20th Century Studios’ ‘Vacation Friends,’ with John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner to simultaneously debut on Hulu and Disney+ Star

20^th Century Studios’ Vacation Friends, will debut August 27 streaming globally as a Hulu Original in the U.S. and a Star Original on Disney+ in select international markets. It is is 20^th Century Studios’ first film to have a simultaneous global release on the Hulu and Disney+ streaming platforms. 

The film stars John Cena (F9, The Suicide Squad), Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), Yvonne Orji (Insecure, Night School), Meredith Hagner (Search Party, Palm Springs), Robert Wisdom (The Alienist, Ballers), Andrew Bachelor (The Babysitter, Holidate) and Lynn Whitfield (Greenleaf, Madea’s Family Reunion).   

In this raw and raunchy comedy, straight-laced Marcus and Emily (Howery, Orji) are befriended by wild, thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (Cena, Hagner) at a resort in Mexico.  Living in the moment, the usually level-headed couple lets loose to enjoy a week of uninhibited fun and debauchery with their new “vacation friends.” Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited at their wedding, creating chaos and proving that what happens on vacation, doesn’t necessarily stay on vacation.

Directed by Clay Tarver (Silicon Valley), Vacation Friends was written by Tom Mullen & Tim Mullen and Clay Tarver and Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley.  The producers are Todd Garner (Tag, Playing with Fire) and Timothy M. Bourne (Love, Simon, The Hate U Give), with Steve Pink and Sean Robins serving as executive producers.

The film will also be available in Latin America as part of the new Star+ direct-to-consumer service launching on August 31^st in the region.  

Photo: Jessica Miglio/20th Century Studios

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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