How to watch In the Heights online: stream the new HBO Max movie today

From the talented creator of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda brings you his Tony award-winning musical, In the Heights to your screen, in the bringing together of lovers, dreamers, and music from a Dominican community in a New York neighbourhood called Washington Heights. Here's how to watch In the Heights with a HBO Max subscription, and further details of its release across the globe.

In the Heights tells the story of bodega owner Usnavi de la Vega, and the close-knit community of the largely Dominican neighborhood called Washington Heights. Despite the hardships of daily life, each find love, hope, and friendship in each other, and work hard to turn their suenos (“little dreams”) into reality.

There’s a wonderful cast of characters here. Anthony Ramos (who may be familiar to viewers from the filmed version of Hamilton) is the wide-eyed grocery store owner Usnavi, who yearns for both the Dominican Republic and the stunningly beautiful Vanessa (Vida’s Malissa Barrera). His upbeat best friend Benny (Corey Hawkins, The Walking Dead) works at Rosario’s cab company, and harbors romantic feelings for the owner’s daughter Nina (singer Leslie Grace). She’s smart and determined, but, after struggling to pay her way through college, has returned crestfallen to the Heights.

Also starring Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and award-winning actor Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue), In the Heights is a visually spectacular celebration of community that critics are calling the film event of the summer. And, if you’re a fan of La La Land and West Side Story, you’ll want to check out the below guide for how to watch In the Heights online, streaming on HBO Max until July 11.

• Related: how to watch Justice League - the Synder Cut

How to watch In the Heights online in the US

There’s only one place to watch Warner Brothers slate of 2021 movies online, and that’s on HBO Max. On June 10, In the Heights will be the eighth title to get an online, day and date release alongside the film's theatrical debut. And, as with previous Warner Brothers films, it’s available to stream from 12.01am PT / 03.01am ET that day, for a duration of 31 days, before being removed from the platform until the end of its theatrical run.

There are currently two HBO Max subscription plans available: one ‘With Ads’ at $9.99 a month, the other ‘Ad Free’ at the familiar $14.99. However, if you want to watch In the Heights online and upcoming WB releases like Space Jam: A New Legacy on July 16, you’ll need to shell up for the $14.99 option, because early access to WB blockbusters isn’t available on the cheaper plan – and neither is crisp 4K UHD picture quality, for that matter.

The $14.99 fee may seem steep. But, in addition to instant access to crowd-pleasing fare like In the Heights, you get over 10,000 hours of prime content: titles from the Warner Brothers archive and its subsidiary companies (New Line Cinema, for example), Studio Ghibli’s animated masterpieces, DC Entertainment blockbusters like Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and – the clue's in the name – every iconic HBO series ever made. Then there’s all 10 seasons of Friends, addictive HBO Max Originals, and so much more.

Of course, if theatres are open again where you are, you might fancy supporting your local and seeing In the Heights on the big screen for a change.

How to watch In the Heights across the rest of the world

This all-singing, all-dancing, emotion-packed spectacular will be rolled out to cinemas across the world – where it’s been deemed safe to do so, anyway. In Canada, In the Heights will be available in theaters on June 11, the same day as it’s released in the US. It reaches UK audiences a week later on June 18, and lands in Australia shortly after on June 24.

At the moment, there’s no confirmation whether In the Heights has been procured by any of the major VOD platforms in these territories. However, many of the 2021 Warner Brothers films released on HBO Max – like The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – have been made available internationally to rent as PVOD (premium video on demand) titles, on services like Amazon Prime Video, Apple iTunes, and Google Play Store. While we don’t know for certain yet, it’ll be worth checking these websites to see if that holds true for In the Heights.

• Watch next: how to watch Wonder Woman 1984 online
• HBO Max free trial: can you watch the monster-off for free?
• Get the best deal available with our HBO Max price guide