Bridget Jones's Baby

Plot

On her 43rd birthday, Bridget Jones is awoken by her mother who reminds her that her time to have children is running out. She goes to attend the funeral of Daniel Cleaver, who is presumed dead after a plane crash. While there she sees her ex, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), and his new wife. They bump into one another somewhat awkwardly and then go their separate ways.

Bridget now works as a television producer and is close friends with the anchor of the show she runs, Miranda (Sarah Solemani), who offers to take her out for her birthday. Bridget turns down her offer to spend time with her old group of friends, but is heartbroken when they cancel on her due to commitments to their children. Deciding to celebrate her single life Bridget accepts Miranda's offer to take her away for the weekend. They go to a music festival where Miranda challenges her to sleep with the first man she meets. Falling in the mud, Bridget is helped out by a random stranger. After attending an Ed Sheeran concert a drunk Bridget crawls into a yurt she thinks belongs to her and Miranda, but actually belongs to the handsome stranger she met earlier. The two have sex and in the morning Bridget makes her escape. The stranger returns disappointed that she is gone.

Returning home Bridget goes to the christening of Jude's youngest child where she is the godmother and Mark has been asked to be the godfather. Mark tells her that he and his wife are planning on divorcing and Bridget has sex with him. When Mark reveals he is travelling the next day Bridget is reminded that he had always put work before their relationship and leaves in the morning before he wakes up, leaving behind a note telling him that reconnecting with him is too painful.

Bridget finds that she is gaining weight. Shazza suggests that Bridget might be pregnant, especially when she realises that Bridget used old, expired condoms when having sex. Taking a pregnancy test at work, Bridget confirms she is pregnant and decides that she wants to keep the baby as it is her last chance to have a child. After a visit to the obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Rawlings, she realises that she does not know who the father is and doesn't even have a way of contacting Jack, the handsome stranger. However Miranda spies him on TV where they realise that Jack Qwant is a billionaire and the inventor of a dating site that has an algorithm to match couples together. Miranda conspires with Bridget to have Jack on the show to take hair samples so that Bridget will be able to test it against the DNA of her baby to either confirm or eliminate Jack as the father. At the taping the hair and makeup artist is able to nab samples of Jack's hair for Bridget but Jack recognises Bridget and she decides to tell him that she is pregnant and tells him he is the father, without mentioning Mark Darcy. Initially taken aback Jack decides to throw himself into the role of supporting Bridget.

Feeling things are going too quickly with Jack, Bridget decides to go forward and tell Mark. However Mark is so thrilled at the news that he is about to be a father that Bridget does not tell him about Jack. Bridget also decides not to go forward with testing the DNA while her child is still in the womb as she is terrified by the possibility that she might miscarry. She persuades Dr. Rawlings to go through appointments twice, once with Jack and another time with Mark.

Bridget invites Jack to a work event and is startled when Mark shows up as well. The two men immediately take a liking to one another, finding the other's accomplishments impressive. They go out to dinner where Bridget finally comes clean and tells them that she is unsure who the father is. Jack takes the news well, telling Bridget that the child is the priority. Mark Darcy is upset and walks out of the restaurant.

At an ante-natal class, Jack arrives early and Bridget is gratified when Mark shows up as well. Jack and Mark are mistaken for a gay couple with Bridget as their surrogate, much to Mark's discomfort and Jack's amusement. Mark is also jealous at the easy rapport that Jack has with Bridget and his warmth in taking care of her.

Bridget experiences cramps and goes to the hospital, taking Jack with her as she is unable to reach Mark. When at last Mark arrives he is upset to see the two laughing together and embracing. Mark and Jack fight and Bridget sends them out of the room. Outside Jack implies that he and Bridget had sex without condoms making Mark realise that he is less likely to be the father. He leaves once again.

Bridget continues to prepare for the arrival of her baby, now with only Jack by her side. They have a discussion where he asks her to move in with him and confesses that life for him is lonely. Bridget asks him what will happen if Mark is the father and he tells her he will need to re-evaluate their relationship if that is the case. He also confesses that the reason Mark has been absent is because Jack heavily implied that Mark was unlikely to be the father. An upset Bridget goes to talk to Mark, but sees his wife arriving at his house and decides to let him be.

