Instant Family is a 2018 American family comedy-drama film starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne as parents who adopt three siblings, played by Isabela Moner, Gustavo Quiroz, and Julianna Gamiz. Also starring Margo Martindale, Julie Hagerty, Tig Notaro, and Octavia Spencer, the film is directed by Sean Anders, who wrote the screenplay with John Morris, based in part on Anders own experiences.

Instant Family was released in the United States on November 16, 2018. It grossed over $120 million worldwide, and was called an earnest, heartwarming comedy by critics, who also praised the performances.

Plot

Husband and wife Pete and Ellie Wagner, derided by relatives who think they will never have children, consider adoption. They enroll in foster care, led by social workers Karen and Sharon. At a fair to meet foster children, Ellie voices her reluctance to foster/adopt a teen, when they are confronted by 15-year-old Lizzie, who impresses them.

Karen and Sharon reveal that Lizzie has two siblings, 10-year-old Juan and 6-year-old Lita, and their mother is a drug addict, in prison; if they want Lizzie, they must take Juan and Lita too. The Wagners meeting with Lizzie and her siblings does not result in an immediate connection, making them reconsider. At Thanksgiving dinner with Ellie s family, Pete and Ellie say they have decided not to adopt. The family admits no one actually believed it would work out, so Pete and Ellie decide to officially adopt them.

Lizzie, Juan, and Lita move in with the Wagners, whose lives become hectic – Lita will only eat potato chips, Juan is extremely emotional and fragile, and Lizzie resents Ellie s attempts to parent them. The Wagners turn to a foster parent support group. Pete s mother Sandy wins the kids over by taking the family to Six Flags, but Lizzie disappears with friends and returns late, prompting Pete to ground her.

The next day, as Pete and Ellie confront Lizzie trying to leave with friends, Juan accidentally shoots a nail into his foot. Seeing Pete and Ellie rush Juan to the hospital and comfort Lita, Lizzie begins to warm up to them, and Pete invites her to vent her frustrations by demolishing the kitchen of the house he is renovating. Lita calls Pete Daddy after he fixes her doll during Lizzie s soccer practice. At night, Ellie walks into Juan and Lita s room, hearing Juan having a nightmare. After Ellie comforts him, Juan says, “Good night, Mommy.” Ellie is overjoyed.

Pete and Ellie meet Carla, the kids’ mother, who is out of prison, wanting to reunite with her children. The Wagners express their feelings to the support group, but the social workers explain the system s main goal is to keep families together, and the children may be returned to their birth mother.

Carla s meetings with her children disrupt the Wagner household; the children become more unruly, leaving Pete and Ellie demotivated and frustrated. They are horrified to discover Lizzie taking naked pictures of herself to send to Jacob at school, who sends her a dick pic . Pete and Ellie seek out the Fernandez family, whose adoptive daughter Brenda had inspired them at their orientation. They learn Brenda is back in rehab, but Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez assure the Wagners that things that matter are hard .

Taking the children to school the next day, Pete and Ellie confront a student named Charlie, mistakenly thinking he is Jacob, only to apologize for the mix-up when he tells them the truth; when Pete asks Charlie if he knows anyone named Jacob who s been hanging around Lizzie, Charlie points out Jacob is the school s 22-year-old janitor. They beat him up and he is arrested, as are Pete and Ellie, accidentally leaving Juan and Lita in the car unattended. Returning home after posting bail, Pete and Ellie are told by Sandy that they need to reassure Lizzie that they love her.

At the children s court hearing, the judge reads a statement from Lizzie, detailing Pete and Ellie s actions negatively. He refuses to let Ellie read her own statement, and the children are returned to Carla. Juan and Lita do not want to leave the Wagners, but Lizzie is ready. The next day, Karen and Sharon arrive to tell the kids that Carla is not coming for them, having failed to appear that morning. They also reveal that, when going to see her, Carla is using drugs again and claimed Lizzie was who filled out all of the paperwork. Heartbroken, Lizzie tearfully runs away, but Pete and Ellie chase after her. They re-assure her that they love her, and the trio reconcile.

