HBO Max received a great gift over the long 2022 Father’s Day weekend when its streaming original “Father of the Bride” broke records for audience attention. The film peaked in both U.S. and Latin American markets, solidifying the service’s increasingly important place in the streaming hierarchy.
Screenwriter Matt Lopez offers a new take on the wedding genre formula by looking at the event through Latino eyes. Andy Garcia takes on the titular role with Gloria Estefan as his wife — embroiled in their own tumultuous relationship — while their daughter prepares to make her way down the aisle.
The film became HBO Max’s most-viewed streaming-only movie over its first four days on the platform. Since its release on June 16, “Father of the Bride” shot to No. 1 in HBO Max releases worldwide. The film also landed in Mexico’s top-10 watched programs over the long weekend. HBO has built its brand on providing engaging content to its subscribers, but this marks the first time a streaming original film has garnered so much attention from subscribers.
Father of the Bride
A father comes to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American family.
HBO Max has made major inroads into Latin-American markets since launching the region almost exactly a year ago, offering subscriptions in the Caribbean as well. HBO Max’s focus on a Latino-viewpoint film about the universal trials of marriage and in-laws was a gamble that has paid off.
Paul Perez, development executive at Warner Bros., unearthed the IP from the studio’s library. While the property found prior success under the Disney/Touchstone label with the 1991 Steve Martin-Diane Keaton vehicle, the exec lauded Lopez’s take on the genre film and pushed production for a 2022 Father’s Day weekend release. Perez has been making waves inside Warner Bros. with prior projects such as “Ready Player One” and is moving forward with other reimaginings including Antoine Fuqua’s “Training Day” prequel.
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