Posted on 12/12/2021 10:43:05 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
"West Side Story" had little to sing about this weekend.
20th Century Studios' remake of the 1961 classic musical brought in an estimated $10.5 million for its opening in North America this weekend. This total was below expectations, which projected the film to make closer to $15 million in its debut weekend.
The total is a bit surprising considering that the film had a lot working in its favor. For starters, it is directed by Steven Spielberg, one of the most recognizable and blockbuster directors in history. His name alone appeared to not be enough to get people to buy a ticket.
Great reviews also weren't enough. The film, which has a stellar 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, garnered critical acclaim as well as early Oscar buzz. Yet, despite getting an "A" CinemaScore from those who saw it, the box office returns are lackluster at best.
The film could have some legs in theaters over the next few weeks as the holidays kick in and more families have time to hit the theater, but so far the movie has failed to find an audience...
"West Side Story" could have faltered this weekend due to myriad factors. There may have been concerns over coronavirus variants, older audiences have been somewhat reluctant to return to theaters compared to younger ticket buyers, and musicals have struggled at the box office of late.
Recent film adaptations of Broadway musicals, such as "In The Heights," "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Cats," all disappointed at the box office, with each bringing in less than $30 million in domestic ticket sales, according to Comscore (SCOR). And while musicals have also experienced some big hits, including "La La Land," "The Greatest Showman" and "Mamma Mia!," it appears "West Side Story" has so far fallen in the former category.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The Passion I saw had subtitles.
“Always the hurricanes blowing. Always the population growing. And the money owing. I’ll take the island Manhattan. Smoke on your pipe and put that in!” Anita sings to the Latin boys.
“He was tryna get in her pants, then. Same thing.”
I bet he was. Probably the first time that has happened in world history, between a man and a woman.
Movie as actually better than I expected. Only “woke” element was explicitly stating that Anybody’s was “gender confused” which was/is true.
Right and this is another film of a famous play.
On DVD I have too. But not the theatre version I saw when it was first released.
Full of gayx actors and wokeness according to reviews and comments.
Nolte: Steven Spielberg’s Woke ‘West Side Story’ Bombs with $10M Opening
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2021/12/11/nolte-steven-spielbergs-woke-west-side-story-bombs-with-10m-opening/
If you don’t see the difference, look again. : )
Best one I saw was Richard Burton as Hamlet on Broadway, with the whole cast dressed in rehearsal clothes and Burton very athletic, jumping on top of table etc. Last one I saw was off Broadway with mixed media (recordings of famous actors incorporated in it).
Everything is accepted with Hamlet because the whole idea is to give it a new twist.
Not the same if you are trying to portray a time period.
A good friend lived in that neighborhood when it was still there, i.e. before they tore it all down and built Lincoln Center, and the scene was exactly like that. The PR girls were so beautiful but you better not be too friendly. They played stickball in the empty lot that was where Lincoln Center is now. And that was what the play was about.
It’s not Romeo and Juliet and was never meant to be.
Memo to film genius Steven Spielberg: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Musicals are gay. For gays, by gays. No thanks.
Remake “Jaws” as a woke musical.
I’m sure it seems longer.
I suppose that accounts for the paucity of creativity in the industry.
So many classics they could adapt:
Agatha Christie
Oscar Wilde
Conan Doyle
Shakespeare
Even the BIBLE has some GOOD stories, just the story lines are an improvement on the horrible unwatchable shows they offer.
Any bit of History is usually a good place for stories.
Agreed.
No...but he was dumb enough to marry it....
Opera too?
The problem is the liberal message. Even the original version, in spite of the wonderful music and dancing, was unrealistic. Just like the play ROMEO AND JULIET, on which it was based.
Romeo and Juliet, at least, shared the same culture. But we expected to believe here that "love conquers all." Never mind that Tony and Maria came from completely different backgrounds. Or that Tony killed Maria's brother.
I think the hyper-liberal Spielberg saw in this movie the chance to put his woke philosophy on steroids.
Was Spielberg aware that omitting subtitles would make the film less inclusive? Non-Spanish speakers would be unable to watch or participate.
Liberal logic at its finest.
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