Four months later, the family attends a new court hearing, where Pete and Ellie s adoption of Lizzie, Juan, and Lita is finalised. They all pose for a picture, joined by their families and fellow foster families.

Cast

• Mark Wahlberg as Pete Wagner
• Rose Byrne as Ellie Wagner
• Isabela Merced as Lizzie Wagner, 15-years old and the oldest sibling.
• Gustavo Escobar as Juan Wagner, 10-years old and the middle sibling.
• Julianna Gamiz as Lita Wagner, 6-years old and the youngest sibling.
• Octavia Spencer as Karen, the other social worker who guides the parents-to-be through the foster care process
• Tig Notaro as Sharon, one of the social workers who guide the parents-to-be through the foster care process
• Margo Martindale as Grandma Sandy, Pete s overbearing and goodhearted mother
• Julie Hagerty as Jen, Ellie s soft spoken and naive mother
• Michael O Keefe as Jerry, Ellie s father
• Tom Segura as Russ, Kim s husband
• Allyn Rachel as Kim, Ellie s sister
• Iliza Shlesinger as October
• Valente Rodriguez as Judge Rivas, the Adoption Court Judge
• Charlie McDermott as Stewart, Pete s co-worker
• Carson Holmes as Charlie
• Nicholas Logan as Jacob
• Joselin Reyes as Carla
• Eve Harlow as Brenda
• Andrea Anders as Jessie
• Gary Weeks as Dirk
• Joan Cusack as Mrs. Howard

Production

The film was inspired by Anders own experiences fostering and then adopting three siblings. The children were 6 years old, 3 years old and 18 months. Anders talked to other adoptive families and teenagers who had grown up in care and then been adopted in order to research the character of Lizzy.

Rose Byrne joined the cast of the film on November 17, 2017. Isabela Merced co-stars alongside Mark Wahlberg for a second time, after previously working together on Transformers: The Last Knight in 2017. Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro, Iliza Shlesinger, Gustavo Escobar (Gustavo Quiroz), Julianna Gamiz, and Tom Segura were added to the cast in February 2018, with filming beginning the following month, and lasting until May 14.

Release

Instant Family was originally scheduled for release in the United States on February 15, 2019, before being moved up three months, to November 16, 2018. On November 10, 2018, it was announced the film s November 11 premiere in Los Angeles would be canceled due to the Woolsey Fire, but that a screening would take place at an evacuation center for victims of the fires. Instant Family became available on Digital on February 19, 2019, and on DVD/Blu-Ray on March 5, 2019.

Instant Family was rated PG in Australia and M in New Zealand.

Reception

Box office

Instant Family grossed $67.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $53.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $120.6 million, against a production budget of $48 million.

In the United States and Canada, Instant Family was released alongside Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Widows, and was projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,258 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4.8 million on its first day, including $550,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $14.7 million, finishing fourth at the box office. Deadline Hollywood said the opening, compared to the $48 million budget, isn t spectacular, but there s hope that film could leg out…over Thanksgiving. In its second weekend, the film dropped 14% to $12.5 million (including $17.4 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing sixth.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 156 reviews and an average rating of 6.6/10. The website s critical consensus reads, Instant Family may not quite capture the complexity of real-life adoption, but fittingly for the unconditional bond it honors, this flawed yet well-intentioned dramedy is ultimately worth the investment. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 83% overall positive score and a 61% definite recommend.

