<P> Chicago Sun - Times critic Roger Ebert, gave the film one of its rare positive reviews, awarding it 3 / 4 stars and stating "As I watched this sequel, a certain good feeling began to make itself known . Yes, the movie is unnecessary . However, it is unnecessary at a higher level of warmth and humor than the recent remake Yours, Mine, and Ours ." Ebert also highly praised Alyson Stoner's performance, favorably comparing the then - twelve year old actress to Reese Witherspoon . </P> <P> Calling the overall film "bland", Variety's Justin Chang agreed with Ebert on Stoner, calling her "an endearingly vulnerable standout" and deeming her subplot to be "the most engaging" in the film . Chang was also kind to Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt and Eugene Levy, deeming the veteran actors did the best with what was given to them . Marrit Ingman of the Austin Chronicle conceded that the film had a good message, and agreed that Hunt was "marvelous and down - to - earth" but ultimately felt that "the rest of the movie is as funny as mildew", found that "the product placement is particularly egregious" and thought that Hilary Duff looked "as tanned and raw as buffalo jerky". Andrea Gronvall was also horrified by Duff's appearance while writing for the Chicago Reader, calling her "haggard" and "flat - out scary", and overall felt that there was "a discernible lack of enthusiasm from almost everyone involved", however singling out Carmen Electra for being "the most winning performer of the bunch". </P> <P> The film received two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Hilary Duff) and Worst Supporting Actor (Eugene Levy). </P> <P> The film grossed $9,309,387 million opening weekend, finishing in 4th place at the box office . By the end of its run, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 grossed $82,571,173 domestically and $46,610,657 internationally, totaling $129,181,830 worldwide . It is one of only twelve feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters and still improve on its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 55.6% from $9,309,387 to $14,486,519 . </P>

Cheaper by the dozen 2 the boulders location