used existing music from the 1950s, all of which had to be re-recorded, as they were originally recorded in mono sound. The song "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" was written for the film, with lyrics by Glimcher and music composed by Kraft. The original soundtrack album was released in 1991 by Elektra Records. It features a number of original master recordings, re-recorded tracks and mambo-themed songs performed by Sandoval, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. The soundtrack was re-released on February 1, 2000, and features a remix of the Puente song "Ran Kan Kan" performed by Olga Tañón. and an alternate version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" performed by Banderas and Compay Segundo. A remastered version of the soundtrack was released on June 30, 2017, by the record label Varèse Sarabande. AllMusic's Al Campbell awarded the soundtrack four stars out of five and praised it for "providing an excellent introduction to Latin music". Release Warner Bros. originally planned a theatrical release on December 25, 1991 but it was pushed back due to post-production delays. The Mambo Kings premiered at the Miami International Film Festival on February 7, 1992 before opening in limited release on February 28, 1992. The film expanded to 185 screens on March 13, 1992. By the end of its theatrical run, The Mambo Kings grossed $6,742,168 in North America, well below its $15.5 million budget. The film was released on VHS and laserdisc on September 2, 1992, and on DVD on August 17, 2005. The DVD includes an unrated version of the film that restores a deleted scene. Other features include a behind-the-scenes featurette and an audio commentary by Glimcher. Critical response The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes sampled 28 reviews, and gave the film a score of 82%, with an average score of 6.6 out of 10. The film received mostly positive reviews. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that the film "runs on pure emotion", and "celebrates the mysterious power of a music that can make you feel like dancing and bring you to your knees". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the film's "story is as old as the movies, but The Mambo Kings is so filled with energy, passion and heedless vitality that it seems new, anyway". Ebert and his colleague, Gene Siskel, gave the film a "Two Thumbs Up" rating on their syndicated television program, Siskel and Ebert and the