Melissa Barrera Reflects on In The Heights Bombing at Box Office, "I Did Take It Very Personally"

By Adam Barnhardt

At the height of the pandemic, In the Heights was one of the first majors films to hit theaters in an entirely new landscape. Because movie-goers had yet to return to theaters in droves, the film suffered in a big way at the box office, despite near-universal acclaim. The picture served as the big breakout for rising star Melissa Barrera, who now says she took the movie's failure at the box office to heart.

"At the time, I did take it very personally," Barrera told NME in a recent chat. "I don't anymore. But it was my first big movie, everybody was saying it was going to be this huge hit, and it meant a lot to have a big studio movie with an all-people-of-colour cast.

Barrera made sure to point out the film was released during a time when Warner Bros. was releasing every filming in theaters and on streaming at the same exact time.

"The reviews were great, and the movie was fantastic – I'm proud of it," she added. "But then it didn't do well because of COVID and it was released simultaneously on HBO Max when people weren't going to theatres. There were so many things that were out of my control."

Since then, Barrera added she no longer pays attention to that type of stuff. At the very least, she said, she's thankful for the learning opportunities the musical gave her.

"It wasn't a great time. But I wouldn't change it because it taught me a lot about the industry. If it had come out and become this huge hit and I had skyrocketed and become a global superstar, I don't know if I would understand the industry so well," Barrera concluded.

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"There are so many things that I have no power over, so I learned the valuable lesson that I can't let that stain or dampen my experience of making a film. The only thing that matters is whether I've had a good time and I'm proud of what I've made, and whether I've made lasting relationships out of it."

In the Heights is now streaming on Max.

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