''House Party'' is a 2023 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Calmatic Charles Kidd II (born September 25, 1987), known professionally as Calmatic, is an American filmmaker from Los Angeles known for music videos and commercials. He gained widespread fame in 2019 for directing the video for "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas ...

(in his feature

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

) from a screenplay by Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover, serving as a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

and

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1990 film of the same name. The film stars

Tosin Cole Tosin Cole (born 23 July 1992) is an American-born British actor. He is known for various roles in British television series and films. He began his on-screen career starring in '' The Cut'' and '' EastEnders: E20'', later securing a regular ro ...

Jacob Latimore Jacob O'Neal Latimore (born August 10, 1996) is an American actor, singer and dancer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2016, Latimore released his debut album ''Connection''. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Black Nativity (film), ...

, Karen Obilom, D.C. Young Fly, and

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

, and follows two young aspiring club promoters working as house cleaners who throw a party at their latest job site:

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

' mansion. It is produced by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

and James and

Maverick Carter Maverick Carter is an American sports-marketing businessman and media personality. Early life and education Maverick Carter was born on October 10, 1980 Carter spent most of his youth in Akron, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. Carter grew up the son ...

SpringHill Company SpringHill Company is an entertainment development and production company founded in 2020 by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Its board of directors includes Serena Williams. The company unites three earlier companies founded by James and Carter ...

. ''House Party'' was released in the United States on January 13, 2023, by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

. The film received negative reviews and grossed over $9 million worldwide.

Plot

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Kevin and Damon are two best friends who work as house cleaners and aspiring club promoters; Kevin also aspires to make music and get a steady income to support himself and his young daughter Destiny. The two of them are dropped from a promotion gig by Kyle and his gang (Guile and Larry) due to Damon having illicit involvement with Guile's cousin. While the two of them are working at a mansion, Kevin is informed by his childhood friend and current supervisor Venus that he and Damon will be fired due to cameras catching them goofing off on the job. Damon finds out that the mansion they are cleaning belongs to

, who is in India on a two-week meditation retreat, and proposes that he and Kevin host a party there for LeBron's celebrity contacts. Kevin, now desperate for money due to him knowing he’s fired and not starting his new IT job for another 2 months hesitantly joins in on the plan. Kevin asks Venus to supply him and Damon with the keys to the mansion, and she very reluctantly agrees. Damon and Kevin market the party as a secret event to avoid alerting the police, and the event starts out as a success. However, Kyle and his gang find out about it after no one shows up to their own party, and take advantage of a lapse in security to break into LeBron's trophy room and steal his

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

2016 championship ring. Kevin grows distressed over the damage happening to the mansion and confronts Damon over his flippant disregard for everything around him. Damon is later beaten up by Nick and his gang, but then sees his idol Mya. Mya offers for Damon to leave the party with her, but Damon declines in order to help Kevin keep the party from falling apart. Damon and Kevin find out that LeBron's ring has been stolen, and try desperately to find it.

tells them that the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

possesses a copy of every sports championship ring, and the duo are desperate enough to take up his offer. Venus volunteers to run the party in their absence, and she and Kevin kiss. Kid Cudi sneaks Damon and Kevin into an Illuminati convention where they successfully steal the ring, but are exposed when they inadvertently invoke God's name. The Illuminati force them into a gladiator fight, but Kid Cudi sacrifices himself to allow them to live, entrusting them with a poem he wrote for LeBron's eyes only. Damon and Kevin arrive back at the mansion to return the ring and end the party, but are interrupted by LeBron who returned from his trip early. LeBron intends to have the duo arrested, but Damon claims Kevin was not involved in the party and makes a wager that LeBron will let him go if he can beat the NBA superstar in a pickup basketball game. LeBron wins easily, and Damon is hauled off by the police. Kevin is forced to give LeBron the money he and Damon made, which the latter gives to charity. However, upon reading Kid Cudi's poem, LeBron has a change of heart and works to get Damon released early from his jail sentence, following which he is picked up by Mya. Kyle and his gang are arrested after trying to sell LeBron's ring, and the party causes Kevin to gain recognition and make money from his music. Back in the Illuminati mansion, Kid Cudi is brought back to life.

Cast

Cameos

Production

In February 2018, it was announced that

was developing a remake of ''

House Party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

'' with

and

producing under their production company SpringHill Entertainment. Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori were attached to write the adaptation. In September 2019, it was announced that

had joined the production as director. The film was scheduled to be released exclusively on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

via

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

. In April 2021, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and

were cast in lead roles. DC Young Fly joined the cast, followed in June by Karen Obilom,

Melvin Gregg Melvin Gregg is an American actor, model and comedian known for his roles as DeMarcus Tillman in Netflix's mockumentary series ''American Vandal'', Erick Scott in Steven Soderbergh’s sports drama film ''High Flying Bird'', Drew 'Manboy' Miller ...

, Rotimi,

Allen Maldonado Allen Maldonado (born May 20, 1983) is an American actor and filmmaker best known for his roles as Curtis in ''Black-ish'' and Bobby in '' The Last O.G.'' He is also an entrepreneur and runs his own clothing line and an app called ''Everybody Digi ...

, Shakira Ja'nai Paye,

Andrew Santino Andrew W. Santino (born October 16, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster known for television series and films such as ''Sin City Saints'', ''The Disaster Artist'', ''Mixology'', ''I'm Dying Up Here'' and ''Dave''. Educati ...

, and

Bill Bellamy William Bellamy (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "booty call", descri ...

. By July 2021, Lendeborg Jr. was replaced by

, following the former's departure from the project to focus on improving his mental health. That same month, Tamera Kissen was cast in a supporting role.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began on July 2, 2021, in

. Production was suspended later that month due to nine positive cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

reported, although only one was part of the production staff, while the rest were extras. Filming subsequently resumed on August 2, 2021.

Release

''House Party'' was theatrically released by

in the United States on January 13, 2023. It was originally set for a digital-only release on

on July 28, 2022, but was removed from Warner Bros' release schedule on July 11, 2022, just 17 days before release, before being moved in August to a theatrical release of December 9, 2022 as part of a restructuring plan for film distribution at Warner Bros. that would see the studio relying less on HBO Max-only releases and more on theatrical releases. In October 2022, it was delayed to its current release date. The film was released for VOD on January 31, 2023 and was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on February 14, 2023.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''House Party'' was released, together with ''

Plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...

'' and the wide expansion of ''

A Man Called Otto ''A Man Called Otto'' is a 2022 comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by David Magee. It is the second film adaptation of the 2012 novel '' A Man Called Ove'' by Fredrik Backman, and an American remake of the 2015 Swedish ...

'', and was projected to gross around $5 million from 1,400 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $4 million, finishing sixth.

Critical response

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Comedy 2023 comedy films 2023 directorial debut films 2020s American films 2020s buddy comedy films 2020s English-language films 2020s high school films African-American comedy films American buddy comedy films American high school films Comedy film remakes Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films about parties Stoner films Films directed by Calmatic Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles House Party films New Line Cinema films Remakes of American films Warner Bros. films