Warner Bros.’ “In the Heights,” a big-screen adaptation of “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Tony-winning musical, was supposed to herald a return to movie theaters after a year of COVID shutdown. Instead, it became one of the first box office casualties of the pandemic and streaming eras.
In their new book from publisher William Morrow, “Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix,” entertainment reporters Dade Hayes and Dawn Chmielewski explore that misfire and how it resulted from the rush into streaming by several media and tech companies determined to catch up with Netflix.
Amid the frenzy, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, the box office devolved into something far from the well-oiled machine that cranked out $11.4