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'West Side Story': Speilberg's film BOMBS at box office, fans blame 'awful' marketing

Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' has bombed at the box office and fans are blaming Disney for the awful numbers

2021 has been a great year for movies. We saw some of the finest movies releasing this year and these movies managed to keep a smile on our faces even when the whole world is currently going through such turbulent times. Now that the awards season has started, the attention now shifts to some of the biggest names in the industry who are coming out with their projects in order to shine the brightest at the biggest night of the entertainment industry, The Oscars.

One of the movies which are on everyone’s watchlist is Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’. The movie is the remake of the 1961 film adaptation of the same name and stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in leading roles. It also sees Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno in supporting roles. The movie was screened for critics a few weeks back and received universal acclaim. Now, the makers were hoping for the same kind of reception at the box office as well.

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However, everything came crashing down when various outlets reported the box office numbers for the movie’s opening week. According to Box Office numbers, the Steven Spielberg-directorial could only manage to muster $10.5 million in the United States. Meanwhile, the worldwide box office figures are dismal as well. The movie could only make $15 million globally in its opening weekend which is well below expectations.

As soon as the numbers surfaced online, social media users and fans of the movie had a lot of things to say for the film’s debacle at the box office. Some believed that the makers misjudged the situation and lost the plot by not streaming the movie while others thought that the film was not marketed in the correct manner.

Fans blame Disney for the movie's awful box office

One of the users wrote, “Those who are trying to blame West Side Story’s box office results on Ansel Elgort being in it are so disconnected from the real world. News flash, the majority of the world doesn’t care or know about it. People didn’t see West Side Story because it skews to an older demographic.” Another user stated, “They definitely misjudged by not streaming this. I want to see it but not going to a theater right now. I think a lot of their target audience feels the same.”

“Not shocked at all. Disney and 20th Century Studios have been doing awful jobs at marketing these movies. Such an injustice to those who busted their a****s to bring these movies to life. Shameful,” another user stated.

Another social media user said, “The characterizations are flat, the Jets have no personality, the passion of the love story is missing, and it’s skewed towards one side, where the original was relatively even-handed. Humor wrung from “Officer Krupke.”

On the other hand, there were people who said that they are interested in watching the movie but they are not willing to go and sit in a movie theatre when the cases of Covid-19 are rising once again. One of the users said, “I want to see it very badly and can’t wait until I get to but I’m not going to a movie theater during a global pandemic. How did they not consider that?” Another user wrote, “It's December and Covid is once again surging (plus a new variant). I can't wait to see this movie, but I'm waiting till it's available on a streaming platform (which I assume will happen around Feb). I'm sure most people feel similarly. A theaters-only release wasn't so smart.”

Some believed that the accusations of sexual assault against Ansel Elgort played a pivotal role in such low box office numbers. “Maybe if your leading man wasn't under investigation for sexual assault it would have done better?” Another user shared, “The box office failure of West Side Story rests solely on the shoulders of Ansel Elgort. Disney knew they couldn't market around a predator. So they didn't.”

Everyone has their own opinions about the film bombing at the box office.
However, critics have hailed it as one of the best movies of 2021. American Film Institute and National Board of Review have included the movie in their top 10 films of the year list. Let’s see if the movie picks up the pace on the Christmas weekend or not. But it would be a tough ride for the movie as ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ also hit theatres in the upcoming weeks.