Steven Spielberg ‘West Side Story’ debuts weakly with USD 10.5 million

By Associated Press

NEW YORK: Despite vital acclaim and two years price of anticipation, Steven Spielberg’s lavish “West Side Story” revival made little noise on the field workplace, debuting with $10.5 million in ticket gross sales, in line with studio estimates Sunday — a worrisome consequence for a film business struggling to recapture its finger-snapping rhythm.

A stunning widescreen adaptation and Spielberg’s first musical, “West Side Story” was one of many 12 months’s most eagerly awaited titles. With a script by Tony Kushner and Rita Moreno returning to her breakthrough movie 60 years later, the $100-million “West Side Story” epitomizes a grand-scale status movie that Hollywood sometimes produces anymore. It hit theaters on a wave of glowing critiques and expectations that it might play a starring position in March’s Academy Awards.

But “West Side Story” confronted a difficult market for each adult-driven releases and musicals. Audiences have steadily returned to multiplexes within the second 12 months of the pandemic, however older moviegoers, who made up the majority of ticket-buyers for Spielberg’s newest, have been among the many slowest to return.

Musicals, too, have struggled to catch on in theaters. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” launched with $11 million in June however the Warner Bros. launch concurrently streamed on HBO Max. The critically panned “Dear Evan Hansen,” from Universal, debuted with $7.4 million in September.

But this was Spielberg. If anybody might reignite moviegoing, the pondering went, it was him. Surely, one of many films’ dazzling craftsmen, a director synonymous with field workplace, might spark a fuller revival in theaters. “West Side Story,” too, is among the many most beloved musicals. The 1961 movie, directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, made $43.7 million (or about $400 million adjusted for inflation) and received 10 Oscars, together with greatest image.

“West Side Story” can still be expected to play well through the lucrative holiday corridor, during which younger-skewing films like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (anticipated to subsequent weekend change into the primary pandemic launch to open with $100 million or extra domestically) and “Sing 2” will possible be the highest attracts. Film executives are hoping the spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 would not set the field workplace again simply as Hollywood is nearing its most worthwhile interval.

But the muted reception for “West Side Story” will concern the business. Hopes had lengthy been pinned on Spielberg, along with his song-and-dance spectacular, to carry again a few of the films’ mojo. Instead, little proper now outdoors of Marvel releases is discovering huge audiences. Many moviegoers merely have not returned but.

“To draw moviegoers to adult dramas in huge numbers right now seems like a pretty heavy lift,” stated Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for information agency Comscore. “That will wane over time, but it is concerning for filmmakers and studios.”

“But I don’t think this is the final act for ‘West Side Story,'” added Dergarabedian. “A lot of people counted out ‘The Greatest Showman.’”

That 2017 launch launched with a modest $8.8 million opening weekend earlier than having fun with a uncommon, prolonged run that made it, with $435 million worldwide, one of many highest grossing live-action musicals ever. During the pandemic, although, films have pale rapidly on the multiplex, and sometimes been steered extra rapidly to streaming or house launch.

Starring newcomer Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort as Maria and Tony, “West Side Story” took in $4.4 million in 37 abroad territories. Because the movie features a transgender character, it was banned in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment, referred to as the opening “delicate.”

“If ‘West Side Story’ goes to be worthwhile, it might want to join internationally as nicely domestically,” Gross said in an email. “So far, the first European openings have been good, but this is going to be a challenge with moviegoing conditions as difficult as they are.”

Spielberg’s movie was a very long time coming. Its launch was delayed a 12 months by the pandemic. It was developed at twentieth Century Fox, which was acquired by the Walt Disney Co. shortly earlier than manufacturing started. Days earlier than its Lincoln Center premiere, the musical’s revered lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, died on the age of 91.

Second place for the weekend went to Disney’s animated “Encanto,” which held strongly in its third week, dropping solely 27% from the earlier weekend. It grossed $9.6 from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative complete to $71.3 million domestically and $80.5 million internationally.

The weekend’s solely different new broad launch — STX Films’ faculty soccer drama “National Champions” — went largely unnoticed, pulling in $300,000 in 1,197 theaters.

Estimated ticket gross sales for Friday by way of Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, in line with Comscore. Final home figures shall be launched Monday.

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.