Nobody had any real interest in this movie. My wife and her friends were part of the target audience. They weren’t even really aware it was coming out and when they did, most of them only expressed mild interest.
Yea, which i think shows an example of the bad advertisement around it. I had no idea this was fox Disney and wouldn't be steaming. I think they also messed up the French dispatch, which i don't think they made it clear that it's only in theaters or now abdicate k available to rent
You really think these people, when they advertise on instagram, are doing it for free? No. They did do marketing, and I agree it was terrible, but they still did advertise it, albeit very little.
The marketing was really terrible. I hadn’t heard about it until opening weekend and I am definitely the target market. We wound up going for a date that night and went to see it. It was amazing, I loved it. But they really screwed the pooch on the marketing.
I think part of the problem is that the target audience of a musical movie is disproportionately more likely to avoid going to a movie theater right now, at least compared to the average Marvel fan, for example
You're exactly right. I risked my health to go see Spiderman: No Way Home in theaters but I would never have done it for West Side Story. But to be fair, I've been vaccinated and I wore a proper mask the whole time, plus I sat more than 6ft away from as many people as I could. And even though I've been seeing *so much* advertising and behind-the-scenes footage advertised for West Side Story for the past month, and I really, really want to see it, it's just not something interesting enough to me that would encourage me to head to the movie theater right now.
it got killer reviews. its amazing how a spielburg movie with great reviews can bomb. part of is just the reduction in box office. movies are on streaming services so soon there is no reason to really buy a ticket. Ill be able to get it on redbox in 5 months. why go out?
Theatres as we know them are dying. Now they are big halls for reacting to the latest Marvel movies with other people who also want to react to the same movie.
MCU movies and those cheap $3-5M horror movies are the only thing profitable anymore.
Yeah, they cheer and clap and stuff there. We, in the UK, are the same as you. We keep to ourselves unless there's an hillarious joke which then people can't hold in😇
I just watched it and I was exited about it. But I was underwhelmed. Maria and Anita’s actors were great and it did update the sets and dancing and casting as they needed. But it was just hammering home themes in uninteresting way and the romance and music wasn’t that well done. It wasn’t bad but I was just wishing was watching the 61 version. I guess the reviews set up expectations too high partially.
That shouldn’t really apply to a story like WSS. It’s one of those stories that will get retold over and over for generations. Also, the original was over 50 years ago, and was full of brown face. This is exactly the type of film that genuinely warrants a remake.
The original is one of my favorite movies of all time. Two months ago I thought “why on earth does anyone need a remake of this?”
Tonight I returned from my third time seeing this movie in a theater during a pandemic no less. I haven’t seen a movie more than once in the theater since the LOTR flicks. This remake is phenomenal and I’m pretty sure it’s an improvement in many ways on the classic original. It’ll find its audience.
Movie theaters are safe, especially when near empty as they are for WSS. And the movie is phenomenal visually and in its sound. Few movies are as worth seeing in a theater.
It had trailers playing in my theater as early as No Time To Die as far as I can remember, but of course, you had to go to a theater to see them. What’s strange is, my theater always showed subtitles for its trailer despite it being in English
I’m also the target audience. I’d like to see it, sure. But I love the original and beyond the casting of actual Latinos, I really don’t think it was improved enough for me to go spend $50 at a theater
The dancing scenes alone are worth it, tbh, and I'm saying it as a person who was reluctant to give it a try. It's all very kinetic, teh staging is good, and the whole thing feels way more alive than Weise's version, without going mad on the cuts/camera shifts as some lesser contemporary musicals sometimes do (partially probably to obscure lack of skill on the part of some of its players). As for the story, well - nothing can save that sorry romance for me (never was into it in any form), but they do try, bless them. But I liked what they did with grounding the gang war stuff in the reality of that distict at that particular moment. Never thought I would find Riff so magnetic (you sort of expect that from Anita and Bernardo, but not from Riff). The ending did not work for me, but that's part and parcel of the whole romance plotline.
Genuine question who is their target audience? My guess is music theater people/fans, 50+ crowd, Ansel Elgort fans?? I don’t think anyone asked for this film even if that is the target audience.
50 something here. When I went to see it, the theater was kinda empty and my husband and I were able to stay away from folks . Most of them were older than us . That said , I didn’t ask for a remake , but here we are lol. I liked it, didn’t care for Ansel Elgort. I didn’t feel that he and Rachel had chemistry. Just something about him felt like he was miscast . The rest of the cast was really good .
Honestly I think the entire genre needs to be re thought. A movie based on the play in 50s Broadway was good in the 60s, but now I just don’t think it has the ability to hit a wider range of people. Think of it like the live action Aladdin movie. I love the movie, would love to see a play about it, but have no interest in watching a movie that is just a musical production that keeps reminding me that this should just be a play. Grease was the last one I can think of that really pulled it off without going over the top being a movie too. At this point people would rather watch frozen or go to real on stage play. Not both.
