West Side Story Global Box Office: Steven Spielberg's First Musical Gets Disappointing Opening Of $15 Mn

Steven Spielberg's recent release West Side Story has received critical acclaim and is expected to be part of the Oscar Awards 2022 nominations. The film unfortunately saw a disappointing box office debut of $10.5 million in ticket sales at the domestic market in the US, according to studio estimates.

The musical has been one of the best-reviewed films of the year but the post-pandemic release and the musical genre has proved to affect the box office collection of the film. The Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler-starrer pulled in just $10.5 million domestically in North America with 2,820 locations. According to the Box Office Mojo, the film reportedly collected only $3,723 per-screen average in America.

Meanwhile, the film's overseas showed smaller numbers. With a release in over 37 foreign markets, West Side Story collected only $4.4 million, bringing its first-week global box office collection to $14.9 million.

Talking about the musical's low collection Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore told Forbes, "To draw moviegoers to adult dramas in huge numbers right now seems like a pretty heavy lift. That will wane over time, but it is concerning for filmmakers and studios. But I don't think this is the final act for West Side Story. A lot of people counted out The Greatest Showman."

Meanwhile, the collection is expected to be affected more by next week releases which include the awaited MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home.