# Easter Sunday (film)
**Easter Sunday** is a 2022 American comedy film directed by [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-chandrasekhar) and starring Filipino American stand-up comedian [Jo Koy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jo-koy) as Joe Valencia, a Los Angeles comedian who returns home for an Easter celebration with his extended family. It was the first major Hollywood studio film centered on [Filipino Americans](https://www.edgepedia.org/filipino-americans), and it was produced by Universal Pictures with DreamWorks Pictures.[1](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-06/easter-sunday-movie-jo-koy-filipinos-representation) • [2](https://popcorngap.com/movie/easter_sunday_2022)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | August 4, 2022 (EMEA earliest release); theatrical release in the United States in August 2022[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11952606/credits/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022) |
| Director / writer | Jay Chandrasekhar; written by Ken Cheng[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/easter-sunday) |
| Lead cast | Jo Koy as Joe Valencia, with Eugene Cordero, Tia Carrere, Asif Ali, and Lou Diamond Phillips[6](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/easter-sunday) |
| Rating and length | PG-13, 96 minutes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022) |
| Box office | $13 million domestic, $13.1 million worldwide, $5.4 million opening weekend[2](https://popcorngap.com/movie/easter_sunday_2022) |
| Critical reception | 40% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (67 reviews); 70% on the Popcornmeter from 500+ verified ratings[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022) |
| Representation milestone | The first big studio movie with a predominantly Filipino ensemble[7](https://apnews.com/article/706367182544eae58ea5c5a5071349ab) • [18](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022/cast-and-crew) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The film is loosely based on the life experiences of Jo Koy and centers on Joe Valencia, a Los Angeles-based stand-up comic and aspiring actor best known for a beer commercial catchphrase, who returns home for Easter dinner with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, and loving family.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/easter-sunday-movie-review-2022) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022) Joe hopes to land a role as the wacky neighbor on a sitcom so he can support his family, but the audition comes with a condition: he must perform with an exaggerated accent, a conflict the RogerEbert.com review compares to the one [Aziz Ansari](https://www.edgepedia.org/aziz-ansari) faced on *Master of None*.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/easter-sunday-movie-review-2022) The film is set in Daly City in the [San Francisco Bay Area](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-bay-area).[9](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917511/easter-sunday-jo-koy-daly-city-filipino-family)
Although it is set on Easter Sunday, which the *America* review calls the "Super Bowl Sunday" of Filipino cultural tradition, the film is not particularly religious.[10](https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2022/08/12/filipino-film-comedy-243547/) • [11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/movies/2022/08/04/easter-sunday-movie-review/)
## Production
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) was scheduled to begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, in May 2021. The production attached five companies, including Arsonhouse Entertainment, Production Office, and [Amblin Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/amblin-entertainment), with [Dan Lin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-lin), Jonathan Eirich, Nick Reynolds, Joe Meloche, Jessica Gao, Jo Koy, and Jimmy O. Yang among the producers.[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/easter-sunday)
Koy said in interviews that the film faced years of rejection because studio executives did not think it was relatable.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/easter-sunday-movie-review-2022) He also pushed for a theatrical release after a planned streaming release, so that Filipino American audiences could see themselves on the big screen.[12](https://www.sampan.org/post/easter-sunday-a-milestone-for-filipino-representation-in-film) • [13](https://www.theonlycritic.com/post/easter-sunday-review-jo-koy-s-filipino-focused-comedy-is-airless)
## Representation and cultural context
The film arrived during what Eric Pido, an Asian American Studies professor at [San Francisco State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-state-university) with a background in Filipina/o American Studies, described as "this really amazing moment in Asian American history and Filipino American history, where political, social, and economic capital has all come together."[9](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917511/easter-sunday-jo-koy-daly-city-filipino-family) The *Los Angeles Times* noted that it was the first major Hollywood studio film about Filipino Americans, the largest Asian American population in California.[1](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-06/easter-sunday-movie-jo-koy-filipinos-representation)