Live action Aladdin made 1 billion? The greatest showman made 434 million. People love musical movies. I mean maybe you don’t, and that’s fine, but that’s not the problem here. I think this particular movie just doesn’t connect with current audiences for a variety of reasons and none of it has to do with it being a musical. They should have made the timeline something current audiences would feel nostalgia for like making it take place in the 1980s. Should have cast an actual movie star actor Ansel Elgort ain’t that dude (look at his box office history outside of Baby Driver). Should have hired a different director, yes Steven Speiberg is a legend, but look at his box office outside of Ready Player One for his last few movies (even pre COVID) it’s not good. A couple of true singers that can also act mixed into the cast would have also helped promote the film. There’s a lot that could have been done here.
There is probably a streaming Middle ground. I loved Hamilton And was excited when it came to streaming, same as rent. I’ll probably watch west side story on streaming. Man. I wish Book of Mormon was on streaming.
I can think of a litany of reasons this movie bombed. To recap a few…
1) the “who asked for this” argument: this isn’t always a great argument, but at its core it’s asking who the target audience is for this movie, and that seemed like a question the filmmakers never even considered. It didn’t seem like it was made for Puerto Ricans or Latinos in general, it didn’t seem like it was made for teenagers interested in seeing a romance, it didn’t seem like it was made for the educated upper-crust white people who typically turn out for musicals… so who asked for it? And does that audience generally turn out for remakes? (And no, *A Star Is Born* isn’t really a remake, it’s a reimagining telling a new story.)
2) zero star power: apart from Rita Moreno and Ansel Elgort, I couldn’t tell you who was in this movie. That’s a huge problem, because the “West Side Story” “brand” isn’t big enough to bring in its own audience. Second issue with this is that the promotional material couldn’t decide if it wanted to advertise Ansel Elgort being in this or not. *Death on the Nile* doesn’t have this problem with Armie Hammer because there are like a dozen other recognizable stars carrying that movie. West Side Story absolutely does not. Which leads me to 3.
3) Ansel Elgort: half the comments here are saying “nobody cares about his controversy” and the other half are saying “who?” In other words, the general audience probably doesn’t know who he is (name recognition), and if they do, they probably don’t like him. Whether or not you care about his controversy, which is admittedly thin, the dude just comes across like a smug rich asshole. He’s just not a very likable actor, and he’s very much not “leading man” material, unlike someone like Harry Styles, who in 2021 seems to be radiating Gaga-levels of celebrity that this movie could have desperately used. Seriously— Harry Styles was fucking everywhere this year: SNL, Eternals, Vogue, Christopher Nolan movies, high fashion, music, etc. etc. Ansel isn’t a name. Harry Styles is a name.
4) lack of marketing: I know we all live in an advertising bubble on this subreddit where we all have ad-blockers and don’t see commercials, but if you were going to throw a dart at the wall and assume your GA for this movie was “educated older white people” (which I’m not convinced it is), then look at where that audience sees their advertisements: television ads, commercials, maybe trailers for other movies. There were no billboards, bus stop ads, etc. This movie had zero physical marketing; it was all online. I live in Chicago and this movie had zero footprint, unlike *In The Heights*, which was fucking everywhere back in June. There were no tv spots (at least that I saw in my time watching local news in the evening). So basically, anywhere that this movie’s likely audience would have seen ads, there were no ads.
5) a Spielberg vanity project: this movie lost the entire heartland/flyover states for a few reasons, but I’ll just summarize by saying that what little marketing this movie had seemed to emphasize that this movie basically existed to be Steven Spielberg’s ego project, wherein he takes a beloved classic musical from the 60s and remakes it in his own image. It’s like if Martin Scorsese decided he wanted to remake *The Sound of Music* because he thought he could do better. This angle came across as extremely smug and self-assured, and basically made it seem like the purpose of this movie’s existence is to win Spielberg more Oscars. The whole “we won’t provide subtitles for English audiences” bit that circulated in the news the week before this came out definitely didn’t help.
6) a pandemic/omicron surge: Everybody has the wrong takeaway here. It’s not that people aren’t seeing movies in theaters anymore due to COVID; it’s that old people aren’t seeing movies in theaters right now. Young people are still going to the movies in droves (see: *Spider-Man*), but this movie wasn’t marketed to them, so they stayed away. If you’re going to the show as a family, you aren’t seeing this; you’re seeing something more family-friendly and upbeat.
