before the movie was released, selena fans were not happy that a puerto rican would play the part of a mexican american singer. many fans changed their views on lopez after the houston astrodome scene was done filming. the movie opened in 1,850 theaters worldwide. "selena" was released on march 21, 1997, and grossed $11,615,722, making it the second-highest debut for that week. it grossed $15,599,598 during its first week and became the number-one movie for that week. the next week, the movie grossed $24,285,142. in total, "selena" grossed $35,281,794. it became the first and only movie directed by nava to reach the 30 millionth mark. "selena" was in theaters for 101 days, and lopez's portrayal of selena became the "breakthrough role" (becoming very important) for her career. she became very popular after the movie was released. "selena" was released on vhs and dvd in fall 1997. on september 18, 2007, warner bros. released a 10th anniversary of the movie. it featured unreleased "behind the scenes" and extras.