The Hangover (film series)

The Hangover
Cover art for the DVD box set
Directed byTodd Phillips
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLawrence Sher
Edited byDebra Neil-Fisher
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
2009–2013
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$218 million
Box office$1.42 billion

The Hangover is a series of American comedy films created by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and directed by Todd Phillips. All three films follow the misadventures of a quartet of friends (also known as "the Wolfpack") who go on their road trip to attend a bachelor party. While all of the films find three of the four men on a mission to find their missing friend, the first two films focus on the events after the nights of debauchery before a party, respectively in Las Vegas and Bangkok, whereas the third and final film involves a road trip and a kidnapping in lieu of a bachelor party. Each film in the series focuses on how the friends deal with the aftermath of their antics, while they are being humiliated and occasionally physically beaten up at every turn.[1] All three films were released from 2009 to 2013, and have grossed a collective total of $1.4 billion in the United States and worldwide.

Films

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The Hangover (2009)

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Main article: The Hangover

Phil Wenneck, Stu Price and Alan Garner, travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate the impending marriage of their friend, Doug Billings. However, Phil, Stu, and Alan have no memory of the previous night's events and must find Doug before the wedding can take place.

Lucas and Moore wrote the script after hearing how a friend of executive producer Chris Bender went missing following his bachelor party in Las Vegas.[2] After Lucas and Moore sold it to Warner Bros. for $2 million,[3] Phillips and Jeremy Garelick rewrote the script to include a tiger, a subplot involving a baby and a police cruiser, and real-life boxer Mike Tyson.[4] Filming took place in Nevada for fifteen days.[5]

The Hangover Part II (2011)

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Main article: The Hangover Part II

Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to Thailand for Stu's wedding. After the previous film's bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu takes no chances and opts for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things do not go as planned, resulting in another hangover with no memories of the previous night. After losing Teddy, Stu's future brother-in-law, Phil, Stu and Alan search for him in Bangkok.

Warner Bros. hired Phillips and Scot Armstrong to write a sequel to The Hangover after a trailer brought down the house at ShoWest in April 2009, two months before the film was released.[6] The principal actors were cast in March 2010 to reprise their roles from the first film.[7] Production began in October 2010, in Ontario, California, before moving on location in Thailand.[8]

The Hangover Part III (2013)

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Main article: The Hangover Part III

Phil, Stu and Doug are happily living uneventful lives at home. The only member of the Wolfpack who is not content is Alan. Still lacking a sense of purpose, Alan has ditched his meds and given in to his natural impulses until the untimely death of his father forces him to finally re-evaluate his lifestyle and seek the help he needs. Phil, Stu and Doug are there to make sure Alan takes the first step. This time, Alan marries Cassandra, and resigns from The Wolfpack, but things still go awry when the Wolfpack hits the road.

Phillips first announced plans for a third film in May 2011, days before the release of The Hangover Part II.[9] Craig Mazin, who co-wrote Part II, was also brought on board in May to script the film.[10] The principal actors signed on in January 2012 and production began in September 2012 in Los Angeles, California, before moving to Nogales, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada.[1][11][12][13] The film was released on May 23, 2013.[14]

Future

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In October 2020, Ken Jeong said in an interview that the cast knew there would not be a fourth film when they finished filming The Hangover 3 and took time to commemorate its closure on the last day.[15]

In October 2021, Zach Galifianakis said in an interview that a fourth film could happen if it would be a "Pixar family-friendly version". He then added: "I've written a lot of it, but I just send it to the other guys, and they send me videos of them burning it."[16]

In November 2023, Bradley Cooper told The New Yorker Radio Hour that he would be open to reprising his role in a fourth film. “I would do probably Hangover 4 in an instant, yeah, just because I love Todd Phillips, I love Zach Galifianakis, I love Ed Helms so much. I probably would, yeah". Cooper, however, noted that Phillips had no apparent interest in a fourth film, remarking “I don’t think Todd’s ever going to do that".[17] Later in the same month, Ed Helms expressed interest in a fourth Hangover film.[18]

