change back. Harper, who attends the immigration interview with Eric in Anna's body, realizes how much Eric loves and cares about her. Harper discovers that Eric also thinks it would be best for their families to stay in Los Angeles, causing Harper to have second thoughts about ruining their wedding.
Lily, however, remains determined so she invites Jake to the rehearsal lunch. She makes a scene in Tess's body, leading to a heated public argument and Eric calling 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, Lily 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 Anna's old band, the Pink Slip, so they could perform together again. Although happy for the reunion, Anna tells Harper she never regretted giving up her singing aspirations because Harper is the best decision she ever made, revealing that the love song was actually written about her.
Tess and Lily arrive in time to see the concert, with Lily happily stating she wants to be a part of this family. With Harper and Lily's change of hearts complete, 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. Sometime later, the family attends the launch event of Tess's latest book. Tess is shocked to learn that Lily, while she was in her step grandmother's body, took an unflattering picture of her for the book's cover after applying lip plumper.
Cast
Production
In May 2023, Walt Disney Pictures announced a sequel to the fantasy-comedy film Freaky Friday was in development, written by Elyse Hollander, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan set to reprise their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman, respectively. In March 2024, Lohan confirmed the sequel was in active development, and Nisha Ganatra had been hired to direct the film, with Jordan Weiss rewriting the script. In June 2024, Julia Butters, Manny Jacinto, Sophia Hammons, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan joined the cast, with Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao reprising their roles from the original film. The following month, Jordan E. Cooper joined the cast. Principal photography began in Los Angeles on June 24, 2024, and finished on August 21. Curtis and Lohan stated that their decades-long friendship and mutual trust were central to producing and making the film happen.Curtis insisted that the movie be filmed in Los Angeles and the filmmakers 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. 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. Ganatra talked about getting permission to shoot in the city and being able to showcase certain parts of it she found that had not been previously captured on film: " 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." The scene featuring Curtis and Lohan driving a Chevrolet Camaro is an homage and recreation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Furthermore, Ganatra was inspired by her love for Lucille Ball and physical comedy. 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." The wedding dance rehearsal scene, inspired by Dirty Dancing, was developed after Jacinto suggested adding a first dance moment, drawing on his dance background.
The film's official title was announced by Curtis and Lohan at the 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on August 9. In January 2025, it was revealed that Vanessa Bayer joined the cast. 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. Eleanor Infante edited the film. 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 to help persuade executives. 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 , but it's a real thing. It's something I, being Asian, was super conscious of." 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." 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.
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. The film includes several references to the 2003 film as well as Lohan's other movies. The American indie pop band Muna makes a cameo appearance as part of the fictional artist Ella's band. 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.