In April 2002, a small comedy about a Greek-American woman and her big, overbearing family opened in 108 theaters. It made just $597,000 that first weekend and ranked 20th (per Box Office Mojo).
Nobody expected much, and yet My Big Fat Greek Wedding went on to become one of the most profitable films ever made, even though it never once finished first at the weekend box office.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding Box Office
Well, the numbers are hard to believe. The film cost $5 million to make and brought in $368.7 million worldwide. It earned more than $241 million in US theaters, which makes it the highest-grossing romantic comedy ever. It is also the highest-grossing film since at least 1982 that never hit No. 1 on any weekend. The Hollywood Reporter noted that it stayed in theaters for a full year.
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The story started on a stage. Nia Vardalos wrote and starred in a 45-minute one-woman show that she developed in the HBO Workshop and later performed in Los Angeles. Actress Rita Wilson saw it and talked her husband, Tom Hanks, into producing it. They teamed up with Playtone and IFC Films and made the movie for $5 million, with no idea they had a huge hit on their hands.
The Lasting Success of the Greek Wedding Franchise
The Big studio power had little …read more
Disclaimer : This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by FilmyFriday. Source:: koimoi.com