At 9 months, Bridget is fired from her job due to mixing up her guest with his chauffeur. Unemployed, exhausted, and hungry, she goes out shopping but has her card eaten by a cashpoint and locks herself out of the bank lobby, leaving her keys and her food inside. When no one buzzes her up to her building she stands outside in the rain feeling miserable. Mark arrives and breaks in for her. He informs her that he and his wife are going through with their divorce and she was only there to pick up the last of her things. Just as they are about to kiss Bridget's waters break. When his phone rings for work he throws it out the window in a romantic gesture which leaves them without a means to call transport to the hospital. They enlist the help of a local restaurant to get them to hospital but a traffic jam due to protests forces them to walk. Overtaken by contractions Bridget cannot walk and Mark offers to carry her, but almost collapses. Jack arrives just in time and the two of them get Bridget to the hospital.

During labour both Mark and Jack try to help Bridget. However, during labour Bridget accidentally punches Jack in the nose. She also reaches to Mark for comfort and he reassures her that she can get through labour and he will love her no matter whether the child is his or not, while sustaining an agonising bite to the wrist by Bridget. While Jack and Mark wait outside, Jack apologizes to Mark for his behaviour and Mark accepts. Then Bridget gives birth to a boy and all of Bridget's friends and relatives come to visit her in the delivery room. Meanwhile, Dr. Rawlings has both men come with her to perform the DNA test. After having bonded for the last 9 months Mark and Jack each wish each other luck.

A year later Bridget prepares to be married. At the altar she is greeted by Jack, holding her son, and then moves forward to marry Mark Darcy. After the wedding Mark and Jack, now friends, head to the reception together, while Bridget carries her and Mark's son, William.

A newspaper lying on a bench reveals that Daniel Cleaver has been found alive in the woods in the wreckage of the plane.

In a post-credit scene. A Christmas photograph shows Bridget, Mark and William wearing a collection of reindeer jumpers worn by Mark in the first film.

Cast

Production

In July 2009, Variety announced that a third instalment of the Bridget Jones films was in the early stages of development. Working Title Films confirmed that it would not be based on Helen Fielding's third Bridget Jones novel, but instead would be based on the columns she wrote for The Independent in 2005. On 1 March 2011, it was reported that both Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth were interested in reprising their roles. In July 2011, Paul Feig was in final talks to direct the film based on the script by author Fielding. On 11 August 2011, Universal Studios and Working Title greenlit the third film. On 4 October 2011, Deadline reported that Feig had exited the project due to creative differences with Working Title, and Feig had also worked on the recent draft of the script. Production was slated to begin in January 2012 with the returning cast including Zellweger, Firth, and Hugh Grant. On 30 November 2011, Peter Cattaneo came on board to direct the sequel, newly titled "Bridget Jones's Baby" from a script by Fielding, Feig, and David Nicholls. Producers on board were Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title, along with Jonathan Cavendish of Little Bird. On 3 February 2012, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the production had been delayed due to creative differences between the script of the film and actors, especially Grant as he disliked the script and reportedly exited the project, though this was denied by producer Bevan. However, the producer confirmed that they were working on the script and the film would be made as planned.

In April 2013, Firth spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times, stating "unfortunately, it might be a bit of a long wait," and he said he "wouldn't say that it's completely dead in the water, but the way it's going, you might be seeing Bridget Jones' granddaughter's story being told by the time we get there." In an interview on 10 October 2014, Grant mentioned an existing script for a sequel, though he also expressed his dislike for it, and stated that he would not star in the third film. Later in the next week, producers hired Emma Thompson to rewrite the original script written by Fielding and Nicholls.

On 25 June 2015, it was reported that final negotiations for the film were going on and Sharon Maguire, director of the first film would return to direct the third film. Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent were also in talks to return for the third film to join the cast. On 9 September 2015, Patrick Dempsey joined the cast of the film.

Filming

Filming for a short period began in July 2015 in Dublin, where the first scenes for the film were shot at Ed Sheeran's concert at Croke Park. Official principal photography with the actual cast began on 2 October 2015 in London.

On 13 October 2015, shooting was taking place at Borough Market, and later in October in Windsor Great Park, at Rosy Bottom. On 26 October 2015, filming took place at a church in Oxfordshire.