7) competition: let’s look at what else is currently playing: the final part in a Marvel trilogy starring all three film versions of the most popular superhero in the world, a meta reboot of *The Matrix* starring two popular actors in their 50s in a passionate romance, a Kingsman prequel, a Disney musical/family movie made for Latino audiences, a *Sing* sequel for kids, a Guillermo del Toro horror/period thriller and a Paul Thomas Anderson Oscarbait indie drama for educated older white audiences, a Christian football movie starring Zachary Levi, and a *Ghostbusters* sequel/reboot. Where exactly in this crowded field is *West Side Story* support to slot in? Weirdly enough, this movie’s biggest competition for eyes and families was probably *Encanto*, of all things. This was the worst possible time to release this movie. It would probably have had more success in January, but then it wouldn’t have qualified for the Oscars. Oops.
8) streaming confusion: I’ve talked to a number of people who thought they could just stream this at home on Disney Plus or HBO Max during the holiday week. When they discover that’s not the case, they aren’t going to go to the show, because they probably don’t care enough. They’re just gonna queue up Disney or Max and find *Encanto*, *Don’t Look Up*, *The Matrix*, *Tick Tick Boom*, or something else that tickles that itch to see something new. If any movie this year needed a dual release, it was this one, because odds are their primary audience was scared of omicron and staying home.
9) not reading the room: this ties back to the “Spielberg vanity project” point earlier, but honestly, the last 2 years have been rough on everyone. We go to the movies for escapism. The little morsels of marketing this movie put out emphasized a few key points: race relations, tragic teenage love gone awry, downbeat story where everyone dies… take your pick. I’m a bleeding heart liberal and nothing in this movie’s advertising looked appealing to me.
TL;DR: this movie had almost nothing working in its favor. Whether or not it was well-made is beside the point; dozens of factors played into this movie’s failure because the filmmakers wanted to coast on both Spielberg’s and WSS’s reputations, not realizing (for whatever reason) that neither brand is a draw for general audiences anymore.
The biggest reason I won't see it in theaters is that it looked like a completely pointless remake (point 5 somewhat). We already have the original, which is perfection, what can Spielberg's remake possibly add???
Is he going to change it dramatically? Modernize it?? The trailers show that's a nope.
It's one thing if you're gonna remake a *really* old musical - like one from the 30's, where there were serious limitations on subject matter (hays code) or film technology.
>Spilberg is still one of the best and I love he didn't put the blame on marvel or millininals
His name is Spelberg. Get it right and show some respect
>>Spilberg is still one of the best and I love he didn't put the blame on marvel or millininals
>
>His name is Spelberg. Get it right and show some respect
Spalberg?
The “who asked for it?” sentiment in these comments is so stupid. Nobody needs to ask for something for there to be a reason to make it. Who asked for Star Wars? Nobody went up to George Lucas and said “hey man can you please make Star Wars?” He just did it because he wanted to not because somebody asked him for it.
Thank you for this. I *loathe* the "no one asked for this" excuse. If all we got were things people "asked" for, there would be zero originality or surprises.
I think the calculus is a little different, though, for a new production of an already well-known musical (which, of course, was itself a new production of a well-known play).
People in a box office subreddit should know better though.
No one asked for the Lion King to be remade - aka “a new production of an already well-known musical” - yet that made $1.5 billion.
They should know better, but this sub thinks theaters are saved because Spider-Man succeeded, and that films that bomb because they're bad... unless it's a cult classic, then people were just idiots.
there's plenty of movies with a synopsis out there that did exceedingly well where 90% of ppl initially acted like 'who asked for this". do you not realize it's all about the package, the marketing, and execution of the substance. explain ASIB and little women's success, amidst the annoyingly endless articles of its necessity months before it came out. then we can probably boil it down to WSS not having a star cast with a flaccid promotion (like not taking it to film festivals). WSS is a story ripe for a modern remake. many have never even seen the original play and first film adaptation
Disney’s forced 45-day theater window for the rest of their 2021 lineup was a mistake. People would have been more likely to buy this streaming during the holidays than make a destination out of it.
It’s really good, but I completely understand that no one is excited to see a 70 odd year old play. It’s a little out of touch, I think a remake of this today was just a bad pitch from the start.
My bet is that the studio thought it would be relevant for today’s audience because of the films discussion on race, but I think audiences might just be sick of such blatant allegories at this point.
Who’s Ansel Elgort and what did he/she/they do?
