10 Awesome 2021 Films That Didn't Deserve To Flop
6. In The Heights
There's not a single box office bomb this year more mystifying than the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical In the Heights.
Even with a day-and-date HBO Max release, the film was projected to deliver a jolt to the summer box office and become one of the year's biggest non-blockbuster perfomers.
Powered by strong, ever-present marketing, rave reviews, and a mighty "A" CinemaScore, it seemed like commercial success was a sure thing, only for the film to brutally under-perform, grossing less than one-third of some analysts' projections in its opening weekend.
The $55 million musical went on to gross just $43.9 million worldwide, an outcome that was blamed on not only 25% of American cinemas being closed at the time, but also the 143-minute runtime, lack of A-list stars, niche source material, and songs that failed to break out into the mainstream.
All in all it's a disastrous result for one of the most critically acclaimed musicals of the decade, ensuring its considerable awards buzz fizzled out completely before the summer was even over.