# House Party (franchise)

The House Party franchise consists of American comedies, based on a short film written/directed by Reginald Hudlin in 1990. The franchise consists of the original short film, three theatrical releases (the first film and its first two sequels), two straight-to-home video sequels, and one theatrical continuation movie. The events of each installment centers around high school teenagers, who are tasked with responsible duties ranging from studying for class to house-sitting, but instead go against the regimented instructions and plan large parties to increase their popularity at school; while eventually leading to comedic unfortunate circumstances. The plot additionally involves these characters' attempts to fame, in the Hip-hop/Rap music industry.
The short was received in 1983 with warm reception, with Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stating: "Reginald Hudlin's House Party!, [is] a stylish and witty look at teen-age behavior...", which spawned the overall franchise. The first theatrical film that followed was met with critical acclaim, and has since been credited as noteworthy of a milestone in African American representation and affluence in film history. With its historical significance, House Party has since been labeled and earned its status as cult classic. The sequels that followed have been met with respective diminishing reception, with criticisms pointed at their quality, when compared to the original release.
The franchise continues with the release of House Party.
Christopher Martin, Christopher Reid and Tisha Campbell were the only actors to have appeared in all the original first three House Party films.

## Films

| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
| House Party | March 9, 1990 (1990-03-09) | Reginald Hudlin | Reginald Hudlin | Warrington Hudlin |
| House Party 2 | October 23, 1991 (1991-10-23) | Doug McHenry & George Jackson | Daryl G. Nickens & Rusty Cundieff | Doug McHenry, George Jackson, Janet Grillo, Pat Golden and Suzanne Broderick |
| House Party 3 | January 12, 1994 (1994-01-12) | Eric Meza | David Toney & Takashi Bufford | Carl Craig, Cindy Hornickel, Doug McHenry, George Jackson, Helena Echegoyen and Janet Grillo |
| House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | August 14, 2001 (2001-08-14) | Chris Stokes | Marcus Warren & Chris Stokes | Cassius Weathersby |
| House Party: Tonight's the Night | July 23, 2013 (2013-07-23) | Darin Scott | Don D. Scott | Doug McHenry |
| House Party | January 13, 2023 (2023-01-13) | Charles "Calmatic" Kidd II | Stephen Glover & Jamal Olori | LeBron James and Maverick Carter |

### House Party (1990)

Play's parents are out of town, and he's planning a house party to end all others. His best friend named Kid wants to attend more than anything as the prettiest and most popular girl at school, Sydney, will also be there. They work together to plan something memorable, but when Kid gets into a fight at school, his father grounds him. Determined to no miss out on the event of the school-year, Kid rebelliously sneaks out of the house and faces a series of unfortunate circumstances as he make his way to the party. Kid strives to ensure he arrives, before the party is over.

### House Party 2 (1991)

Rapper-turned-scholar Kid, gets accepted into collegiate schooling. Excited for the new adventure, he quickly hits a stumbling block when he runs out of cash as classes are about to start. Desperate for funds, he looks for ways to earn money. After spending some time working at the school cafeteria, Kid decides to plan another party with Play. Together, the friends organize a late-night event where the women can enter by dressing scantily clad, while men must pay to enter. As the party begins, one event after the last causes issues. The friends work together to ensure that Kid makes the money he is in need of.

### House Party 3 (1994)

After their share of exploits, best friends Kid and Play are faced with growing up. Kid is marrying his girlfriend Veda, and Play is doing his best to continue having success in the music industry. Kid works with his fiancé in preparing for the wedding; Play plans a bachelor party while also attending to his trouble-making younger cousins while also managing a new all-female rap group called Sex as a Weapon. The friends strive to create successful events, all while moving on into adulthood.

### House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute (2001)

The teenage, musical-aspiring Jon "Jon-Jon" Harris, Jr. volunteers for the responsibility of house-sitting his wealthy Uncle Charles Lester's mansion. While the latter is away on a business trip, Jon-Jon is asked to have no visitors nor to drive his uncle's platinum colored Mercedes-Benz 430 luxury vehicle. Jon-Jon calls his two best friends Mark and T, collectively known as the hip hop group named IMx, and together they enjoy the comforts of his uncle's income. The trio take the car for a drive after getting caught up in the aspirations of popularity, and plan a party for all of their classmates. The group convince a record label executive to attend the entertainment event, and rehearse their routine for their performance. As the event begins and their concert rages, Jon-Jon discovers that his uncle is coming home sooner than expected. The friends race against time, attempting to get everything back to the way it was, hiding their hijinks while he was away.

