Despite critical acclaim and two years worth of anticipation, Steven Spielberg’s lavish “West Side Story” revival made little noise at the box office, debuting with US$10.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday — a worrisome result for a movie industry struggling to recapture its finger-snapping rhythm.

A dazzling widescreen adaptation and Spielberg’s first musical, “West Side Story” was one of the year’s most eagerly awaited titles. With a script by Tony Kushner and Rita Moreno returning to her breakthrough film 60 years later, the $100-million “West Side Story” epitomizes a grand-scale prestige film that Hollywood infrequently produces. It hit theatres on a wave of glowing reviews and expectations that it could play a starring role in March’s Academy Awards.

But “West Side Story” faced a challenging marketplace for both adult-driven releases and musicals. Audiences have steadily returned to multiplexes in the second year of the pandemic, but older moviegoers, who made up the bulk of ticket-buyers for Spielberg’s latest, have been among the slowest to return.

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

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

“West Aspect Story” can nonetheless be anticipated to play effectively by way of the profitable vacation hall, through which younger-skewing movies like “Spider-Man: No Means House” and “Sing 2” will seemingly be the highest attractions.

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

Source: CCTV News

Published on HOLR Magazine.