Filming wrapped up on 27 November 2015. Reshoots took place for one week starting 8 January.

Release

In October 2015, Bridget Jones's Baby was set for a 16 September 2016 release. On 23 March the first trailer was released. Like the previous two films, the movie received an R rating. Renee Zellweger's physical appearance in the trailer for the film has rekindled a debate about the possibility that Zellweger had plastic surgery, which began in 2014 when she re-emerged from a long hiatus. An editorial focused on the trailer for the film by Variety critic Owen Gleiberman titled "Renee Zellweger: If She No Longer Looks Like Herself, Has She Become a Different Actress?" triggered a firestorm of controversy including responses from Zellweger herself, who called the scrutiny over her appearance "sexist" and attributing her difference in appearance solely to "ageing," and wrote an open essay explaining her response in the weeks before the film's release.

Box office

Bridget Jones's Baby grossed $212.0 million worldwide, including $24.1 million in the US & Canada, and $60 million in the United Kingdom, against a budget of $35 million. It beсame the highest-grossing movie of the Netherlands and Ireland of the year 2016. The film was released in the United States and Canada on 16 September 2016 and was projected to gross $12–16 million in its opening weekend from 2,927 theaters. It made $364,000 from its Thursday night previews and $3 million on its first day. In total, the film made $8.2 million in its opening weekend, falling way below projections and scored the lowest opening among the series.

Internationally, where Universal Pictures handled most of the releases, the film fared better and especially in the U.K. where the previous two installments registered the biggest grossers. It debuted day-and-date in conjuncture with its North American release in 41 countries, including big markets like the UK and Ireland, Russia, Australia, Mexico and Spain in its opening weekend. The film will be released in a total of 62 countries. It scored the biggest opening day in the franchise in the U.K., the Netherlands and Latin America including Mexico, Panama and Peru, and had No. 1 opening days in the U.K., Australia, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa and Ukraine. Through Sunday, 18 September, it had an opening weekend of $29.9 million from 39 markets and debuted at No. 1 in 24 of them. It was in second place at the box office, behind A Chinese Odyssey Part Three. It topped the international box office in its second weekend, earning $21.9 million from 47 markets. It recorded the biggest debut in the franchise and had No. 1 openings in certain markets like Australia ($4.2 million), the Netherlands ($1.9 million), Spain ($1.7 million), Iceland and New Zealand and bowed at second place in France ($3.7 million) and Russia ($1.4 million).

In the United Kingdom and Ireland – the biggest market for the first two films – the film opened on Friday, 16 September, and recorded the biggest comedy/romantic comedy opening day ever, as well as the biggest Working Title and September opening of all time with $4 million at 641 theaters. It went on to score a record breaking £8.11 million ($10.5 million) opening and dominated 57% of the total market share which is the biggest romantic comedy opening weekend ever in the UK; the biggest opening weekend ever for Working Title; and the biggest September launch weekend of all time. Excluding previews, the film has the seventh biggest debut of the year. The film fell just 20% in its second weekend to £6.4 million ($8.3 million) and continued to lead the box office for the third consecutive weekend, despite the influx of a row of competitions. After three straight wins, it was surpassed by The Girl on the Train in its fourth weekend. It broke a number of records including the fastest romantic comedy to earn £30 million, doing so on its seventeenth day (the first film took 31 days and the second film took 24 days). It has so far grossed a total of $54 million there becoming the biggest market outside of North America like its predecessors. Adjusted for inflation it is the lowest-grossing film behind both the films (£73.1 million and £57.8 million respectively).

After 31 days of playing in theaters, the film became the biggest film in the franchise in the United Kingdom with £42.24 million, surpassing the first film's final gross of £42 million. It currently sits as the third biggest film of 2016 behind Finding Dory (£42.25 million) and The Jungle Book (£46.1 million). In Netherlands, it is the highest-grossing Working Title picture of all time with $8.1 million — passing Notting Hill (1999), which held the record for 17 years.

Critical response

Bridget Jones's Baby received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76%, based on 167 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bridget Jones's Baby might be late on arrival, but fans of the series should still find its third installment a bouncing bundle of joy." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a score 59 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.