Starring: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Alyson Stoner, Eugene Levy, Taylor Lautner, Piper Perabo, Carmen Electra (Cameo)
One Family. One Resort. One War.
The Baker family is back, and their attempts at a peaceful family vacation are about to fail spectacular. Cheaper by the Dozen 3: War of the Weekenders reunites the sprawling, beloved Baker clan in an outrageous new installment that proves when you have twelve children, you don’t take a holiday—you initiate a campaign.
Steve Martin returns as Tom Baker, the eternally optimistic but easily overwhelmed patriarch, determined to give his massive family “one peaceful, electronics-free, bonding getaway” at the rustic Lakeside Pines Resort. Bonnie Hunt is back as Kate, the family’s essential emotional center and the only person capable of calmly processing twelve different crises at once, while attempting to prevent Tom from triggering full-scale pandemonium.
The Murtaugh Menace Returns
Tom’s doomed dream shatters the moment they arrive and realize the resort is double-booked by their competitive, polished, and equally large rivals: the Murtaughs. Eugene Levy returns as Jimmy Murtaugh, competitive as ever and armed with a detailed itinerary of new “family superiority challenges.” From high-stakes wakeboarding races and elaborate survival-camp obstacle courses to a ridiculously intense resort talent show, the Bakers are instantly dragged into a rematch neither family is emotionally, physically, or financially prepared for.
The Next Generation Chaos
The adult Baker children arrive with their own baggage, exponentially increasing the drama. Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Alyson Stoner, and the rest of the original twelve are back as their now-grown, equally chaotic selves, showing up with:
- Demanding fiancés and skeptical in-laws-to-be (including Piper Perabo).
- High-pressure corporate jobs and graduate school applications.
- A newly adopted, extremely large dog.
- More emotional baggage than Tom can unpack without an emergency therapy session.
Taylor Lautner also steps back into the fray, his character caught in the middle of the escalating sibling rivalry, bringing new sparks, mixed loyalties, and plenty of comedic tension as he tries to maintain peace.
Survival Mode: Activated
The rivalry turns into an unexpected alliance when a massive, sudden storm traps both families at the resort, cutting the power and communication. The Bakers and Murtaughs are forced into close quarters survival mode, navigating a series of escalating disasters:
- A chaotic search for three missing toddlers who commandeered a paddleboat.
- A half-flooded cabin that turns into an indoor swamp.
- A perpetually hungry black bear that refuses to leave the dining hall, demanding scones.
- A spontaneous, ill-fated wedding proposal that goes terribly wrong.
Through soaked clothes, exhaustion, and squabbling, the two families slowly rediscover what truly matters: sticking together. War of the Weekenders is a hilarious, heartwarming celebration of the beautiful, noisy, and wonderfully messy reality of family life. Because when you have a dozen kids—and their rivals—you don’t just take a vacation; you have to survive the week and the people you love most.