TheFreaky Fridaymovies are well-known for their charming take on supernatural comedy shenanigans, and it’s interesting to see how they stack up against one another when laid out as a continuous series. The variousFreaky Fridayfilms owe their existence to the 1972 children’s novel of the same name, written by Mary Rodgers, which centers on a mother and daughter swapping bodies for a day.
The book has since been adapted four different times, with eachFreaky Fridaybeing a Disney-produced live-action movie exploring the idea. The 2025 filmFreakier Fridayfeatured returning charactersfor the first time, finally evolving the idea with an official sequel rather than yet another remake re-treading the same ground.
The pop culture impact of the variousFreaky Fridaymovies have become impossible to overstate, with the title essentially becoming a verb denoting swapping the minds and bodies of two different characters. From hip-hop parodies like Lil Dicky’sFreaky FridaytoVince Vaughn’s body-swapping horror comedyFreaky, there’s no denying the ubiquity of the movies.
While all of theFreaky Fridaymovies have their own appeal, there are some clear winners and losers in terms of which of them have taken the concept the furthest. The addition ofFreakier Fridayalso adds an interesting wrinkle to the ranking, demanding acknowledgment of its strong new direction for the concept, suggesting more room for exploration.
No matter the year they were released,each of the films examines the tenuous, often tense bond between mother and daughter and how most people can always benefit from a change in perspective. Most of them are at least worth one watch, but with so many variations on the same theme, it’s hard not to acknowledge some clear gulfs in quality.
5Freaky Friday (2018)
Freakier Fridaywas far from Disney’s first attempt at mining nostalgia via callbacks to early 2000s movies, withFreaky Fridayarriving right on schedule once again in 2018 after a 12-year gap. Tragically, far less effort was put into this Disney Channel original musical.
Ellie and her mom, Katherine, switch bodies after fighting over a mysterious magical artifact belonging to Ellie’s late father. The usual high-jinks ensue, though with the addition of several musical numbers in true Disney Channel teen movie fashion.
2018’sFreaky Fridayhas far and away the worst performances of any film to use the name, with Broadway actress Heidi Blickenstaff and Disney Channel regular Cozi Zuehlsdorff falling short of the standard for this mother-daughter duo. Despite insisting on being a musical, the result is an irritating series of amateur-level numbers.
The musical additions also create some very awkward moments in this rendition. One notable musical number has a mentally 45-year-old woman sing about her romantic pinings for a teenage boy, and her daughter’s crush, at that. It’s an incredibly weird moment that condemns this version ofFreaky Friday.
4Freaky Friday (1995)
1995’s made-for-TV movie leaves much to be desired compared to its peers. Using the same names as the original novel, the 1995Freaky Fridaydescribes Ellen and Annabelle as a mother and daughter who simply can’t seem to get along, no matter how hard they try.
In this version,the source of the body swap is a pair of magical amulets, giving it by far the easiest magical mechanism for new perspectives to explain of the entire bunch. It was also the first film in the franchise to make the change of having Bill not be Annabelle’s father, with Bill simply being Ellen’s new beau after raising her as a single mother.
Finally, the 1995 movie replaces Annabelle’s hobby of waterskiing with diving, making for a more relatable climax centered on her mother’s inability to swim. These changes are all welcome departures from the source material that future films would go on to riff off of. Sadly, 1995’sFreaky Fridayhas other shortcomings.
Even thebest made-for-TV moviesusually don’t hold a candle to theatrical releases, and 1995’sFreaky Fridaydoesn’t do anything to disprove this notion. Proof that not all rare movies are worth hunting down, 1995’s cheap-feeling and poorly-acted take onFreaky Fridayis more a victim of circumstance than anything else.
3Freaky Friday (1976)
It’s interesting to note that the original novel first received an adaptation not too long after its release, with Disney forging its first attempt at bringing the beloved children’s book to screen a mere 4 years later in 1976. This version famously stars a young Jodie Foster as Annabel Andrews and posits Barbara Harris as her mother, Ellen.