Year	2018
ReleaseDate	2018-11-16
RuntimeMins	118
RuntimeStr	1h 58min
Plot	A couple find themselves in over their heads when they foster three children.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 5 nominations
Directors	Sean Anders
Writers	Sean Anders, John Morris
Stars	Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced
Produced by	Sean Anders,Allegra Clegg,Marc Evans,Eric Kissack,Stephen Levinson,John Morris,Helen Pollak,Daniel Silverberg,Mark Wahlberg
Music by	Michael Andrews
Cinematography by	Brett Pawlak
Film Editing by	Brad Wilhite
Casting By	Sheila Jaffe
Production Design by	Clayton Hartley
Art Direction by	Elliott Glick,Alex McCarroll
Set Decoration by	Beauchamp Fontaine
Costume Design by	Lisa Lovaas
Makeup Department	Zoey Belton,Howard Berger,Jacenda Burkett,Jennifer Hodges,Aida Scuffle,Linda Traxler,Jordan Venetis,Johnny Villanueva,Lance Aldredge,Zoey Belton,Leay Cangelosi,Nancy Cummings,Gaby Macias,Mollie Siegel,Khanh Trance,Hailey Trifiro,Melanie Young
Production Management	Helen Pollak,Gretel Twombly,Jordan Ballard
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Lindsey Fredieu,Conte Mark Matal,Daniel Silverberg,Jen Willis,Joseph Gravier,Christopher Zou
Art Department	Michael Alvarado,Torri Anders,Jessica Baker,Darrin Bates,Mychael Bates,Scott Baughman,John Bayles,Andy Bays,Corey Belt,Larry Blaisdell,Heather Bowers,Maxwell Britton,Kyle Burke,Danny Byrd,Jeremiah Castleman,Joseph L.E. Chenier III,Michael Corrigan,Lyle Curry,Christopher Michael Davis,Todd Davis,D. Tobias Denney,Ashley Fidalgo Fogleman,Gerard Forrest,Patrick Fuhrman,Edward A. Giron,Josh Gould,D.J. Green,Carl Hagan,Joseph Harper Jr.,Gabe Harrington,Frank J. Hart,Garrett Hartle,Kevin Hicks,Jeffrey Hoard,Chad Holbrook,Zak Howell,Kyle Howser,Aaron Jaggers,Elliott Johnson,Matthew Cole Johnson,Scott Johnson,Jeff Juszkiewicz,Lima Hyelim Kang,Anthony Karlic,Melissa Kennedy,Julie Kobsa,Peter Kolev,Ian Lee,Ian Lane Lee,Stephanie Little,Caryn Marcus,Jesse Mars,Arthur Kirk Martin,Rodney Martin,Takuro Masuda,Martin L. Maupin,Stacey S. McIntosh,Thomas Minton,William Monroe,Swift Moseley,Chad N. Moslander,Gabe Owens,Derrick Phillips,Chad Pierce,Brett Reeser,Frederick Roberts,Matt Rue,Robert Saccenti,Todd Seay,Craig T. Shordon,Levi Shordon,Thomas Spence,Watson Stewart,Michael Stone,Merritt Sullivan,Craig Thompson,James E. Tocci,John Trafton,Manuel Valenzuela,Linda Verzi,Billy A. Wade,Josh Walker,Lisa Walsh,Kyle Wells,Dennis N. Wood,Carla Bailey,Maxwell Fasen,Clark Grimes,Daniel Malin,Paul Markovich,Hunter Moseley,Brandy Taylor,Felentae Maryiah Terrell,Tom Wagman,C.L. Ward,Lara Wootton
Sound Department	Ron Bartlett,Anna Behlmer,C. Douglas Cameron,Andrew DeCristofaro,Russell Farmarco,Eric Flickinger,Judah Getz,David Jobe,Alana Knutson,Andy Koyama,Dawn Lunsford,Whit Norris,Thomas J. O Connell,Mark Pappas,Michael Payne,Frederick H. Stahly,David Stanke,Alicia Stevenson,Greg ten Bosch,Darren Sunny Warkentin,Patrick Anderson,Scott Cannizzaro,Noyan Cosarer,Mike DeBonis,Devin Donaghy,Aidan Dykes,Jorge García Bastidas,Andy Hay,Adam Johnson,Johnny Kubelka,Bob Lacivita,Roberto Merlini,Dave Wilson
