Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (film)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a 2017 American family road comedy film based on the book of the same name by Jeff Kinney. Directed by David Bowers, is the fourth installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series and a sequel to 2012's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Despite not being a reboot, the original cast members from the first three films do not reprise their roles. It was released on May 19, 2017, by 20th Century Fox and has grossed $20.2 million worldwide.

Plot
The film takes place one year after the events of Dog Days. Greg Heffley, sheepish and agitated after an incident at "Corny's Family-Style Restaurant", decides to eliminate his humiliation by going to a video game convention where his idol, gamer Mac Digby, will be attempting to break a world record. He formulates a plan to use a family road trip to great-grandma Meemaw's house for her 90th birthday as a way to sneak into the video game convention, as both events are being held in Indianapolis, Indiana. However, the family may be stalled due to Greg's schemes, his brother Rodrick's general obliviousness, and several strange occurrences which involve a pig the Heffleys win at a fair.

Cast

 * Jason Drucker as Greg Heffley
 * Owen Asztalos as Rowley Jefferson
 * Charlie Wright as Rodrick Heffley
 * Alicia Silverstone as Susan Heffley
 * Tom Everett Scott as Frank Heffley
 * Wyatt and Dylan Walters as Manny Heffley
 * Joshua Hoover as Mac Digby
 * Chris Coppola as Mr. Beardo
 * Kimberli Lincoln as Mrs. Beardo
 * Mira Silverman as Brandi Beardo

Production
After the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days in 2012, it had been described as the last live action film in the franchise. In August 2012, while doing press for the film, Jeff Kinney, Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron each indicated that there were no plans for a fourth movie, but did not dismiss the possibility entirely.

Kinney replied to inquiries regarding the possibility of another sequel, stating, "At present, we don’t have a fourth film in development, but you never know!" And when describing the likelihood of starring in another film in the series, Gordon explained, "Dog Days most likely will be the last movie. The main problem is [the cast] is getting older. You can't stop it. There's no way to temporarily stop us from changing and growing up. You know, that's the problem because the characters are supposed to be timeless."

In March 2013, Gordon stated in a Spreecast live stream that there would not be a fourth live action film. Previously, Kinney had indicated that instead of doing a live action film of the sixth novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, he would like to see it adapted into an animated film, stating in an interview, "I hope that it gets made into an animated movie. I'd really like to see it turn into an animated television special."

On July 29, 2016, it was announced that a fourth live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid film was in production which would be the first film to not feature the original cast, since many of the members grew too big for their roles. Jason Drucker and Owen Asztalos would portray Greg and Rowley, with David Bowers returning as the director. Alicia Silverstone and Tom Everett Scott would portray Greg's parents Susan and Frank, and Charlie Wright would portray Greg's older brother Rodrick.[4]

Filming of The Long Haul began on September 20, 2016 in Atlanta, and concluded on November 18, 2016.

Release
The film was released on May 17, 2017 in the Philippines, on May 19, 2017 in the United States and on May 20, 2017 in the United Kingdom.

Trailer reactions
On February 23, 2017, a theatrical poster and teaser trailer were released, and the following month, the official trailer was released. Both trailers received negative feedback from fans for its recasting of the main characters, most notably Charlie Wright as Rodrick. To further express their outrage, the fans took to social media and started the hashtag "#NotMyRodrick" (a parody of the "#NotMyPresident" trend that followed the election of U.S. president Donald Trump), which has spawned countless online memes. Other hashtags included "#NotMyHeffleys" and "#NotMyRowley".

Both trailers received significant backlash from audiences and the official trailer received over 25 thousand dislikes and only 4 thousand likes.

Box office
, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul has grossed $13.6 million in the United States and Canada and $2.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $16.3 million, against a production budget of $22 million.

In North America, the film was released alongside Everything, Everything and Alien: Covenant and was initially projected to gross around $12 million from 3,129 theaters during its opening weekend. However after grossing just $2 million on its first day, projections were lowered to $7 million. It ended up finishing with $7.1 million, placing 6th at the box office and marking the lowest opening of the franchise.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 17% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With an all-new cast but the same juvenile humor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul finds the franchise still stuck in arrested -- and largely unfunny -- development." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.