By simultaneously wishing aloud that they could switch places on Friday the 13th, Annabel and Ellen have their wishes instantly granted, resulting in a series of wacky antics as the two try to grow accustomed to each other’s lives. Here, the focus is far more on the fish-out-of-water comedy on both sides rather than the anchoring emotional bond between mother and daughter.
1976’sFreaky Fridayis an enjoyable, cozy little time capsule, but it only scratches the surface of what the premise is capable of. The action is also certainly quite dated in certain respects, with Annabel’s trip in her mother’s body mostly consisting of stereotypical homemaker duties, whereas Ellen wins over teachers via her lived experience of the Korean War.
However formulaic the film may be by Disney’s standards for a live-action family-friendly movie in the 70s, the originalFreaky Fridaydoes have some great performances. Showing signs of her future greatness at only 13 years old,Freaky Fridayis one ofJodie Foster’s best performances, and Barbara Harris has great chemistry with her.
The first film was by far the most faithful to the original book, barring a bizarre fixation on water-skiing, but this is just as much a weakness as it is a strength. It took the more recent films putting new spins on the scenario to create a story worth telling, rather than a series of mildly entertaining mishaps revolving around a weak core relationship.
2Freakier Friday
The first film to actually move forward with the groundwork established by a previous film,Freakier Fridaygracefully skips over the 2018 movie and continues the tale of the 2003 timeline.Freakier Fridaydoubles the body-swappingaction by having Lindsay Lohan’s Anna swap with her own daughter, Harper, while Jamie Lee Curtis' Tess swaps with Anna’s new step-daughter, Lily.
The sequel wisely makes the choice to ditch the racially-charged fortune-cookie-magic that caused the body swap in the 2003 movie. Instead, an eerily accurate visit to a psychic is the catalyst for the change, which is only undone once all women involved are able to truly understand things from one another’s point of view.
The complicated and realistic depiction of the modern family is lovingly rendered inFreakier Friday, which takes care to depict its messy and true-to-life relationships with accuracy and respect. That doesn’t mean that the film skimps out on the comedy, as the 20 years that have gone by since the 2003 film make the swapping even more extreme.
More or less,Freakier Fridayacknowledges its source material and gives more of the same, resulting in bigger and broader laughs at the expense of a more bloated and complex narrative. Perhaps not as lean,Freakier Fridayfollows in the footsteps of its beloved predecessor.
1Freaky Friday (2003)
Of course, there would be noFreakier Fridaywithout the success of the 2003 classic. The first thing most audiences are likely to think of when they read the titleFreaky Friday, the 2003 remake remains the pinnacle of the concept to this very day. Lindsay Lohan’s Anna and Jamie Lee Curtis' Tess swap bodies after being given mysterious fortune cookies.
Lohan and Curtis are simply a match made in heaven for the premise ofFreaky Friday.It’s amazing how both women can effortlessly play both Anna and Tess, with memorably hilarious beats such as Tess gorging herself on fries while in Anna’s body and Anna calling herself the Crypt Keeper while in her mother’s body.
Tess and Anna have the best personalities of anyFreaky Fridayduo by a mile, as well.Anna’s punk-rock rebellion and Tess' prim and proper sensibilities enhance the divide between the two, and the true-to-life conflict of Tess’s remarrying after the death of Anna’s father makes for a believable clash that doesn’t feel hackneyed.
$25.9 million
*34.8M adjusted for inflation
68%
57%
34%
$160.8 million
*$215.8M adjusted for inflation
88%
58%
71%
20%
73%
94%
From the clever script to the amazing leads to the pacing that knows when to keep up the jokes and when to hit hard with genuine emotional blows, the 2003 film is hard to beat. In the eyes of many, the 2003 version is the onlyFreaky Fridaythat matters.
Freaky Friday
Cast
Freaky Friday is a family comedy featuring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. In the 2003 film, a mother and daughter magically swap bodies through a mystical fortune cookie, forcing them to live each other’s lives and gain new insights into their tumultuous relationship.