### House Party: Tonight's the Night (2013)

Chris Johnson and his best friend Dylan are two teenage amateur rappers. As their high school experience comes to an end, Chris prepares to go to college. Together they realize that their chance for a final experience with their peers is immanent. The pair plan their party, while Chris tries to finally win the affections of the girl he has had a crush on since their time in second grade; Autumn Rose. As the party commences, with local celebrity hip-hop artists Christopher "Kid" Robinson, Jr. and Peter "Play" Martin in attendance, a series of unexpected disasters ensue. Chris and Dylan work together, to salvage the night as best they can.

### House Party (2023)

In February 2018, it was announced that a relaunch of the House Party film series was in development. With a script co-written by Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori, the story is described as: "definitely not a reboot. It's an entirely new...House Party." LeBron James and Maverick Carter are signed as producers. The project will be a joint-venture production between Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, SpringHill Company and HBO Max Original Films. The film is intended to be released exclusively on HBO Max via streaming. In September 2019, Charles "Calmatic" Kidd II signed onto the production as director, marking the filmmakers feature film directorial debut. Principal photography commenced in July 2021. In August 2022, the movie was rescheduled for a theatrical release, after previously having been scheduled for July 28, 2022 release exclusively via streaming. It was also previously scheduled for a December 9, 2022 release.
It was released on January 13, 2023.

## Short film

Written/directed/produced by Reginal Hudlin as a 20-minute short as a thesis during his time as a college student at Harvard University, House Party! was released independently by the filmmaker. It is known for centering around a teenager who defies the wishes of his strict father and sneaks out of his house at night to attend a party with his friends and peers.
Despite its indie-distribution, Hudlin's short received recognition by winning first place with a $1,500 total prize at the fourth annual Black Independent Video and Film-maker's Awards sponsored by which is related to the official film archives of the Western States Black Research Center. Following the successes of the short film, Reginald Hudlin and his brother Warrington Hudlin started developing the script for a feature film adaptation, at the request of New Line Cinema.

## Main cast and characters

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
* An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
* $^A$ indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
* $^P$ indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
| Character |
| Character | Short film | Film |
| Character | House Party! | House Party (1990) | House Party 2 | House Party 3 | House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | House Party: Tonight's the Night | House Party (2023) |
| Principal cast |
| Christopher "Kid" Robinson, Jr. | | Christopher "Kid" Reid | Christopher "Kid" Reid | Christopher "Kid" Reid | | Christopher "Kid" Reid | |
| Peter "Play" Martin | | Christopher "Play" Martin | Christopher "Play" Martin | Christopher "Play" Martin | | Christopher "Play" Martin | |
| Christopher "Pops" Robinson, Sr. | | Robin Harris | Robin Harris | Robin Harris | | | |
| Bilal | | Martin Lawrence | Martin Lawrence | | | | |
| Stab | | Paul Anthony George | Paul Anthony George | | | | |
| Pee-Wee | | Lucien "Bow-Legged Lou" George, Jr. | Lucien "Bow-Legged Lou" George, Jr. | | | | |
| Zilla | | Brian "B-Fine" George | Brian "B-Fine" George | | | | |
| Sidney | | Tisha Campbell | Tisha Campbell | Tisha Campbell | | | |
| Groove | | Gene "Groove" Allen | Gene "Groove" Allen | | | | |
| Chill | | Daryl "Chill" Mitchell | Daryl "Chill" Mitchell | | | | |
| Sylvester "Vester" Robinson | | | | Bernie Mac | | | |
| Jon "Jon-Jon" Harris, Jr. | | | | | Marques "Batman" Houston | | |
| Mark | | | | | Jerome "Young Rome" Jones | | |
| T | | | | | Kelton "LDB" Kessee | | |
| Monique Harris | | | | | Alexis Fields | | |
| Judy Harris | | | | | Kym Whitley | | |
| Charles Harris | | | | | Roland "Buddy" Lewis | | |
| Jon Harris, Sr. | | | | | Dorien Wilson | | |
| Grandma Harris | | | | | Irene Stokes | | |
| Chris Johnson | | | | | | Tequan Richmond | |
| Dylan | | | | | | Zac Goodspeed | |
| Autumn Rose | | | | | | Tristin Mays | |
| Melvin Johnson | | | | | | Gary Anthony Williams | |
| Mimi Johnson | | | | | | Jacqui Achilleas | |
| Kevin | | | | | | | Jacob Latimore |
| Damon | | | | | | | Tosin Cole |
| Supporting cast |
| E.Z.E. / Butcher | | Anthony Johnson | | Anthony Johnson | | | |
| Jamal | | | Ron "Kamron" Winge | | | | |
| Sheila Landreaux | | | Iman Abdulmajid | | | | |
| Zora | | | Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens | | | | |
| Miles | | | D. Christopher Judge | | | | |
| Mr. Lee | | | Tony Burton | | | | |
| the Professor | | | Whoopi Goldberg | | | | |
| Veda | | | | Angela Means | | | |
| Johnny Booze | | | | Chris Tucker | | | |
| Aunt Lucy Robinson | | | | Ketty Lester | | | |
| Janelle | | | | Khandi Alexander | | | |
| Marques "Batman" Houston | | | | Himself | | | |
| Jerome "Romeo" Jones | | | | Himself | | | |
| Don "Half-Pint" Santos | | | | Himself | | | |
| the Luggage Clerk | | | | Gilbert Gottfried | | | |
| Sex as a Weapon | | | | Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes | | | |
| Tina | | | | | Meagan Good | | |
| Heidi | | | | | Jamal "Hercules" Mixon | | |
| Bertha | | | | | Jerod "Big Time" Mixon | | |
| Tracey | | | | | | Julie Hartley | |
| Morgan | | | | | | Alex McGregor | |
| Quentin | | | | | | Keith Powers | |

