# Maid in Manhattan
**Maid in Manhattan** is a 2002 American romantic comedy directed by Wayne Wang, in which [Jennifer Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lopez) plays Marisa Ventura, a single mother from the Bronx working as a maid at a luxury Manhattan hotel, who is mistaken for a wealthy guest by senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall, played by [Ralph Fiennes](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-fiennes).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) Released by [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) on December 13, 2002, the film is a contemporary retelling of the Cinderella story and gave Lopez her biggest US hit to date.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/maid-in-manhattan/4011723.article)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 13, 2002 (wide, domestic), distributed by Columbia Pictures[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Wayne Wang; screenplay by Kevin Wade; story credited to Edmond Dantes, a pen name of John Hughes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661) |
| Running time and rating | 105 minutes; rated PG-13 for some language and sexual references[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002) |
| Box office | Domestic $93,932,896; worldwide $163,838,217 per The Numbers, against a $55,000,000 production budget[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan) |
| Opening weekend | $18,711,407 in 2,838 theaters, ranking first for the weekend[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan) |
| Critical scores | 37% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 148 reviews; Metascore 45 on Metacritic from 32 critics[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/maid-in-manhattan/) |
| Principal cast | Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci, Bob Hoskins, and Tyler Posey[7](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/maidinmanhattan) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Marisa Ventura is a struggling single mother who works as a maid at The Beresford, an upscale Manhattan hotel, and dreams of a better life for herself and her young son Ty.[7](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/maidinmanhattan) • [8](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7kd5n568/qt7kd5n568_noSplash_33e940f89b399a1bb7d713a062e8e708.pdf) Through her job she comes into contact with the hotel's wealthy clientele, and she falls in love with Christopher Marshall, an idealistic politician staying at the hotel.[8](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7kd5n568/qt7kd5n568_noSplash_33e940f89b399a1bb7d713a062e8e708.pdf)
The mistaken identity arises when Marisa tries on an expensive outfit belonging to a guest, Caroline Lane ([Natasha Richardson](https://www.edgepedia.org/natasha-richardson)), and Marshall, seeing her, assumes she is a wealthy socialite.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002) After a romantic evening together, her true identity is revealed, and issues of class and social status threaten to separate them.[7](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/maidinmanhattan) Alongside the romance, the film follows Marisa's ambition to move into a management position at the hotel, encouraged by her fellow maid and best friend [Stephanie](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie) (Marissa Matrone) and mentored by the veteran butler Lionel Bloch ([Bob Hoskins](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-hoskins)).[8](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7kd5n568/qt7kd5n568_noSplash_33e940f89b399a1bb7d713a062e8e708.pdf) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002) Roger Ebert, the longtime film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, noted that the screenplay keeps the couple apart through the usual misunderstandings but makes the process interesting by taking Marisa's assistant-manager application seriously.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002)
## Production
The project began as a John Hughes script called *The Chambermaid*, which Hughes initially planned to direct as his comeback.[3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661) [Julia Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-roberts), Sandra Bullock, and [Hilary Swank](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-swank) were approached to star before Hughes left the project and Lopez was brought on board; writer Kevin Wade, whose credits include *Working Girl*, retooled the script for her, and Hughes retained the story credit under his pen name Edmond Dantes.[3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/maid-in-manhattan/4011723.article) Wayne Wang, known for *[The Joy Luck Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-joy-luck-club-film)*, directed.[3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-13-et-manohla13-story.html)
The film was produced by [Revolution Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/revolution-studios) as a Red Om Films production and shot with cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub, whose anamorphic widescreen compositions orient the viewer in the physical and social space of the hotel.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-13-et-manohla13-story.html) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661)
