La Bamba
“Born into poverty. Destined for stardom. He lived the American dream.”
Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.
Genres
Drama, Music
Studio
New Visions Pictures
Language
en
Status
Released
How La Bamba performed
Budget
$6.5M
Worldwide Gross
$54.2M
Gross Profit
$47.7M
Return
8.3× budget
Opening Wknd (est.)
$8M
Source: TMDB. Domestic/international split (~48/52, genre-typical) and the opening-weekend figure (30% of the domestic run, typical for Drama) are MoviesRankd estimates. Profit is gross revenue minus production budget and excludes marketing — studios typically need ~2–2.5× budget to break even.
Where to Watch
Cast
Ritchie Valens
Lou Diamond Phillips
Ritchie Valens
Donna Ludwig
Danielle von Zerneck
Donna Ludwig
Rosie Morales
Elizabeth Peña
Rosie Morales
Connie Valenzuela
Rosanna DeSoto
Connie Valenzuela
Bob Morales
Esai Morales
Bob Morales
Bob Keane
Joe Pantoliano
Bob Keane
Buddy Holly
Marshall Crenshaw
Buddy Holly
Eddie Cochran
Brian Setzer
Eddie Cochran
Lelo
Daniel Valdez
Lelo
Jackie Wilson
Howard Huntsberry
Jackie Wilson
Curandero
Felipe Cantu
Curandero
Chino
Eddie Frias
Chino
If you liked La Bamba
The Doors
1991
I'm Not There
2007
Blonde
2022
Cadillac Records
2008
Clika
2026
The Five Heartbeats
1991