Ariana Grande has conquered global arenas, the Oscars stage and, now, another CinemaCon.
The triple-threat star lit up the annual Las Vegas convention of movie theater owners in a first trailer for “Focker In-Law,” a big-screen outing that lets Grande flex her impressive comedy muscles alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.
Universal Pictures unveiled the first look for exhibitors, which sees Grande play love interest to Stiller’s son (Skyler Gisondo). The franchise’s original film, “Meet the Parents,” centered on Greg Focker (Stiller) enduring many awkward encounters while trying to impress his girlfriend’s father (Robert De Niro) before proposing. It became a blockbuster hit, grossing $330 million worldwide, and inspired two sequels before this latest.
“I guess you could say I’m the new De Niro of the franchise,” a solo Stiller explained on stage at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace. From the wings came De Niro, inspiring cheers from the exhibitors. Both men discussed what an honor it was to welcome Grande to the fold, as De Niro called her “probably the single funniest scene partner I’ve ever been lucky enough to share the screen with” — while Stiller stared uncomfortably out to the crowd.
In her 2026 Actors on Actors conversation with Adam Sandler, Grande described her character as Stiller’s “son’s girlfriend, who he’s not sure of or connecting with. He’s very against me. And the worst part — his character’s nightmare is — I get along gorgeously with Robert De Niro’s character, Jack. He loves me, and I get immediate approval from the rest of the family.”
The trailer proved this and then some. Grande’s Olivia Jones is indeed the loving girlfriend of Gisondo’s Henry. A natural overachiever, Olivia tells the family (including Stiller’s onscreen wife Teri Polo) that she trained as an FBI hostage negotiator — and is intent on using her skills to free her boyfriend from a codependent relationship with Stiller. Worse for old Greg Focker, the entire family is obsessed with Henry’s new girlfriend.
Watch Grande take on Stiller in the teaser trailer, as “Focker In-Law” hits theaters nationwide this Thanksgiving.
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