## Box office
**Commercial performance.** The film opened at number one on the weekend of December 13, 2002, grossing $18,711,407 from 2,838 theaters, about 19.9 percent of its eventual domestic total.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan) It reached a maximum run of 3,050 theaters in early January 2003 and finished with a domestic gross of $93,932,896 after a 21-week run.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan) The Numbers reports a worldwide total of $163,838,217, while [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) lists $154,906,693; both sources agree on the $55,000,000 production budget, which the worldwide gross roughly tripled.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan) • [10](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0252076/news/) Trade coverage at the time called it Lopez's biggest US hit to date.[2](https://www.screendaily.com/maid-in-manhattan/4011723.article) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on video on August 26, 2003.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan)
## Reception
Critics were mixed. The film holds a 37 percent Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus calls it too blandly generic and notes a lack of chemistry between Lopez and Fiennes, and a Metascore of 45 on Metacritic, labeled mixed or average.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/maid-in-manhattan/) Ebert gave a positive review, calling it a skillful, glossy formula picture given life by the appeal of its stars.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002) The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw was sharply negative, writing that Wang coaxed terrible performances from the cast.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/mar/07/artsfeatures4)
## Themes and later assessment
Commentators have read the film as an updated [Cinderella](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinderella) story with a racialized dimension: a white actor plays the politician and the maid is Latina, played by the Puerto Rican Lopez as a Puerto Rican character.[12](https://criticalmediaproject.org/jennifer-lopez-maid-in-manhattan/) • [3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661) Academic readings have treated it as a narrative of assimilation and social mobility, envisioning success as a possibility for an immigrant's children, since Marisa is Bronx-born rather than an immigrant herself.[8](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7kd5n568/qt7kd5n568_noSplash_33e940f89b399a1bb7d713a062e8e708.pdf) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club)'s retrospective argued that the film is the rare rom-com that cares about class, presenting Marisa's job as a stepping stone to hotel management rather than a burden to be rescued from, while noting that it limits its depiction of racism to comic-relief antagonists rather than exploring it as a force in Marisa's life.[3](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661)
The film has remained in circulation on streaming services; as of late 2026 it streams in the United States on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) and other platforms and is available for digital rental and purchase.[13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/maid-in-manhattan) Lopez has publicly floated a sequel, saying in a social media post that she hoped to make *Maid in Manhattan 2* with Fiennes.[14](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/jennifer-lopez-pays-sweet-tribute-maid-and-manhattan-first-comment-got-me)
## References
1. [Maid in Manhattan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maid_in_manhattan)
2. [Maid In Manhattan, Screen Daily (John Hazelton, 2003)](https://www.screendaily.com/maid-in-manhattan/4011723.article)
3. [Maid In Manhattan let Jennifer Lopez's rom-com talents sparkle, The A.V. Club (Caroline Siede, 2018)](https://www.avclub.com/maid-in-manhattan-let-jennifer-lopez-s-rom-com-talents-1827913661)
4. [Maid in Manhattan movie review, RogerEbert.com (Roger Ebert, 2002)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/maid-in-manhattan-2002)
5. [Maid in Manhattan (2002), Box office and financial information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Maid-in-Manhattan)
6. [Maid in Manhattan Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/maid-in-manhattan/)
7. [MAID IN MANHATTAN, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/maidinmanhattan)
8. [University of California, San Diego, eScholarship thesis on hotel-housekeeping narratives](https://escholarship.org/content/qt7kd5n568/qt7kd5n568_noSplash_33e940f89b399a1bb7d713a062e8e708.pdf)
9. ['Maid' a disposable Cinderella story, Los Angeles Times (2002)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-13-et-manohla13-story.html)
10. [Maid in Manhattan (2002), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0252076/news/)
11. [Maid in Manhattan review, The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw, 2003)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/mar/07/artsfeatures4)
12. [Jennifer Lopez, Maid in Manhattan, Critical Media Project](https://criticalmediaproject.org/jennifer-lopez-maid-in-manhattan/)
13. [Maid in Manhattan streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/maid-in-manhattan)
14. [Jennifer Lopez Pays Sweet Tribute to Her 'Girl From The Bronx' In Maid In Manhattan, CinemaBlend (2026)](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/jennifer-lopez-pays-sweet-tribute-maid-and-manhattan-first-comment-got-me)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2000 to 2002 › Comedies of 2001*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license