Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Biggest Hit Movie Isn’t What You Think It Is
Lin-Manuel Miranda might be best known for his work on Broadway. After all, the multi-talented star shook up the theater world with both In the Heights and Hamilton. But in the past few years, Miranda’s also become renowned for his work with Disney. Just months after leaving the title role in Hamilton, Moana — for which he composed much of the music — hit theaters. Despite his success with Disney animation, that isn’t the biggest movie he’s worked on.
Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on 4 big 2021 movies
The release of Hamilton on Disney+ certainly helped rekindle fans’ love for Miranda’s work. But even if that filmed stage performance of the Tony-winning musical didn’t catch them, chances are one of the four Miranda movies released in 2021 probably caught their attention. The film adaptation of his Broadway show In the Heights — delayed from its planned 2020 release — hit theaters and HBO Max in June.
Then his animated musical Vivo — in which Miranda voices the title character — released on Netflix in August. In November, two of his projects finally released. Miranda’s directorial debut Tick, Tick… Boom! hit Netflix mid-month. And Disney’s Encanto hit theaters on Thanksgiving weekend and Disney+ by Christmas. Fans haven’t been able to stop talking about Bruno ever since.
But fans wouldn’t guess this is his most popular movie
However, none of these movies stand as the most successful film Miranda has been involved in. According to The-Numbers.com, Miranda’s highest-grossing movies are both Disney films. His biggest movie as an actor is 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns — which earned $348 million worldwide — but Moana tops it at $635 million. But the website fails to list Miranda’s most successful movie in both categories, though it does so with good reason.
The most popular movie Miranda worked on is 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which grossed $2.1 billion. Director J.J. Abrams secretly brought Miranda in to provide a voice cameo and composed music for the film. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Miranda’s contribution plays in the scene when Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o) enters. Miranda returned for a cameo and some new music for Abrams’ 2019 film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
What movies is Lin-Manuel Miranda working on next?
Hot on the heels of Encanto‘s success, Miranda is staying in the Disney family with his next movie. He’s composing some new music for the studio’s upcoming live-action version of The Little Mermaid. The Rob Marshall-directed movie will retain all of the classic tracks, with Miranda expanding on the score. The film is due out in May 2023.
Beyond that, Miranda serves as a producer on Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe based on the young adult novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. The film is currently in post-production. Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzalez lead an ensemble cast — including Eugenio Derbez and Eva Longoria — as the title characters.
