The Meet the Parents movies in order

In 1992, low budget independent comedy, Meet the Parents made its debut. The film – directed and co-written by Greg Glienna – told the story of a young man named Greg who meets his fiancée’s parents for the first time with disastrous consequences.

Released in limited theatres, Meet the Parents wasn’t a huge hit, but it was well received by critics. More importantly, Universal Pictures saw the potential in the story, bought the rights to remake it, and eight years later released a more high profile film starring Ben Stiller.

The Meet the Parents remake was successful, taking big bucks at the box office. As such, a collection of sequels soon followed.

But how many Meet the Parents movies are there and what is the viewing order? For all the details, keep reading.

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Meet the Parents movies

Meet the Parents (1992)

As noted above, the first Meet the Parents movie debuted in 1992 as an independent production. The film, directed, co-written, and starring Greg Glienna, followed the story of Greg – an advertising agent from Chicago who sets out to meet his fiancée’s parents.

Along the way, things don’t run smoothly. Despite Greg’s best efforts to impress, a number of mishaps take place, including an overflowing toilet and an incident with a fishing pole. (72 mins)

Meet the Parents (2000)

Following the release of 1992’s Meet the Parents, Universal Pictures bought the rights to the film with plans for a remake. Released eight years later in 2000, the remake kept the basic premise of the original, but gave things an update, with Chicago nurse, Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker setting off to meet his fiancée’s parents, including future father-in-law, Jack.

Starring Ben Stiller as Greg and Robert De Niro as Jack, Meet the Parents saw Greg’s attempts to impress fall flat. Hilarious situations ensued, and the movie became a big hit with audiences, taking over $330 million from a budget of $55 million. (108 mins)

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Due to the success of 2000’s Meet the Parents, Universal Pictures put a sequel into production with partners DreamWorks Pictures, which arrived in cinemas in 2004 under the title, Meet the Fockers. In this film, Greg and his fiancée, Pam, decide it is time for both sets of parents to meet, providing further madcap situations and hijinks. (115 mins)

Little Fockers (2010)

Despite receiving a mixed response from critics, Meet the Fockers was another box office hit. This in turn encouraged Universal Pictures to move forward with another movie, this time with partners Paramount Pictures.

Picking up the story five years later, Greg and Pam are preparing to celebrate the fifth birthday of their twins, Samantha and Henry, while also planning to move house. Things then start to go wrong when the in-laws visit in 2010’s Little Fockers. (98 mins)

Focker-in-Law (2026)

Sixteen years after Little Fockers debuted, Universal and Paramount revived the Meet the Parents franchise with another instalment, titled Focker-in-Law. More crazy mishaps occur.

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The Meet the Parents movies in order

Should you wish to watch all of the Meet the Parents movies in production order, follow this list:

• Meet the Parents (1992)
• Meet the Parents (2000)
• Meet the Fockers (2004)
• Little Fockers (2010)
• Focker-in-Law (2026)

As not all of the movies are connected, for easier navigation the series breaks down as follows:

The original standalone movie

• Meet the Parents (1992)

The Ben Stiller/Robert De Niro remake and sequels

• Meet the Parents (2000)
• Meet the Fockers (2004)
• Little Fockers (2010)
• Focker-in-Law (2026)

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Who are the cast of the Meet the Parents movies and are the films the work of the same director?

Notable actors in the Meet the Parents film series include Greg Glienna, Jacqueline Cahill, Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Ariana Grande, Skyler Gisondo, and Beanie Feldstein.

In terms of directors, the Meet the Parents movies are the work of the following directors:

• Greg Glienna directed Meet the Parents 1992
• Jay Roach directed Meet the Parents 2000 and Meet the Fockers
• Paul Weitz directed Little Fockers
• John Hamburg directed Focker-in-Law

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What is the best Meet the Parents movie?

According to IMDb, the Meet the Parents movies are rated as follows:

• Meet the Parents (1992) – 6.7/10
• Meet the Parents (2000) – 7/10
• Meet the Fockers (2004) – 6.4/10
• Little Fockers (2010) – 5.5/10
• Focker-in-Law (2026) – Not Yet Rated

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