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‘West Side Story’ Pulls in Dismal $10.5 Million Opening at Box Office

Despite a $100 million budget and rave reviews, the Spielberg-helmed adaptation’s paltry box office performance doesn’t feel pretty—or bode well.

This doesn’t feel pretty. Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed adaptation of West Side Story danced off-beat into a disappointing domestic debut, claiming a meager $10.5 million from 2,820 theaters. For a project with a budget of $100 million, West Side Story’s box office performance no doubt disappointed 20th Century and Disney, which had hoped to clear at least $13 million in its opening weekend alone.

One potential reason for its disheartening debut is the pandemic, as the movie musical’s target demographic—older women—are still statistically more leery of returning to theaters. Also no doubt of concern to producers is the problem of West Side Story’s male lead, Ansel Elgort: The actor has largely been sidelined in the film’s marketing and media blitz, and online speculation has credited his near-absence to an accusation of sexual assault made against him by a 17-year-old girl last year. Whatever the reason, the studio hopes the musical will capture hearts through word-of-mouth and glowing reviews and build momentum through the holiday and Oscar seasons.