Freaky Friday (2003 film)
Third film adaptation of Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel.
Freaky Friday is a 2003 American fantasy comedy. Mark Waters directed it, and Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon wrote the screenplay. The story is based on Mary Rodgers’s 1972 novel. This is the third film adaptation of that book and the third installment in the Freaky Friday franchise. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan play a mother and daughter who accidentally swap bodies after eating magical Chinese fortune cookies. The supporting cast includes Harold Gould, Chad Michael Murray, and Mark Harmon.
Walt Disney Pictures released the film in theaters on August 6, 2003. It was a commercial hit, earning over $160 million worldwide on a $26 million budget. Critics gave it largely positive reviews, especially praising the performances of Lohan and Curtis. Curtis received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. A sequel, *Freakier Friday*, came out in 2025, with Curtis, Lohan, Murray, and Harmon returning.
**Plot**
Fifteen-year-old Anna Coleman is a musician living in Los Angeles with her widowed psychologist mother Tess, her nine-year-old brother Harry, and her grandfather Alan. Tess is engaged to Ryan, but Anna has not accepted the engagement, still grieving her father’s death three years earlier. At school, Anna deals with unsympathetic teachers, bullying from her former best friend Stacey Hinkhouse, and a crush on Jake Austin, whom Tess disapproves of.
Anna plays guitar in the band Pink Slip, which is preparing to audition for the Wango Tango showcase. The audition falls at the same time as Tess and Ryan’s wedding rehearsal, so Anna cannot attend. During dinner at Pei-Pei’s Chinese restaurant, Anna and Tess argue about the audition. Pei-Pei’s mother overhears them and gives them fortune cookies. They open them and read the fortunes aloud at the same time. An earthquake occurs that only Anna and Tess feel. The next morning, they realize they have switched bodies.
As Anna, Tess attends high school and sees her daughter’s struggles firsthand. Anna’s English teacher, Elton Bates, holds a grudge because Tess rejected him at their prom decades earlier. Tess threatens to report him unless he treats Anna fairly. Meanwhile, Anna, in Tess’s body, struggles with her mother’s patients and adult responsibilities. They return to the restaurant, where Pei-Pei explains that only an act of selfless love can reverse the switch.
At
- Release date
- August 6, 2003
- Director
- Mark Waters
- Screenwriters
- Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon
- Production company
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Budget
- $26 million
- Box office
- Over $160 million worldwide
- Starring
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Harold Gould, Chad Michael Murray, Mark Harmon
Lore & Background
The concept for a remake of Freaky Friday (1976) originated when producer Andrew Gunn met with Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group president Nina Jacobson. Gunn proposed either a new adaptation of Freaky Friday or a reboot of Witch Mountain. Jacobson was initially hesitant due to a 1995 ABC remake but ultimately agreed. Support grew after the success of The Princess Diaries (2001), which proved female-led, family-focused films could be commercially viable. Director Mark Waters joined after a meeting with Gunn and Burr, despite initial doubts about the script. The early draft depicted a psychiatrist mother and a daughter who wrote for her school newspaper; Waters revised the characters into a straight-laced mother and a rebellious, alt-rock daughter. Lindsay Lohan's character was originally written as goth, but she auditioned in a preppy style; the character was rewritten as a grunge-influenced teen, with Lohan citing Avril Lavigne as a key reference.
Reader's Guide
Freaky Friday (2003) was a commercial success, grossing over $160 million worldwide against a production budget of $26 million. It received largely positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the performances of Lohan and Curtis, the latter being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film's plot follows fifteen-year-old musician Anna Coleman and her widowed psychologist mother Tess, who switch bodies after eating fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant. The film explores themes of empathy and understanding between generations. A sequel titled Freakier Friday was released in 2025, with Curtis, Lohan, Murray, and Harmon returning. The film's legacy includes its successful adaptation of the source material and its role in launching or revitalizing the careers of its leads.
Did You Know?
- Jamie Lee Curtis was cast four days before production began, after Annette Bening and Michelle Trachtenberg exited due to scheduling conflicts.
- Lindsay Lohan trained for a year to learn guitar, but the final film used overdubbed performances by studio musicians.
- Tom Selleck was initially cast as Ryan but left after Annette Bening's departure; Mark Harmon was later cast.
- Marc McClure, who played Annabel's love interest in the 1976 film, appears in a cameo role as Boris the delivery man.
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