Special Effects by	Skylar Gorrell,Wayne Rowe,Bryan Brimecombe,Colleen Daniel,Barry Hart,J.D. Schwalm,Alex Ulloa
Visual Effects by	Joseph Ahn,Niall Booker,Steven Browning,Eric Bruneau,Zachary Carnes,Rachan Chirarattanakornkul,Myong Choi,Zachary Cole,Andrew M. Collins,Matt Conway,Jesse Cook III,Matt Cordero,Sean Cox,Jayson Davis,Jadan Duffin,Jason Evanko,Patrick Flannery,P. Whitney Gearin,Robby Geis,Rob Gestone,Andrew Hsu,Joshua H. Johnson,Yonghwan Kang,Sarah Keturah,Matthew Klein,Timothy LaFleur,Donna Lanasa,Sun Lee,Jaimie Lefebvre,Tati Leite,Lee Mar,Eric Mattson,Natalia Matveenko,Jamison McCord,Mare McIntosh,Rebecca McKee,David Michaels,Zach Miller,Aileen Mu,Jason Mulyadi,Mike Murawsky,Thomas Nittmann,Scott Oliveira,Ben Perkins,Mario J. Pillet,John Polyson,Ryan Reeb,Brian Sales,Greg Souers,Steven Spady,Andrew Spalding,Ryan Swan,Annalisa Torina,Arthur Vail III,Sergio Villegas,Mike Warner,Cliff Welsh,Edson Williams,Tomas Zaveckas,Myong Choi,Chieh Deng,Sean Devereaux,Brady Doyle,Brian Drewes,Alex Falcon,Matthew Friedlander,Leighann Kocenko,Kurt Lawson,Lee Mar,David Pietricola,Jacquelyn Racine,Travis Reinke,Mark Stern,Ryan Swan
Stunts	Jennifer Badger,Matt Allmen,Joshua Bradley,John Copeman,Thomas DuPont,Noah Bain Garret,Crystal Hooks,Alexis Lord,David Brian Martin,Trent Mayo,Maya Santandrea,Aden Stay,Remington Steele,Casey Ann Zeller
Camera and Electrical Department	Matt Alexander,William Adam Atchison,Mike Black,Kenneth Bolton,Josh Burnett,Richard Cantu,Jesse Carver,Adam Castro,Tim Chang,Shawn Coffman,Jessica Conaway,Reginald Copeland,Stephen Crowley,Sean Cruz,Juvonn Daves,Michael J. Davis,Bryant Diaz,Travious Downer,Stephen Dubay,Scott Forte,David R. Galindo,Matthew Haskins,Jimmy Hendrix,Darryl Humber,Gregory Irwin,Christopher D. Jones,Nicholas Kay,Jeff Kluttz,Jonathan Kobs,Lane Leagans,Andy Lohrenz,Anthony Martinez,Matt Matches,Thabo Mokgotho,Tom Novell,Gary Oldknow,Joseph Parker,D.J. Phillips,C. Alan Rawlins,Riko Schatke,Henry Schroeder,Matt Shearer,Jason Staten,Hopper Stone,Scott Stuart,John Sweet,Jon Titus,Frankie Zamora,Steve Zigler,Kyle Z. Anderson,Marc Casey,Justin Dombrowski,Thomas Gossard,Bret Lanius,Cameron Mendel,Nelson Moncada,Kenny Rivenbark,Robert Robinson,John Slade,Dylan Trivette
Casting Department	Rebecca Carfagna,Barbara Harris,Meagan Lewis,Kristi Lugo,Bryan Riley,Roxy Russell,Tammy L. Smith
Costume and Wardrobe Department	English Benning,Charelle Bronson,Synithia Cochran,Lizzie Cook,Scott T. Coppock,Lorraine Crossman,Keith Hudson,Tony Kochinas,Katerina Kojeva,Valerie Martin,Theresa Morales,Rachel A. Walker,Deborah Zimmerman,Kassia Dombroski,Ana González-Dorta,Kristin Kathol,Alyssa N. Miles,Kendra L. Patterson,GeeGee Smith,Addy Steigerwalt
