It began a limited theatrical run in the United States on 21 November 2018, before streaming on Netflix in the U.S. and other territories starting on 14 December 2018.

[8][19][20] The film received universal critical acclaim, with particular praise for Cuarón's screenplay, direction and cinematography, as well as Aparicio's and de Tavira's performances.

In 1970, Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutiérrez is a Mixtec live-in maid in an upper-middle-class household in Mexico City's Colonia Roma neighborhood.

Antonio, a doctor, often leaves for business conferences, but Sofía's distressed reactions to his absences suggest he is actually having an extramarital affair.

Recent tensions over land in the area arise, and a large forest fire erupts that the partygoers help extinguish.

She looks for Fermín, traveling to an impoverished district on the edge of the city, where she finds him training at a military-style camp run by Professor Zovek.

On 8 September 2016, it was announced that Alfonso Cuarón would write and direct a project focusing on a Mexican family living in Mexico City in the 1970s.

[25] Filming took place on location throughout Mexico City, as Cuarón felt shooting on soundstages would be difficult for first-time actors.

[26] The movie theatre serving as a recurring location was the Teatro Metropólitan, where Cuarón's Y tu mamá también premiered in 2001.

According to the studio, "two women were hit, five crew members were hospitalized, and cellphones, wallets, and jewelry were stolen" during the attack.

[31] Netflix movie chief Scott Stuber acquired the rights based on 12 minutes of footage he was shown.

[37][38][39] It was released at independent theatres in Mexico on 21 November, though the Cinépolis and Cinemex chains refused, as they demanded a longer exclusivity window than Netflix offered.

Both theaters chains have refused to screen films from Netflix due to their policies that require a minimum of 90 days between theatrical release and home viewing.

[42] The film's eligibility for the Academy Awards was a matter of controversy, since despite its limited theatrical release, many believed it to have been made for home viewing.

One unique tactic included sending out thousands of six-pound Roma coffee table books (worth $175) to awards voters, which led a consultant to say "the shipping charges cost more than some movies' advertising budgets".

[50] Despite being released on Netflix on 14 December, the film expanded to 145 theaters and grossed an estimated $362,000 for a four-week total of $1.4 million.

[54] In the weekend following the announcement of its 10 Oscar nominations, Roma grossed another $175,000 from around 80 theaters, pushing it past $3 million, the first foreign-language film to do so domestically since Ida in 2013.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Roma finds writer-director Alfonso Cuarón in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft—and telling the most powerfully personal story of his career.

[61] According to a study of 65 indigeneity-oriented fictional features produced in Latin America in the 21st century, the film can be considered as a catalyst for change in the blueprint for representations of Indigenous characters in cinema.

Roma depicts Cleo, the main Indigenous character, with a level of detail that surpasses stereotypical portrayals.