Though it has scored some of the year’s best reviews, Steven Spielberg’s long-delayed “West Side Story” remake is facing the same difficulties of any non-Marvel feature at the box-office.
The film reportedly collected $800,000 in previews on Thursday night and is expected to generate $10-15 million in cinemas this weekend.
To put that in perspective, it’s the same Thursday night preview amount generated by the critically derided “Dear Evan Hansen” back in September. That film went on to open to just $7.5 million for its weekend and closed out with a woeful $18 million domestic total.
Spielberg’s film, with its far better reception, isn’t expected to hit those choppy waters and could be a formidable Oscar contender which would help its box-office longevity.
Still, at a cost of around $100 million to produce, the film needs to go against the trend of recent musicals that have underperformed (ala “In the Heights”).
Another issue is competition with “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Matrix: Resurrections” and “Sing 2” set to dominate multiplexes over the next two weeks meaning this week is the only breather ‘West Side’ has.
Source: Variety