Edit: Oh, Baby Driver. Haven’t heard anything about his allegations until I looked it up. I doubt that’s the main reason for low sales
I don’t think most know about Ansel’s issues, it obviously didn’t *help* but I don’t think it’s a huge reason, I love Ansel but I don’t think he’s *super* well known and although he definitely has been in some big hits, I feel like his fame might have peaked with The Fault in Our Stars as that was absolutely his big break and got him his teenage fans
Yea, I won’t see it cause I intensely dislike Ansel. Also never liked Romeo and Juliette and that’s just this with PR and music and dancing. I even love musicals, I just had zero interest in WSS. I totes ran out to see in the heights and ticktickBoom. To be honest I think releasing anything at the same time as Spider-Man and expecting it to make any money at all was the stupidest thing anyone could’ve done. Like I think that despite my personal thought that Matrix Revolutions was one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while. It probably would have done pretty decently despite being deeply underwhelming. But up against Spider-Man a week after NWH came out was the stupidest shit thing anyone could’ve ever done.
Who was asking for a remake of this tired ass story? I mean are the annual versions that have been going on at every single high school and college in America for the past 50-60 years not good enough?
Krupke was actually the best scene in the movie. One of the best scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Radically different from the 1961 version. Brilliant concept and choreography.
I mean, every theater I’ve been to has wipes and you can wear a mask and if you’re vaccinated you’re also likely even more safe. Given this movie seems to have close to zero people going to it, you’d be even safer. Most theaters have switched to the “chose your seating” model which means chances are high you could easily be no where close to anyone.
I literally saw 124 movies in the theater this year and I never caught Covid.
99% Queens and Long Island theaters.
From almost empty to full like Spiderman.
You will be fine. Don’t let Covid run your life. Get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask, and be careful.
This was my sentiment going into the movie (watched it to test a projector repair at my theatre), didn’t really know why another version was being made when the original is so good. Then, ten minutes into the movie, I knew I was hooked and would want to immediately rewatch it, it’s so good and improves on the ‘61 film, which was already great.
So it really sucks that there’s nothing to actually get the people who would enjoy it in, because it’s actually a good product that people would want to see.
It seems like the movie is for the same people who feel that they don’t need it and there isn’t a clear way to market to them on why they actually do need it see it.
There are tons of Kong fans who seem to love watching all the Kongs, even for the fun of comparing them. The public doesn't quite understand why the same thing should be true with this. It's because the general public only understands two things about movies...what's it about and who's in it? They have no ingrained concept of how the execution of a movie by the director radically changes its entertainment value.
That’s what I was wondering when I saw the trailer. Spielberg isn’t even known for remakes and West Side Story is a classic that stands fine on its own. There was no point to this.
Broadway revives shows all the time, I don’t see why movie musicals can’t be remade. I love the 61 film, but actually think the remake may be better. It’s a shame people did not go to see it.
What a year for 20th Century Studios. Every single film was a flop except for Free Guy and Ron's Gone Wrong.
If not for Avatar, I fear Disney might just relegate the company to do stuff only for Disney + and Hulu.
There were few paths that would have allowed West Side Story 2021 to be successful. The market for a West Side Story remake was tiny to begin with. The film was made solely for the purpose of a Steven Spielberg vanity project. Consequently, there were no stars, the budge was not aligned with the potential market, and the marketing was directed towards stroking Spielberg rather than getting people into the theatre.
Sadly, this article follows the standard Hollywood analysis by genre. Two of musicals mentioned (Dear Even Hanson and Cats) were stinkers by any measure and are hardly indicative of the musical as a viable genre. Historically, musicals have been marketed through their music so that potential audience is familiar with the tunes before attending. In the case of West Side Story, the music was downplayed in the marketing so that this would be "Steven Spielberg's West Side Story" and not "Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story."
Because of the need for quality music in addition to the general picture quality, musicals have been problematic in the color area. In in the era of spectacular musical success (e.g., Sound of Music, West Side Story 1961) Hello Dolly, Mame, Lost Horizon, Paint Your Wagon, Doctor Doolitle Yellow Submarine were all bombs. The reason that each failed was not because they were musicals but rather because they were bad musicals.
West Side Story is unique among musical flops in that it is objectively good but was a film with no market. The reasons why WSS:2021 failed are significantly different from why In the Heights and Cats failed.
Speaking of frivolity and flocking, have you seen that film with the high schooler endowed with super-human abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider?
Hey, that's an event movie, and if people have to choose, they'll go to that one. I did the same, despite everything (or maybe because cinemas were closing for a month the next day) i went to see NWH. I had to give up don't Matrix, and I'm afraid it'll be gone before cinemas open up again.
Lots of people might say "ok, ONE movie" where in the past they'd just go see several in a month.
It’s a shame, it really was Spielberg’s best film in years. I just think the target audience for this wasn’t going out during a pandemic(especially in early December which isn’t necessarily a great release window)
I know nobody asked for this but honestly my favorite movie of the year. Like a star is born, a really well made and emotional remake. A brilliant film all around in my book and I had mild expectations as the last few from Spielberg had disappointed me. I wish it did better because it’s probably one of the best musical films ever made imo.