Cast

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Character The Hangover The Hangover Part II The Hangover Part III
2009 2011 2013
Phil Wenneck Bradley Cooper
Stu Price Ed Helms
Alan Garner Zach Galifianakis
Doug Billings Justin Bartha
Mr. Leslie Chow Ken Jeong
Sid Garner Jeffrey Tambor
Linda Garner Sondra Currie
Tracy Garner-Billings Sasha Barrese
Stephanie Wenneck Gillian Vigman
Jade Heather Graham   Heather Graham
Black Doug Mike Epps   Mike Epps
Tyler / Carlos Grant Holmquist   Grant Holmquist
Neeco Mike Vallely   Mike Vallely
Melissa Rachael Harris  
Dr. Valsh Matt Walsh  
Officer Franklin Rob Riggle  
Officer Garden Cleo King  
Mike Tyson Himself  
Eddie / Samir Bryan Callen  
Lauren Srisai-Price   Jamie Chung
Drug-Dealing Monkey   Crystal the Monkey
Kingsley / Detective Peters   Paul Giamatti  
Teddy Srisai   Mason Lee  
Fong Srisai   Nirut Sirijanya  
Kimmy   Yasmin Lee  
Marshall John Goodman
Cassie   Melissa McCarthy

Reception

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Box office performance

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Film U.S. release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Reference
Opening weekend North America Other territories Worldwide All time domestic All time worldwide
The Hangover June 5, 2009 $44,979,319 $277,322,503 $190,161,409 $467,483,912 #99 #229 $35 million [19]
The Hangover Part II May 26, 2011 $85,946,294 $254,464,305 $332,300,000 $586,764,305 #118 #293 $80 million [20]
The Hangover Part III May 23, 2013 $41,671,198 $112,200,072 $249,800,000 $362,000,072 #600 #343 $103 million [21]
Total $643,986,880 $772,261,409 $1,416,248,289 $218 million

Critical and public response

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Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore[22]
The Hangover 79% (241 reviews)[23] 73/100 (31 reviews)[24] A
The Hangover Part II 34% (249 reviews)[25] 44/100 (40 reviews)[26] A−
The Hangover Part III 20% (203 reviews)[27] 30/100 (37 reviews)[28] B

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Hangover Part III Details Revealed as Production Begins". ComingSoon.net. September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  2. ^ "Real Story Of How 'Hangover' Got Made (& It's Based On Someone In H'wood)". Deadline Hollywood Daily. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  3. ^ Diane Garrett; Tatiana Siegel (October 4, 2007). "Warner weds Phillips film, Studio toasts to 'Hangover'". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  4. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (June 3, 2009). "Interview: 'The Hangover' Director Todd Phillips". Cinematical. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  5. ^ Spillman, Benjamin (April 1, 2009). "ShoWest movie convention optimistic about '09". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  6. ^ Fleming, Michael (April 5, 2009). "WB gets tipsy with 'Hangover' sequel". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  7. ^ Fleming, Michael (March 30, 2010). "Warners Locks Cast Into 'Hangover' Deals". Deadline Hollywood Daily. Mail.com Media Corporation. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  8. ^ Goodson, Molly (October 11, 2010). "First Pics: The Hangover Cast Reunites For the Sequel!". Popsugar. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  9. ^ Horn, John (May 22, 2011). "Todd Phillips keeps 'em laughing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (May 31, 2011). "'Hangover II' Co-Writer in Early Talks for Third Installment". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  11. ^ Kit, Borys (January 25, 2012). "'Hangover 3' Stars Nearing Deals for Big Pay Increases (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Sager, Rebekah (October 3, 2012). "'Hangover III' Snubs Tijuana, Mexicans Outraged". Fox News. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  13. ^ Castagnino, Jon (October 27, 2012). "'Hangover 3' spotted filming in Las Vegas". KVVU-TV. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  14. ^ Stewart, Andrew (May 8, 2013). "'The Hangover Part III' Moves Up to May 23". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  15. ^ "Ken Jeong reveals if there will be a 'Hangover 4'". YouTube. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "Zach Galifianakis Reveals What It Would Take to Make 'Hangover 4' Happen (Exclusive)". Extra. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Zee, Michaela (November 25, 2023). "Bradley Cooper Would Do 'The Hangover 4' in an 'Instant'". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  18. ^ "Ed Helms Says He'd Be Down for Hangover 4: 'I'd Do Anything with Those Guys' (Exclusive)". People.com. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Hangover (2009)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  20. ^ "The Hangover Part II (2011)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  21. ^ "The Hangover Part III (2013)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  22. ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "The Hangover (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  24. ^ "The Hangover". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "The Hangover Part II (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  26. ^ "The Hangover Part II". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  27. ^ "The Hangover Part III (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  28. ^ "The Hangover Part III". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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