Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a great portrayal of growing up in the United States. The whole franchise is enormously popular in the states, and although the illustrated books are the primary source material for the franchise, there are also other derivative materials that comprise the franchise. Among them are the four live-action movies that have been released between 2010 and 2017; two animated movies are also in the works, but they haven’t been released as of yet.
In this article, we are going to bring you all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies in order. You’re going to find out some basic information about the movies and how you should watch them. Since the upcoming animated movies are going to be a reboot and will form a separate continuity (plus, they haven’t been released yet), we won’t be discussing them in this article.
How Many Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movies Are There?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is better known as a book series, but due to the immense popularity of the books, the series has also been adapted for the screen. The franchise began in 2010 and ended in 2017, with a total of four movies. They are:
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)
An animated reboot of the series is going to start in December 2021, when an animated version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid is going to be released, followed by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, a sequel with a 2022 scheduled release date.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movies in Order
As said, we are going to talk about the live-action movies only, not the upcoming animated movies. The movies are going to be listed in the proper watching order and you’ll receive some basic production information on each of them.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
Directed By: Thor Freudenthal
Written by: Jackie Filgo & Jeff Filgo, and Jeff Judah & Gabe Sachs
Release Date: March 19, 2010
Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), is an 11-year-old boy who is eager to start high school. He is a good and well-intentioned boy, but sometimes things don’t go his way, because he is surrounded by somewhat dysfunctional people who will make him look bad. He is confident that he will easily become the most popular kid in his school.
However, Greg worries that his best friend; Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), still maintains childish behaviors that could humiliate him and feels sorry for him. On the first day of school, Rowley goes to school dressed in a Guatemalan serape, which embarrasses Greg.
On their first day of school, Greg and Rowley meet Angie (Chloë Grace Moretz), a 7th grade girl who works for the school newspaper and who offers her friendship and help during their stay there, (which Greg rejects) and She tells them about how the high school works, which she believes was created to keep children busy as they make the difficult transition between children and teens. Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar), a classmate, tells Greg and Rowley the story behind a slice of cheese on the court.
When touching the cheese, a boy named Darren Walsh (Harrison Houde) contracted the “Touch of Cheese.” Anyone who touches the cheese contracts the Touch and no one comes close until they pass the Touch to another person by touching it. The Cheese Touch ended when it was contracted by a German exchange student from Germany named Dieter Muller (Severin Korfer).
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
Directed By: David Bowers
Written by: Jeff Judah & Gabe Sachs
Release Date: March 25, 2011
The film begins when Greg (Zachary Gordon) and his family go to an ice skating rink, where they host a welcome party for 7th Graders, where Greg meets his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) and his classmates Fregley (Grayson Russell) and Chirag (Karan Brar).
After he meets Holly Hills (Peyton List), a new girl who came to school, and immediately becomes Greg’s love interest, his older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) teases him by saying that Holly will never notice him, but he tells her that it is not true, then Rodrick tells him that every hour on the hour they play music for people to skate as a couple, and that if he wants to be with her to ask him to skate.
Greg walks onto the skating rink, and just with a few seconds left until the hour, Greg talks to her and almost gets her to ask her to skate with him, but Rodrick asks a drummer to yell into a microphone saying he’s going to play Rock music, which makes Greg unable to ask Holly to skate with him, and then the light goes out and people start skating as a couple.
Greg tries to get off the skating rink, but falls, and his mother yells at him into the microphone telling him that his father is going to save him, the father comes in and grabs him in his arms and takes him off the skating rink, and he feels ashamed, and people start laughing at him, except Holly and Rowley.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
Directed By: David Bowers
Written by: Wallace Wolodarsky & Maya Forbes
Release Date: August 3, 2012
Since school is over, Greg Heffley is ready to enjoy his summer vacation: no more 10-year-old tormentors, no more homework, no more waking up early in the morning… In short, he decides to have a great vacation, to stay hours in front of his video games, living room curtains closed. But for her mother, the perfect summer should be lived with the family. Unless a new member of the Heffley family gets involved.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)
Directed By: David Bowers
Written by: Jeff Kinney & David Bowers
Release Date: May 19, 2017
A year after the previous film, while at Corny’s restaurant, the Heffley family plans to travel across the United States to attend Mimò’s 90th birthday. However, after Rowley and Greg rescue Manny, who is stuck in a tube in the play area, the protagonist ends up in a ball pit with a diaper stuck on his hand, causing him to wince.
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He later becomes famous after the people around him record him and publish the footage on the Internet, leading Greg to be nicknamed “Manolino”, much to him. Later, at Heffley’s residence, Greg learns that Player Expo is taking place not far from Mimo’s home in Indianapolis. Greg’s game star Mac Digby will be in attendance and Greg hopes to meet him and get into one of his videos to gain new popularity. The Heffley family reaches the street, where all their cell phones are confiscated by Susan.