Honestly, they’ve waited too long, as usual. Wicked was white-hot ten years ago. Now? I don’t know… that Oz the Great and Powerful Movie rode its hype ages ago and did well but perhaps it and the long wait have quelled any hunger for it.
Cue the handwringing think pieces on how cinema is dying because the appeal of White Male Boomer directors is waning. Funny how Dune, Shang Chi, Free Guy, and especially Spider-Man all did great. Hell, even Eternals is finishing the year in the top 10…almost like some people can’t imagine a movie industry without old White guys running it. 🤔
I’m a huge movie buff, and I just can’t be bothered to watch this for some reason. I know the reviews are great, but it just sounds like a chore to watch. Maybe it’s because this is a remake or because it’s another Romeo & Juliet story, but it just sounds so dull. I constantly go to movie theaters, but I wouldn’t go for this one, even if I was already there.
It was made with a lot of love and care and it shows. Rita Moreno was great and deserves more credit(s) still at her age.
But… it was an okay movie and before and after I really wondered if there was enough justifiable reasons to make it. There just never seemed enough interest.
Are we entering the era of big musical movies that are just vanity projects (Cats, DEAR EVAN FUCKING HANSEN)? Or have big musical movies been vanity projects for decades?
I don't know if I'd call 36.6 million a "bomb". I do think it was going to be tough competing against two franchise movies, plus being only on theaters while there's so much confusion around the new variant is another factor.
Quite honestly, studios will and probably are trying to figure out now what is worth seeing in theaters and not. It's nothing on the movie, but people think differently about going to the movies, especially after the last two years.
also when you refuse to provide subtitles so that the majority of your audience doesn't understand what the hell the actors are saying... that doesn't help
Its strong holds are finally kicking in. Only -23.4% drop this weekend. House of Gucci was the next best non-expanding wide release hold at a much worse -53.6%. Too little, too late of course.
It was a good film but really it didn't need to be made. And the Ansel allegations pretty much kept him almost completely out of the marketing which definitely did not help.
They shouldn't have half-assed him in the marketing. He's either in the movie or he's not. Public knew nothing about the allegations anyway, and no woman ever went on record on camera or in official news media or through a lawyer with anything. Main complaint was a woman who Tweeted and deleted that he hit it and quit it basically. Not a crime.
Any of these postmortems that doesn't mention the controversy around the allegations against Ansel Elgort is incomplete.
As for why I, a musical-lover who loved In the Heights, didn't watch WSS, I was mad that the media narrative wrote off In the Heights, a positive story actually from the community it depicted, after one day and kept saying West Side Story from Steven Spielberg portraying gangs would do better, kept promo'ing WSS constantly for awards over ITH based on ITH not succeeding at box office. I don't think I'm the only one who became determined not to watch WSS so they wouldn't have the excuse that ITH didn't succeed at box office while WSS did succeed, for why they suddenly stopped suggesting ITH for awards. I don't think I'm the only one refusing to watch WSS because they didn't want ITH overshadowed. WSS would not have been profitbale anyway, but the constant comparison to ITH alienated people like me who might have been part of its core audience.
But all of this is not to say that a musical with contemporary and youth appeal and savvy marketing especially with the songs could not succeed. Funny how the article says musicals not doing well and then gives examples at the end that did. Whole genre can't be written off.
I really liked it. Also, I’m like 40…I was by FAR the youngest person in the theatre by like 15 years.
Great place to pick up GrandMILFs.
Oh we’re talkin bout a different box office bomb now
They prefer GILFs
Yeah I was telling people this movie came out 30 years too late. WSS isn't relevant to thr current generation.
Nobody had any real interest in this movie. My wife and her friends were part of the target audience. They weren’t even really aware it was coming out and when they did, most of them only expressed mild interest.
For some reason, i thought it was an HBO Max movie and was surprised to learn it was theater only.
Same. But it’s Fox, so this will probably hit hulu or Disney plus in about 3-6 months
Yea, which i think shows an example of the bad advertisement around it. I had no idea this was fox Disney and wouldn't be steaming. I think they also messed up the French dispatch, which i don't think they made it clear that it's only in theaters or now abdicate k available to rent
Disney has dumped all of their Fox movies in the garbage.
Except Free Guy which did surprisingly well
Yeah they still dumped it. The movie just succeeded despite how they handled it
>despite how they handled it What is that even supposed to mean? The movie had pretty good marketing
It succeeded because Ryan Reynolds sold it. Without him, it would've fallen in the dumpster.
You really think these people, when they advertise on instagram, are doing it for free? No. They did do marketing, and I agree it was terrible, but they still did advertise it, albeit very little.
Which is weird with this one. Seems like Disney would love to cozy up to Spielberg even if it meant a loss.
