The release of “In the Heights” – a lavish song-and-dance musical accompanied by glowing reviews from critics and considered a milestone movie for Latinos – was widely seen as a cultural event.
After a string of good box-office weekends, the opening of “In the Heights” was a reminder of the challenges of the marketplace.
Starring a mostly fresh-face cast including Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins and Leslie Grace, “In the Heights” didn’t have the star power of musicals such as “Mamma Mia!” to give it a boost.
The hopeful comparison would be a movie like 2017’s “The Greatest Showman,” which opened to $18.8 million but held firmly for months, ultimately grossing $174.3 million in the U.S.
The studio, as is standard throughout the industry, didn’t release viewing data for “In the Heights” on HBO Max.
“Our experience, which is backed up on ‘In the Heights,’ is that if the movie hits a high level in theaters, it hits a high level on the service,” says Goldstein.
Last weekend, Disney’s “Cruella” also made a somewhat muted arrival in theaters because it opened at the same time on Disney+ for $30.
The studio and filmmakers, believing its impact would be felt most powerfully in theaters, opted to wait for cinemas to reopen.
Though Latinos make up one of the largest groups of regular moviegoers their representation in Hollywood is still a fraction of that.
Chu has previously helmed a breakthrough release for Asian Americans in 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” which opened to $26.5 million for three days and then kept a multi-week lock on the box office.
“Even ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ you couldn’t really tell.