Among A-list filmmakers, Spielberg is one of the last streaming holdouts. Although his company, Amblin, signed a multiyear deal in June to make feature films for Netflix, Spielberg has pushed for his directorial projects to remain theatrical exclusives. At the New York City premiere of “West Side Story,” he thanked Disney executives for giving his film an old-fashioned theatrical rollout, despite the pandemic, rather than rerouting it to a streaming service, as the company had notably done with “Hamilton.” (On Thursday, Disney removed a Ben Affleck thriller, “Deep Water,” from its January theatrical release schedule; the movie is expected to stream on Amazon Prime or Hulu instead.)
So it was distressing for Hollywood traditionalists to see “West Side Story” arrive to even lower ticket sales than “In the Heights.” That euphorically reviewed Warner Bros. musical took in $11.5 million over its first three days in theaters in June — even though it was simultaneously available to stream at no extra cost on HBO Max. Box office analysts used words like “fizzled” and “dismal” to describe opening-weekend ticket sales for “In the Heights.”
Live-action musicals have long been a challenged genre at the box office. But they can still be winners, especially if they have starry casts. “The Greatest Showman” had Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, Michelle Williams and Zac Efron. The successful “Les Misérables” (2012), had Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp and others powered “Into the Woods” (2014), to $31 million in opening-weekend ticket sales. (One exception: Universal’s all-star “Cats.”)
“In the Heights,” in contrast, lacked household names. Ditto “Dear Evan Hansen,” which face-planted in September. And “West Side Story” only has one proven box office star: Spielberg.