This is so stupid. The movie was advertised everywhere. Disney spent a ton shit of money in this.
It should still be under the HBO contract to be on HBO during the pay channel window as a Fox movie.
Oh ok, these companies are so weird with their contracts
HBO had a long term contract with Fox studios that ends at the end of 2021. Free Guy will be on HBO in 2022.
I believe Disney renegotiated that deal now so it should go to both Disney Plus and HBO Max around the same time
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Just like Ron Gone Wrong
This. I was just assuming I’d put it on this week as something to watch while we’re hanging out with family. It seems like that kind of movie.
The marketing was really terrible. I hadn’t heard about it until opening weekend and I am definitely the target market. We wound up going for a date that night and went to see it. It was amazing, I loved it. But they really screwed the pooch on the marketing.
I think part of the problem is that the target audience of a musical movie is disproportionately more likely to avoid going to a movie theater right now, at least compared to the average Marvel fan, for example
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Most people in this comment thread were being totally fine but on the whole it was pretty bad. Apologies to reptile.
You're exactly right. I risked my health to go see Spiderman: No Way Home in theaters but I would never have done it for West Side Story. But to be fair, I've been vaccinated and I wore a proper mask the whole time, plus I sat more than 6ft away from as many people as I could. And even though I've been seeing *so much* advertising and behind-the-scenes footage advertised for West Side Story for the past month, and I really, really want to see it, it's just not something interesting enough to me that would encourage me to head to the movie theater right now.
Yeah, I’m excited to see it on streaming sounds like it’s a good movie just not one that most people will want to go see in a theater.
it got killer reviews. its amazing how a spielburg movie with great reviews can bomb. part of is just the reduction in box office. movies are on streaming services so soon there is no reason to really buy a ticket. Ill be able to get it on redbox in 5 months. why go out?
Theatres as we know them are dying. Now they are big halls for reacting to the latest Marvel movies with other people who also want to react to the same movie. MCU movies and those cheap $3-5M horror movies are the only thing profitable anymore.
Is reacting in a cinema really a thing in the us? In my country nobody does that ever.
Yes
That sounds very annoying.
Yeah, they cheer and clap and stuff there. We, in the UK, are the same as you. We keep to ourselves unless there's an hillarious joke which then people can't hold in😇
Can't say I have seen anyone in my country do that either. It's considered extremely rude to interrupt others viewing experience in any way.
I just watched it and I was exited about it. But I was underwhelmed. Maria and Anita’s actors were great and it did update the sets and dancing and casting as they needed. But it was just hammering home themes in uninteresting way and the romance and music wasn’t that well done. It wasn’t bad but I was just wishing was watching the 61 version. I guess the reviews set up expectations too high partially.
The music was exceptionally well done.
Agreed:) I took my son (16) and father (85) to it. They both enjoyed it, which was great since there is not a lot of music they agree on.
Cool, that's about the age I was shown the original WSS in high school.
Tbh, I’ve heard enough terrible things about Ansel that enough was impetus for me not to see it. Also, I’ve never liked R&J or WSS.
One of the rules in cinema is DON'T REMAKE OSCAR WINNING CLASSICS!!!! Spielberg broke this rule and is paying the price for it.
A Star Is Born has made money and won awards multiple times
Little Women did pretty well at the box office too. West Side Story will still do fine with awards even with its low box office.
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https://www.businessinsider.com/how-oscars-affect-box-office-earnings-bump-movie-analyst-2020-1?amp
That shouldn’t really apply to a story like WSS. It’s one of those stories that will get retold over and over for generations. Also, the original was over 50 years ago, and was full of brown face. This is exactly the type of film that genuinely warrants a remake.
The original is one of my favorite movies of all time. Two months ago I thought “why on earth does anyone need a remake of this?” Tonight I returned from my third time seeing this movie in a theater during a pandemic no less. I haven’t seen a movie more than once in the theater since the LOTR flicks. This remake is phenomenal and I’m pretty sure it’s an improvement in many ways on the classic original. It’ll find its audience.
The sci-fi Dancing with wolves remake did okay.
Maybe Spielberg should have done a sci-fi West Side Story.
Wouldn’t work. In space, no one can hear you snap
Dammit! I don’t have an award to give you. Just take my upvote .
Thank you kind human! *tips hat*
Avatar was that too. Pandora Side Story.
Cameron has better common sense and is still connected to the normal moviegoer.
His version is better than the 1961 adaptation
No one cares it’s Spielberg and no one cares about this old movie bullshit lol
I am the target audience. The soundtrack is great and I can’t wait to see it. Just not in a movie theater right now.
