This is the second collaboration between Ferrell and Wahlberg following the 2010 film The Other Guys. Principal photography began on November 17, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film was released on December 25, 2015, by Paramount Pictures and grossed $242 million worldwide, becoming Ferrell's highest-grossing live-action film. It received praise for the performances and chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg but faced criticism for its lack of funny ideas and not fully exploring the premise.[5] A sequel, Daddy's Home 2, was released on November 10, 2017.
Mild-mannered radio executive Brad Whitaker tries hard to be a good stepfather to his wife Sara's two children, Megan and Dylan, and is seemingly sterile after an accident to his testicles a couple of years ago. The kids are finally getting closer to him: Dylan confides in him about some older bullies at school and Megan asks him to take her to the father/daughter dance at her school. One night, however, Dusty Mayron, Sara's ex-husband and the kids' biological father, calls to announce he will be visiting the next day. Sara hesitates to let him into their home, but Brad convinces her it is important for the kids to see him and Dusty establish a respectful relationship.
When Dusty arrives, he immediately intimidates Brad by his tough and muscular appearance and his charm with Megan and Dylan. He talks Brad into letting him stay, despite Sara warning about his true nature. Brad soon wises up when it becomes clear he intends to drive Brad out of his kids' lives and reconcile with Sara. After Dusty shows him up repeatedly, he makes Brad seem racist after unwillingly firing handyman Griff after a fiasco with Dusty's motorcycle, and Dusty later invites Griff to move in with them. Dusty tries to drive a wedge between Brad and Sara by taking them to a fertility doctor, hoping that Brad's inability to impregnate her will send her back into Dusty's arms. Still, the two men appear to reach an understanding after working together to teach Dylan how to defend himself from the bullies. Additionally, the couple is overjoyed to learn that Brad's sperm count has increased significantly, giving them hope of having a child together.
However, Brad is stunned when Dusty reveals that he still intends to drive him out of the family. Desperate, Brad spends tens of thousands of dollars on gifts, including a pony for Megan, and $18,000 tickets to an NBA game for Dylan. At the game, Dusty once again shows Brad up by revealing himself to be friends with the coach of Dylan's favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Brad is upset when he learns that Megan has chosen Dusty to take her to the father/daughter dance instead of him. During half-time, Brad is chosen to try to shoot a basketball from half-court to win a prize. Drunk, he goes on a rant about Dusty before accidentally hitting a cheerleader, and a disabled child in a wheelchair in the face with a basketball. Humiliated, Brad moves out of the house; however, when Dusty tries to comfort Sara, she rejects him, and forces him to step up as a father to help his children with their busy schedules.
Four days later, Brad is living in his office at work, depressed. Dusty, meanwhile, is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a full-time father. When Dusty decides to leave on the day of the dance, Griff convinces Brad to fight for his family. Finding Dusty at a bar, he tries to get him to come back. Dusty admits that he cannot handle the hard parts about being a father, and admires Brad for putting up with everything. Brad says that all of the terrible parts about being a dad are worth it, because in the end, he is doing it for his kids. This convinces Dusty to go to the dance, and they arrive together.
At the dance, they discover that the students who were picking on Dylan at school are girls. They almost fight the father of one of the girls when Dylan physically retaliates, doing what Brad and Dusty taught him to do, under the impression that the bullies were boys. However, Dusty finally decides to follow Brad's lead on being a father, and instead quells the fight by starting a dance-off. Brad and Sara reconcile, and Dusty decides to stay and be a good "co-dad" to his kids.
One-year later, the whole family is happy; Brad and Sara have a new baby boy named after Griff, and Megan and Dylan have finally accepted Brad as their stepfather. Dusty is now a Panda DJ, has become wealthy, and he and Brad are now friends. Dusty remarries to Karen, who has a daughter Adrianna, thus making Dusty a stepfather himself. In an ironic twist of fate, Dusty is now in exactly the same position that he put Brad in a year ago – visibly intimidated by Adrianna's more muscular father, Roger.
On November 5, 2014, it was confirmed that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg would play the lead roles in the film.[6][7] On November 12, Linda Cardellini joined the cast of the film, to play Ferrell's character's wife.[8] On November 18, Hannibal Buress joined the film to play a sarcastic handyman.[9] On January 28, 2015, Paul Scheer was added to the cast of the film, playing The Whip, a crazy DJ.[10]
Filming
Principal photography began on November 17, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[11][12] On November 24 and 25, filming took place at Edward Hynes Charter School.[13] On January 12, 2015, actors were spotted filming in the Lakeview area.[14] On January 21, 2015, a scene was shot during a New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers game where Ferrell smashed a cheerleader (played by stuntwoman/wrestler Taryn Terrell) in the face with a basketball.[15]Tony Hawk was the stunt double for Ferrell in a skateboarding scene, who got hurt on the set.[16] Filming was scheduled to wrap on February 3, 2015, but lasted through February 6.[17][18]
Release
The film premiered in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2015 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on Boxing Day, December 26, 2015[19] by Paramount Pictures.[20]
Home media
Daddy's Home was released digitally on March 8, 2016, before being released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 22, 2016.[21]
Reception
Box office
Daddy's Home grossed $150.4 million in North America and $92.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $242.8 million, against a budget of $69 million.[3] It is Ferrell's highest-grossing live-action film, surpassing Elf ($220.4 million).[22]
In the United States and Canada, the film opened on December 25, 2015 alongside Point Break, Joy, Concussion, and the wide release of The Big Short. In its opening weekend the film was projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,271 theaters.[23] However, after grossing $1.2 million from its early Thursday showings and $15.7m on its opening day, weekend projections were increased to $43–46 million.[24] The film ended up grossing $38.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($149.2 million). It was the second biggest non-animated opening of Ferrell's career, behind Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ($47 million).[22]
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Daddy's Home has an approval rating of 30% based on 123 reviews and an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have proven comedic chemistry, but Daddy's Home suffers from a dearth of genuinely funny ideas – and lacks enough guts or imagination to explore the satirical possibilities of its premise."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[26] American filmmaker Sofia Coppola is a huge fan of the film and later named it as one of her favourite films.[27]
In April 2016, a sequel was announced with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reprising their characters. Anders and John Morris wrote the script and Anders directed.[29] In January 2017, Paramount Pictures courted Mel Gibson and John Lithgow to star in the sequel.[30] The two were later confirmed to star in the film. Linda Cardellini, Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez also reprise their roles.[31]John Cena reprised his role as Roger.[32] It was released on November 10, 2017.[33]