The production itself was a milestone for the cast. Koy said that being on a mostly Filipino set led to happy cry-fests, and co-star [Tia Carrere](https://www.edgepedia.org/tia-carrere) pointed out that it was her first time playing a Filipino character in her 40-year career.[9](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917511/easter-sunday-jo-koy-daly-city-filipino-family) At a USC screening, assistant professor Rodney To asked an audience of more than 200 drama students to raise their hands if they had ever seen a Filipino family at the center of a major studio-backed feature film before.[14](https://today.usc.edu/usc-drama-professor-leads-with-diversity-in-class-and-on-screen/)
The film is loaded with cultural references, from [halo-halo](https://www.edgepedia.org/halo-halo), the shaved ice dessert, to Santo Niño figures, and the Mediaversity review praised the trio of Asian creators, Koy, Cheng, and Chandrasekhar, for crafting a film that avoids the white gaze and depicts Filipino culture naturally.[1](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-06/easter-sunday-movie-jo-koy-filipinos-representation) • [15](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2022/8/5/easter-sunday)
## Reception
Critical response was negative on the Tomatometer: Rotten Tomatoes recorded 40% from 67 reviews, with a critics consensus that the film's "refreshing representation is frustratingly undermined by stale gags and an unimaginative approach to its numbingly familiar story." Audiences were warmer, at 70% on the Popcornmeter.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022) Reviewers consistently singled out the representation while faulting the comedy. [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) called it a rough transition from stand-up to screen star and argued that crime subplots undercut the film's cultural insights.[16](https://www.avclub.com/easter-sunday-review-jo-koy-lydia-gaston-tia-carrere-1849363585) Common Sense Media found the simpler character interactions genuinely funny while criticizing the coincidences, chase scenes, and violent showdown Chandrasekhar fell back on.[17](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/easter-sunday) The Washington Post gave it 2.5 stars, finding tender and wise moments amid the broad comedy.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/movies/2022/08/04/easter-sunday-movie-review/)
At the box office, the film earned $5.4 million in its opening weekend and $13 million domestically, with an estimated 1,235,868 tickets sold in the United States.[2](https://popcorngap.com/movie/easter_sunday_2022)
## Legacy
The Associated Press later described *Easter Sunday* as "the first big studio movie with an all-Filipino ensemble" when Koy hosted the Golden Globes in January 2024, where he was the second Asian host in the ceremony's history after [Sandra Oh](https://www.edgepedia.org/sandra-oh) in 2019.[7](https://apnews.com/article/706367182544eae58ea5c5a5071349ab) The film is available to stream on Netflix.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022)
## References
1. [For Filipino Americans, seeing ourselves in a summer movie is a wonder, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-06/easter-sunday-movie-jo-koy-filipinos-representation)
2. [Easter Sunday (2022) audience score analysis, PopcornGap](https://popcorngap.com/movie/easter_sunday_2022)
3. [Easter Sunday, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11952606/credits/)
4. [Easter Sunday (2022), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022)
5. [Easter Sunday, Production List, Film & Television Industry Alliance](https://www.productionlist.com/production/easter-sunday)
6. [Easter Sunday, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/easter-sunday)
7. [Jo Koy ready to fulfill childhood dream of hosting Golden Globes, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/706367182544eae58ea5c5a5071349ab)
8. [Easter Sunday movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/easter-sunday-movie-review-2022)
9. [Jo Koy's Daly City-Set 'Easter Sunday' Puts Filipinos Front and Center, KQED](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13917511/easter-sunday-jo-koy-daly-city-filipino-family)
10. [Jo Koy's 'Easter Sunday' magnifies the sacredness of tradition, family and Catholicism in Filipino culture, America Magazine](https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2022/08/12/filipino-film-comedy-243547/)
11. ['Easter Sunday': Comedy about Filipino American culture rings true-ish, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/movies/2022/08/04/easter-sunday-movie-review/)
12. [Easter Sunday: A Milestone for Filipino Representation in Film, Sampan](https://www.sampan.org/post/easter-sunday-a-milestone-for-filipino-representation-in-film)
13. ['Easter Sunday' review: Jo Koy's Filipino-focused comedy is airless, The Only Critic](https://www.theonlycritic.com/post/easter-sunday-review-jo-koy-s-filipino-focused-comedy-is-airless)
14. [USC drama prof and 'Easter Sunday' co-star talks of diversity in Hollywood, USC Today](https://today.usc.edu/usc-drama-professor-leads-with-diversity-in-class-and-on-screen/)
15. [Easter Sunday, Mediaversity Reviews](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2022/8/5/easter-sunday)
16. [In Easter Sunday, Jo Koy makes a rough transition from stand-up to screen star, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/easter-sunday-review-jo-koy-lydia-gaston-tia-carrere-1849363585)
17. [Easter Sunday, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/easter-sunday)
18. [Easter Sunday, Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easter_sunday_2022/cast-and-crew)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2021 to 2022*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license