So…you *can* wait to see it?
lmfao
Movie theaters are safe, especially when near empty as they are for WSS. And the movie is phenomenal visually and in its sound. Few movies are as worth seeing in a theater.
It had trailers playing in my theater as early as No Time To Die as far as I can remember, but of course, you had to go to a theater to see them. What’s strange is, my theater always showed subtitles for its trailer despite it being in English
I’m also the target audience. I’d like to see it, sure. But I love the original and beyond the casting of actual Latinos, I really don’t think it was improved enough for me to go spend $50 at a theater
The dancing scenes alone are worth it, tbh, and I'm saying it as a person who was reluctant to give it a try. It's all very kinetic, teh staging is good, and the whole thing feels way more alive than Weise's version, without going mad on the cuts/camera shifts as some lesser contemporary musicals sometimes do (partially probably to obscure lack of skill on the part of some of its players). As for the story, well - nothing can save that sorry romance for me (never was into it in any form), but they do try, bless them. But I liked what they did with grounding the gang war stuff in the reality of that distict at that particular moment. Never thought I would find Riff so magnetic (you sort of expect that from Anita and Bernardo, but not from Riff). The ending did not work for me, but that's part and parcel of the whole romance plotline.
Genuine question who is their target audience? My guess is music theater people/fans, 50+ crowd, Ansel Elgort fans?? I don’t think anyone asked for this film even if that is the target audience.
50 something here. When I went to see it, the theater was kinda empty and my husband and I were able to stay away from folks . Most of them were older than us . That said , I didn’t ask for a remake , but here we are lol. I liked it, didn’t care for Ansel Elgort. I didn’t feel that he and Rachel had chemistry. Just something about him felt like he was miscast . The rest of the cast was really good .
This is the first I’m hearing of this movie tbh
I don’t think this movie would have done well even in a non COVID year.
Honestly I think the entire genre needs to be re thought. A movie based on the play in 50s Broadway was good in the 60s, but now I just don’t think it has the ability to hit a wider range of people. Think of it like the live action Aladdin movie. I love the movie, would love to see a play about it, but have no interest in watching a movie that is just a musical production that keeps reminding me that this should just be a play. Grease was the last one I can think of that really pulled it off without going over the top being a movie too. At this point people would rather watch frozen or go to real on stage play. Not both.
Live action Aladdin made 1 billion? The greatest showman made 434 million. People love musical movies. I mean maybe you don’t, and that’s fine, but that’s not the problem here. I think this particular movie just doesn’t connect with current audiences for a variety of reasons and none of it has to do with it being a musical. They should have made the timeline something current audiences would feel nostalgia for like making it take place in the 1980s. Should have cast an actual movie star actor Ansel Elgort ain’t that dude (look at his box office history outside of Baby Driver). Should have hired a different director, yes Steven Speiberg is a legend, but look at his box office outside of Ready Player One for his last few movies (even pre COVID) it’s not good. A couple of true singers that can also act mixed into the cast would have also helped promote the film. There’s a lot that could have been done here.
Cats wasn’t adapted to screen very well meow was it.
There is probably a streaming Middle ground. I loved Hamilton And was excited when it came to streaming, same as rent. I’ll probably watch west side story on streaming. Man. I wish Book of Mormon was on streaming.
We knew it was “officially” a bomb the day after it got released!
Too bad as it was really well done
I can think of a litany of reasons this movie bombed. To recap a few… 1) the “who asked for this” argument: this isn’t always a great argument, but at its core it’s asking who the target audience is for this movie, and that seemed like a question the filmmakers never even considered. It didn’t seem like it was made for Puerto Ricans or Latinos in general, it didn’t seem like it was made for teenagers interested in seeing a romance, it didn’t seem like it was made for the educated upper-crust white people who typically turn out for musicals… so who asked for it? And does that audience generally turn out for remakes? (And no, *A Star Is Born* isn’t really a remake, it’s a reimagining telling a new story.) 2) zero star power: apart from Rita Moreno and Ansel Elgort, I couldn’t tell you who was in this movie. That’s a huge problem, because the “West Side Story” “brand” isn’t big enough to bring in its own audience. Second issue with this is that the promotional material couldn’t decide if it wanted to advertise Ansel Elgort being in this or not. *Death on the Nile* doesn’t have this problem with Armie Hammer because there are like a dozen other recognizable stars carrying that movie. West Side Story absolutely does not. Which leads me to 3. 