## Additional crew and production details

| Title | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail |
| Title | Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time |
| House Party! | Reginald Hudlin | Marco Williams | Reginald Hudlin | Reginald Hudlin Independent Film | Black Independent Video and Film-maker's Awards | 20mins |
| House Party (1990) | Lenny White & Marcus Miller | Peter Deming | Earl Watson | New Line Cinema, The Jackson/McHenry Company, The Hudlin Brothers | New Line Cinema | 1hr 40mins |
| House Party 2 | Vassal Benford | Francis Kenny | Joel Goodman | New Line Cinema, The Jackson/McHenry Company, The Hudlin Brothers | New Line Cinema | 1hr 34mins |
| House Party 3 | David Allen Jones | Anghel Decca | Tom Walls | New Line Cinema, The Jackson/McHenry Company, The Hudlin Brothers | New Line Cinema | 1r 40mins |
| House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | Tom Moore | Todd A. Dos Reis | Chris Maybach | New Line Cinema, Ultimate Group Films | New Line Home Video | 1hr 20mins |
| House Party: Tonight's the Night | Michael Corcoran & Eric Goldman | Thomas L. Callaway | Tony Lombardo | Warner Premiere, Film Afrika Worldwide, Market Street Productions | Warner Premiere, Warner Home Entertainment | 1hr 29mins |
| House Party (2023) | Oak Felder | Andrew Huebscher | Matthew Barbato | Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, SpringHill Entertainment | Warner Bros. Pictures | 1hr 41mins |

## Reception
### Box office and financial performance

| Title | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Box office ranking | Home video total | Gross income | Budget | Net income | Ref. |
| Title | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | Home video total | Gross income | Budget | Net income | Ref. |
| House Party! | — | — | — | — | $1,500 | Figures not publicly available | ≤$1,500 | |
| House Party (1990) | $26,385,627 | #3,083 | #4,342 | Figures not publicly available | >$26,385,627 | $2,500,000 | >$23,885,627 | |
| House Party 2 | $19,438,638 | #3,739 | #5,189 | Figures not publicly available | >$19,438,638 | $5,000,000 | >14,438,638 | |
| House Party 3 | $19,281,235 | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | |
| House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | — | — | — | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | |
| House Party: Tonight's the Night | — | — | — | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | Figures not publicly available | |
| House Party (2023) | $7,185,508 | #6,366 | #9,468 | Figures not publicly available | >$7.3,000,000 | TBA | >$3,985,882 | |
| Totals | $45,824,265 | x̄975 | x̄1,362 | Figures not publicly available | ≥$45,825,756 | >$7,500,000 | ≤$45,825,756 | |

### Critical and public response

| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| House Party (1990) | 94% (31 reviews) | 76/100 (15 reviews) |
| House Party 2 | 27% (15 reviews) | — |
| House Party 3 | 0% (10 reviews) | — |
| House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | — (2 reviews) | — |
| House Party: Tonight's the Night | — (1 review) | — |
| House Party (2023) | 28% (39 reviews) | 41/100 (15 reviews) |