Pantelion’s “How to be a Latin Lover” took theaters by storm its opening weekend (April 28-30), channeling in about $12 million in ticket sales, which according to the New York Times was: “50 percent more than analysts had expected before its release.” Taking the number two spot at the box office on the last weekend of April, the film beat out “The Circle,” which starred Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. A reasonably inexpensive film to make, “How to be a Latin Lover” cost about $10 million to produce and starred the famous Mexican comedian, Eugenio Derbez and the equally talented Salma Hayek.

The film is a light hearted comedy, which plays on the stereotype of Latinos as “Latin lovers.” The comedy tells the story of Maximo (Eugenio Derbez), who seeks to live a comfortable life by never working a day of his life, and accomplishes this by marrying a wealthy older woman. After his 80-year-old wife of 25 years dumps him however, Maximo is forced to live with his estranged younger sister Sara (Salma Hayek), and her 10-year-old son, Hugo. In an effort to regain his luxurious life, Maximo plans to once more marry an older wealthy woman, without realizing that as an older man, he’s lost his “younger man” appeal.  The film not only generates numerous laughs, but also speaks to the importance of family.

According to Noami Guerrero ‘17, who saw the film on its opening weekend: “The theater was filled with laughter for each joke. It was amplified by the fact that me and every other Latino was there to watch Eugenio Derbez in another movie.” Noami’s comment on Eugenio Derbez rings true, especially when considering how well the 2013 comedy, “Instructions Not Included” did, which also starred Eugenio Derbez. With a huge Latino fan base in the U.S., the success of the film “How to be a Latin Lover” was largely thanks to “ an audience that was 89 percent Hispanic” (according to Lionsgate).

According to an article by the Huffington Post, “the Motion Picture Association of America found that while Latinos made up 17 percent of the U.S. population, they accounted for 32 percent of frequent moviegoers in 2013.” Despite making up a significant part of the movie-going population, Latino’s are very thinly represented on the big screen. The article continues to say that: “even though Latinos are big moviegoers, they are the most under-represented group onscreen. A study by the University of Southern California shows that Latinos only play about 4 percent of the roles on the big screen.” The success of “How to Be a Latin Lover” serves as a stark reminder that Latino representation in films is not only needed, but highly desired and valued by Latino audiences.