Editorial Department	Christopher Abdon,Rafael Baez Jr.,Tom Barile,Matt Blackshear,Alex Brownley,Christine Carr,Dylan Damian,Manny Dubon,Monique Eissing,Katie Fellion,Keenan Mock,Scott Nye,Tom Pilla,Brittany Ringer,Ethan Schwartz,Hugo Smith,Ahmad Stewart,Jay Trautman,Brandon Trotter,Ian Vertovec,Brandee Wyse,Remy Bonett,Andrew Brueck,Hannah Joyner,Lauren Orlowski,Tom Scott
Location Management	John Birchall,Ian Easterbrook,Alexander Paul Kahn,Julieta Rey del Castillo,Vinisha Rumph,Zachary Esgrow,Keegan Molan,Jake North,Dials Tank
Music Department	Michael Andrews,Todd Burke,Ryan Castle,The Hollywood Studio Symphony,Dave Jordan,James McAlister,Shannon Murphy,Gabe Noel,William Gustavus Seyffert,Alexander Thompson,Justine von Winterfeldt,Robert Walter,Gina Zimmitti,Katie Colley,Daniel Lepervanche,Kim Seiniger
Script and Continuity Department	Jane Goldsmith
Transportation Department	Josh Dover,Kevin Hardy,Kallista Miller,Stephanie Watts,Doug Wright,Sheri B. Burton,Doug English,Chad Kinsey,Jourdan McKay
Additional Crew	Eridian Aguilar,Tommy Armour IV,Criss Ashby,Hunter Barcroft,Josie Batorski,Dustin Beach,Aaron Becker,Amber Blackman,David Michael Brown,Dana Clasby,Justin Dec,Emma Diaz,Emily Dick,Matt DiGennaro,Kassia Dombroski,Zachary Duryea,Jennifer Trino Gagne,Jackson Giles,Joseph Gravier,Maraide Green,Brittany Harper,Morgan Hayes,Ana Herrera,Molly Honea,Noah Howard,Marc Inniss,Eva Jensen,Kim Khoo,Seth Kleinberg,Jason Korn,Yi Shin Lee,Katherine Lodge,Daniel Malin,Evan Andrew Marsh,Allison Maxon,Maegan McCarthy,Missy McGuire Hintz,Troy James Miller,Marley Mountcastle,Ciarra Nolley,Jacob North,Tyndall X. Ortiz,Mayra Padilla,Abby Pierson,Samantha Quan,Tammy Sandler,Tracy Sargent,Mark Schotz,Michael Simmons,Gretchen Smith,Rory D. Smith,Virginia Stephenson,Sophia Tapia,Brandy Taylor,Bobby Thompson,Jason Turner,Avery Vandenhouten,Charlie Villanueva,Eric Weinstein,Brandy White,John Whitley,Laura Wootton,Nicole Beaudoin,Heather Jocelyn Blair,Veronika Bonell,David Michael Brown,Sam Carmichael,Nick Chambers,Meilee Condron,Ben Daves,Derron Delaney,Marcus Desmond,Christine Gamache,Alycia Garcia,Devan Gerlach,Victoria Grahn,Billy James,Ben Jensen,Evan Kishiyama,Jamie Lieberman,Kate Maudlin,Stewart Scott Mitchell,Jack Moseley,Rob Porter,Diego Roa Rodriguez,Abbey Roe,Emma Shannon,Jack Stanton,Kirsten Tobey,Christopher Vincent
Thanks	Stephanie Becker,Aleia Carlisle,Ayden Cox,Denise Davis,Jacqueline Hernandez,Patrice Karst,Erin Kim,Allie Larwood,Tim McMahan,Wendy McMahan,Mike Rizzuto,Bob Ruble,Nicole Santana,Julie Sargent,Aliza Urena-Fonseca
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Companies	Closest to the Hole Productions, Leverage Entertainment, Paramount Pictures
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Spanish
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7.3
ImDbRatingVotes	106716
MetacriticRating	57
Keywords	parenting,adoption,support group,adoptive family,adoptive mother adoptive son relationship