Ben Stiller Addresses Breaking Career Record With Returning Franchise

Published Nov 15, 2026, 10:59 AM EST Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025. Before his new movie releases in theaters, it has already broken a career record for Ben Stiller. Between There's Something About Mary, Tropic Thunder, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and the Night at the Museum, Madagascar, Meet the Parents, and Zoolander franchises, Stiller has had no shortage of box office hits. After not starring in Hollywood movies for several years, and being a key executive producer and director of Apple TV's Severance, he is now about to be back on the big screen. In an interview with Variety for Focker-in-Law, Stiller was asked about Meet the Parents becoming his first four-film franchise, as it has now surpassed both Night at the Museum and Madagascar, which have each released three movies. Responding to how he feels about this and whether the Meet the Parents franchise's record-breaking longevity was ever expected, he replied, "No, not really. As the years go by, you realize if there’s a reason to make a movie, and you can try to make something good — it’s something people are invested in and are excited to see it — hopefully they’ll feel like, 'Okay, this satisfies what I like about that franchise.'" Focker-in-Law features Stiller reprising the role of Greg Focker, whose son, Henry (Skyler Gisondo), intends to propose to his girlfriend, Olivia Jones (Ariana Grande), who is a life coach and a former FBI hostage negotiator. Greg believes she is not a good fit for his son, but much to his chagrin, she bonds with his father-in-law, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro). This is the first Meet the Parents movie in 16 years, as Little Fockers was released in 2010. The comedy franchise began with Meet the Parents in 2000, followed by Meet the Fockers in 2004. The original movie was a box office smash hit, grossing $550 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $55 million. Meet the Fockers earned $522 million globally against a reported $80 million budget, while Little Fockers made $310 million on a $100 million budget. All the films have been box office successes, but as indicated by the 10% critics' score and 34% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Little Fockers got dismal reviews. By comparison, Meet the Parents has a "Certified Fresh" 85% Tomatometer score and 79% Popcornmeter score, although Meet the Fockers received 39% from critics and 58% from audiences. Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score. The first reactions to Focker-in-Law were overwhelmingly positive, which is a promising sign that the overall reception will be a significant improvement from Little Fockers. Stiller has previously been candid about not liking the franchise's 2010 installment, while still being proud of the first two films, and his response about the new release setting a career record suggests that it will satisfy longtime fans. Along with starring in Focker-in-Law, Stiller is one of the movie's producers, as is De Niro. John Hamburg, who wrote all the franchise's previous movies, directed this one, wrote the screenplay, and is also a producer. In addition to Stiller, De Niro, Grande, and Gisondo, the cast includes Teri Polo as Pam Byrnes Focker, Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley, Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes, Beanie Feldstein as Samantha Focker, and Eduardo Franco as Eduardo Villalobos. Focker-in-Law releases in theaters on November 25.