Steven Spielberg’s costly “West Side Story” reboot made little noise at the box office, beginning with $10.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday — a worrying result for a movie industry striving to reclaim its finger-snapping rhythm.
“West Side Story,” a stunning widescreen version and Spielberg’s first musical, was one of the year’s most anticipated films. The $100 million “West Side Story” represents a grand-scale prestige film that Hollywood rarely produces today, with a script by Tony Kushner and Rita Moreno returning to her breakout film 60 years later. It opened to rave reviews and hopes that it would be a major contender at the Academy Awards in March.
However, the market for both adult-oriented movies and musicals was difficult for “West Side Story.” In the second year of the pandemic, audiences have gradually returned to multiplexes, but senior moviegoers, who made up the majority of ticket purchases for Spielberg’s newest, have been among the slowest to return.
Musicals have had a hard time gaining traction in theaters as well. “In the Heights,” starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, opened to $11 million in June, but the Warner Bros. movie was simultaneously streamed on HBO Max. In September, Universal released the critically panned “Dear Evan Hansen,” which grossed $7.4 million in its first weekend.
But then again, this was Spielberg. It was thought that if anyone could revive moviegoing, it would be him. Surely, one of the films’ brilliant craftspeople, a director whose name is synonymous with box office, could ignite a more comprehensive resurgence in theaters. “West Side Story” is another of the most well-known musicals. The 1961 film, directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, grossed $43.7 million (about $400 million now) and won ten Academy Awards, including best picture.
“West Side Story” is still projected to do well over the lucrative holiday season, when younger-skewing pictures like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (estimated to become the first pandemic release to open with $100 million or more nationally next weekend) and “Sing 2” are slated to be the main draws. The spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing concern among Hollywood executives as the industry approaches its most profitable period.
However, the industry will be concerned with the lukewarm response to “West Side Story.” Long had been hoped that Spielberg’s song-and-dance extravaganza would resurrect some of the films’ luster. Instead, little is now attracting large audiences outside of Marvel films. Many moviegoers have just not returned.
“It appears to be a fairly tough lift right now to bring enormous numbers of moviegoers to adult dramas,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for analytics firm Comscore. “That will fade with time, but it is a source of concern for filmmakers and studios.”
“However, I don’t believe this is the final act of ‘West Side Story,'” Dergarabedian concluded. “Many people dismissed ‘The Greatest Showman.'”
That 2017 film had a modest $8.8 million opening weekend before going on to have a remarkable, long run, earning it $435 million worldwide, making it one of the best grossing live-action musicals of all time. Movies, on the other hand, have faded swiftly at the multiplex during the pandemic, and have been steered more quickly to streaming or home release.
“West Side Story,” starring rookie Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort as Maria and Tony, grossed $4.4 million in 37 foreign regions. The film was prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait because it features a transsexual character.
The beginning was described as “soft” by David A. Gross, who leads the movie consultancy Franchise Entertainment.
“If ‘West Side Story’ is to be profitable, it must connect worldwide as well as locally,” Gross wrote in an email. “The first European openings have been terrific so far, but with the current filmgoing conditions, this will be a battle.”
It took a long time for Spielberg to make his film. The epidemic caused a year’s delay in its release. It was created at 20th Century Fox, which was purchased by the Walt Disney Company just before filming began. Stephen Sondheim, the musical’s famed lyricist, died at the age of 91 just days before its Lincoln Center premiere.
Disney’s animation “Encanto” came in second place for the weekend, holding strong in its third week, losing only 27% from the previous weekend. From Friday to Sunday, it earned $9.6 million domestically and $80.5 million overseas, bringing the total to $71.3 million domestically and $80.5 million worldwide.
“National Champions,” a college football drama from STX Films, was the weekend’s only other new wide release, grossing $300,000 in 1,197 cinemas.
According to Comscore, estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters. On Monday, the final domestic data will be announced.
1. “West Side Story,” $10.5 million.
2. “Encanto,” $9.4 million.
3. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” $7.1 million.
4. “House of Gucci,” $4.1 million.
5. “Eternals,” $3.1 million.
6. “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,” $1.7 million.
7. “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” $1.3 million.
8. “Christmas With the Chosen,” $1.3 million.
9. “Dune,” $857,000.
10. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $850,000.