LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — With music by Leonard Bernstein, David Newman and directed by cinema legend Stephen Spielberg, the new cinematic revival of the classic West Side Story seemed like it should be a hit but the 20th Century Studios movie opened to a dismal $10.5 million in 2,820 theaters this weekend for a per theater average of just $3,723.
Based on a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner, the modern(ish) take on Romeo and Juliette tells the story of a love affair amid fierce rivalries in 1957 New York City. The movie stars Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Rita Moreno, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Mike Faist, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Ana Isabelle & Josh Andrés Rivera.
Disney’s animated “Encanto” now in its third week, slid to second place, adding $9.400 million this weekend for a cume of $71.3 million.
Rounding out the top three was Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” which earned $7.1M in 3,815 locations in its third week of theatrical release for a PTA of $1,861 for a North American cume through Sunday of $112.4 million.
In all, movie revenue has improved markedly over 2020, with movies generating more than $3.7 billion in 2021, according to data compiled by Comscore.
