Meet the Parents is a comedy film series based on the 1992 independent film of the same name. It follows the character Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) as he interacts with his family and in-laws. The series is made up of three films: Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010). A fourth film, titled Focker-in-Law, is set to release in 2026. The series primarily stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand. The three films earned over $1.15 billion at the box office.

1992 independent film

Before the remake in 2000, Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke cowrote the original independent film, Meet the Parents, in 1992. Glienna also directed the film, wrote two original songs, and starred as protagonist Greg: a Chicago advertising agent who travels with his fiancée Pam Burns to meet her parents, Irv and Kay, for a weekend but sets off a series of accidents and causes the family to fall apart. Throughout the visit, Pam's sister Fay, an aspiring singer, insists that Greg listen to her Star Search audition since she mistakenly thinks he has ties with Ed McMahon, who was cast as a spokesperson in a commercial Greg wrote. In the end, Greg alone survives: after Fay hangs herself, having accused Greg of wanting to cheat on Pam with her and framed him for her suicide, both out of revenge for his reluctantly criticizing her singing, Irv attempts to shoot him but accidentally kills Kay and Pam before dying of a heart attack.

Several years after the film's release, Universal Pictures purchased the rights to the independent film. After hiring screenwriter Jim Herzfeld to expand the script, a new version of Meet the Parents was filmed and released in October 2000.The Boys Who Met the Parents , Stumped. Retrieved March 29, 2010.

Legacy The success of Meet the Parents was initially responsible for a 2002 NBC reality television show titled Meet My Folks in which a young woman's love interest, vying for her family's approval, is interrogated by the woman's overprotective father with the help of a lie detector machine.Gallo, Phil. Meet My Folks, Variety, July 21, 2002. Accessed May 27, 2008.Fenwick, Alexandra. Meet My Folks brings a fiance's worst nightmare to television , The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, September 13, 2002. Accessed October 10, 2008. In September 2002, NBC also aired a situation comedy titled In-Laws. During the development of the sitcom, NBC called it "a Meet the Parents project" which prompted an investigation by Universal into whether NBC was infringing on Universal's copyright.Lynette Rice and Dan Snierson. On the Air, Entertainment Weekly, August 9, 2002. Accessed October 10, 2008. Universal did not pursue any action against NBC, but neither show lasted more than one season. NBC and Universal merged on a corporate level two years later in 2004.

On July 18, 2005, a regularly scheduled American Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico, had to be diverted back to Fort Lauderdale shortly after take-off due to a bomb threat. The pilot turned the airplane around approximately 40 minutes into the flight after a flight attendant found a crumpled napkin that read "Bomb, bomb, bomb ... meet the parents"; media sources speculated that this was a reference to the scene in which Ben Stiller's character repeatedly shouts the word "bomb" while being detained by airport security.Candiotti, Susan. Suspicious note diverts flight, CNN, July 19, 2005. Accessed August 14, 2009.Carey, Bridget. Bomb Threat Diverts American Airlines Flight Back to Fla , Associated Press. Accessed August 14, 2009. The airplane was met by a bomb squad of the local sheriff's office as well as the FBI whose agents questioned the plane's 176 passengers about the note.

Universal Films Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Meet the Parents Jay Roach Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg, Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke Jay Roach, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro & Nancy Tenenbaum Meet the Fockers Marc Hyman, Jim Herzfeld & John Hamburg Jay Roach, Jane Rosenthal & Robert De Niro Little Fockers Paul Weitz John Hamburg & Larry Stuckey Jay Roach, John Hamburg, Jane Rosenthal & Robert De Niro Focker-in-Law John Hamburg Jay Roach, Ben Stiller, John Lesher, John Hamburg, Jane Rosenthal & Robert De Niro

Meet the Parents (2000)

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Little Fockers (2010)

Focker-in-Law (2026)

In December 2024, it was reported that Stiller, De Niro, Danner and Polo were in early talks to star in a new Meet the Parents film. On March 20, 2025, it was officially announced that a fourth Meet the Parents film was in development, with John Hamburg, who wrote each of the first three films, directing in addition to writing the film.

On May 30, 2025, it was announced that the film would be released on November 25, 2026, and that Ariana Grande would join the cast. Additionally, Stiller along with De Niro, Danner, Polo and Wilson are confirmed to be reprising their roles. In late July, Skyler Gisondo was in talks to join the film. Later that month, it was announced that the film had been titled Focker-in-Law.

Principal photography began on August 18, 2025, in New York City and is expected to last until November 4.

Reception Critical reception Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Meet the Parents 85% (147 reviews) 73 (33 reviews) Meet the Fockers 38% (163 reviews) 41 (34 reviews) Little Fockers 10% (147 reviews) 27 (32 reviews)

Box office performance Film Release date Budget Box Office revenue Rank Reference North America International Worldwide All time domestic All time worldwide Meet the Parents $55 million $166,244,045 $164,200,000 $330,444,045 #312 #428 Meet the Fockers $80 million $279,261,160 $243,396,776 $522,657,936 #106 #204 Little Fockers $100 million $148,438,600 $162,211,985 $310,650,585 #380 #467 Total $235 million $ $ $

Recurring characters Note: A gray cell indicates character did not appear in that film.

Character Meet the Parents Meet the Parents Meet the Fockers Little Fockers Focker-in-Law 1992 2000 2004 2010 2026 Gaylord Myron "Greg" Focker Greg Glienna Ben Stiller Pamela "Pam" Martha Byrnes Jacqueline Cahill Teri Polo Jack Tiberius Byrnes Dick Galloway Robert De Niro Dina Byrnes Carol Whelan Blythe Danner Deborah "Debbie" Byrnes Mary Ruth Clarke Nicole DeHuff Father O'Boyle Mike Toomey William Severs Kevin Rawley Owen Wilson Flight Attendant Kali Rocha Dr. Robert "Bob" Banks Thomas McCarthy Thomas McCarthy Denny Byrnes Jon Abrahams Larry Banks James Rebhorn Linda Banks Phyllis George Bernard "Bernie" Focker rowspan="2" Dustin Hoffman Rosalind "Roz" Focker Barbra Streisand Officer Vern LeFlore Tim Blake Nelson Isabel Villalobos Alanna Ubach Jorge Villalobos Ray Santiago Judge Ira Goldfarb Shelley Berman Jack Banks Spencer & Bradley Pickren Henry Focker Colin Baiocchi Skyler Gisondo Samantha Focker Daisy Tahan Beanie Feldstein Andi Garcia Jessica Alba Prudence Simmons Laura Dern Randy Weir Harvey Keitel Nurse Louis Kevin Hart Junior Yul Vazquez Olivia Jones Ariana Grande

References