A sequel to Lee's The Best Man (1999), it stars Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau, Monica Calhoun and Melissa De Sousa, all reprising their roles from the previous film.

15 years after his blockbuster debut novel, Harper Stewart has writer's block and financial difficulties from being laid off from NYU and fertility treatments for his now-pregnant wife Robyn.

Harper's agent suggests he write a biography of his former best friend and New York Giants superstar Lance Sullivan, who is set to retire.

Meanwhile, Lance's wife Mia has invited Harper, Robyn and the rest of the gang for Christmas: Julian "Murch" Murchison and wife Candace Sparks, her best friend Jordan Armstrong (and Jordan's white boyfriend, Brian McDonald), Quentin "Q" Spivey, and Shelby Taylor.

Julian finds a YouTube video of her stripping and accepting money for sex at a fraternity party, which he desperately tries to hide from Candace and the rest of the gang.

During a pajama party, the gang has a good time, with the men dancing and lip-syncing to New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain", which Mia sees has worked to patch up old wounds between Lance and Harper.

Harper later finds Mia downstairs vomiting blood; she admits her terminal cancer diagnosis and asks him to help Lance accept it.

While Harper is wrapping the children's Christmas gifts, Lance approaches him and they reminisce about their college days, seemingly reconciling.

The next day, as the gang volunteers at a shelter, Lance finds Harper's iPad and journal in Mia's purse, and a mock book cover for his unauthorized biography on the tablet.

The Best Man Holiday debuted with a $10.7 million Friday total, notably beating Thor: The Dark World for the top box office spot of that day.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The Best Man Holiday manages honest laughs out of broad humor, and affects convincing drama from a deeply conventional plot.

[15] The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday gave it 2.5 stars, saying the "[s]equel is both a romp and a tearjerker... Like a long-lost soap opera emerging from a Rip Van Winkle–length hiatus, 'The Best Man Holiday' has lost none of its often baggy, saggy melodrama; luckily, when things get too soppy, Howard can be depended on for crude one-liners that land with all the more finesse thanks to his smoky, slightly stoned delivery.

...And 'The Best Man Holiday' has clearly caught up with the times, with one plot point revolving around social media run amok, off-handedly invoking everyone from Barack Obama (natch) to Melissa Harris-Perry, Olivia Pope and Robin Thicke".

[16] The film's soundtrack includes songs by R. Kelly, Jordin Sparks, Mary J. Blige, Monica, Ne-Yo, Marsha Ambrosius, John Legend, Emeli Sandé, and more.

Chestnut, Diggs, Hall, Howard, Lathan, Long, Perrineau and De Sousa are set to reprise their roles.