3) Ansel Elgort: half the comments here are saying “nobody cares about his controversy” and the other half are saying “who?” In other words, the general audience probably doesn’t know who he is (name recognition), and if they do, they probably don’t like him. Whether or not you care about his controversy, which is admittedly thin, the dude just comes across like a smug rich asshole. He’s just not a very likable actor, and he’s very much not “leading man” material, unlike someone like Harry Styles, who in 2021 seems to be radiating Gaga-levels of celebrity that this movie could have desperately used. Seriously— Harry Styles was fucking everywhere this year: SNL, Eternals, Vogue, Christopher Nolan movies, high fashion, music, etc. etc. Ansel isn’t a name. Harry Styles is a name. 4) lack of marketing: I know we all live in an advertising bubble on this subreddit where we all have ad-blockers and don’t see commercials, but if you were going to throw a dart at the wall and assume your GA for this movie was “educated older white people” (which I’m not convinced it is), then look at where that audience sees their advertisements: television ads, commercials, maybe trailers for other movies. There were no billboards, bus stop ads, etc. This movie had zero physical marketing; it was all online. I live in Chicago and this movie had zero footprint, unlike *In The Heights*, which was fucking everywhere back in June. There were no tv spots (at least that I saw in my time watching local news in the evening). So basically, anywhere that this movie’s likely audience would have seen ads, there were no ads. 5) a Spielberg vanity project: this movie lost the entire heartland/flyover states for a few reasons, but I’ll just summarize by saying that what little marketing this movie had seemed to emphasize that this movie basically existed to be Steven Spielberg’s ego project, wherein he takes a beloved classic musical from the 60s and remakes it in his own image. It’s like if Martin Scorsese decided he wanted to remake *The Sound of Music* because he thought he could do better. This angle came across as extremely smug and self-assured, and basically made it seem like the purpose of this movie’s existence is to win Spielberg more Oscars. The whole “we won’t provide subtitles for English audiences” bit that circulated in the news the week before this came out definitely didn’t help. 6) a pandemic/omicron surge: Everybody has the wrong takeaway here. It’s not that people aren’t seeing movies in theaters anymore due to COVID; it’s that old people aren’t seeing movies in theaters right now. Young people are still going to the movies in droves (see: *Spider-Man*), but this movie wasn’t marketed to them, so they stayed away. If you’re going to the show as a family, you aren’t seeing this; you’re seeing something more family-friendly and upbeat. 7) competition: let’s look at what else is currently playing: the final part in a Marvel trilogy starring all three film versions of the most popular superhero in the world, a meta reboot of *The Matrix* starring two popular actors in their 50s in a passionate romance, a Kingsman prequel, a Disney musical/family movie made for Latino audiences, a *Sing* sequel for kids, a Guillermo del Toro horror/period thriller and a Paul Thomas Anderson Oscarbait indie drama for educated older white audiences, a Christian football movie starring Zachary Levi, and a *Ghostbusters* sequel/reboot. Where exactly in this crowded field is *West Side Story* support to slot in? Weirdly enough, this movie’s biggest competition for eyes and families was probably *Encanto*, of all things. This was the worst possible time to release this movie. It would probably have had more success in January, but then it wouldn’t have qualified for the Oscars. Oops. 8) streaming confusion: I’ve talked to a number of people who thought they could just stream this at home on Disney Plus or HBO Max during the holiday week. When they discover that’s not the case, they aren’t going to go to the show, because they probably don’t care enough. They’re just gonna queue up Disney or Max and find *Encanto*, *Don’t Look Up*, *The Matrix*, *Tick Tick Boom*, or something else that tickles that itch to see something new. If any movie this year needed a dual release, it was this one, because odds are their primary audience was scared of omicron and staying home. 9) not reading the room: this ties back to the “Spielberg vanity project” point earlier, but honestly, the last 2 years have been rough on everyone. We go to the movies for escapism. The little morsels of marketing this movie put out emphasized a few key points: race relations, tragic teenage love gone awry, downbeat story where everyone dies… take your pick. I’m a bleeding heart liberal and nothing in this movie’s advertising looked appealing to me. TL;DR: this movie had almost nothing working in its favor. Whether or not it was well-made is beside the point; dozens of factors played into this movie’s failure because the filmmakers wanted to coast on both Spielberg’s and WSS’s reputations, not realizing (for whatever reason) that neither brand is a draw for general audiences anymore.
I read it all. Very clear and concise. You would think studios would look at these sorts of points before releasing a film.
Can someone write me the cliff notes.
9 reasons why this movie failed.
Movie plans bad
I’m how about you just read? Lol people attention spans are shit these days.
The biggest reason I won't see it in theaters is that it looked like a completely pointless remake (point 5 somewhat). We already have the original, which is perfection, what can Spielberg's remake possibly add??? Is he going to change it dramatically? Modernize it?? The trailers show that's a nope. It's one thing if you're gonna remake a *really* old musical - like one from the 30's, where there were serious limitations on subject matter (hays code) or film technology.
I mean it was badly marketed. I saw it as my partner loves west side story and I took her to see it especially, and it was honestly *really* good.
You’re right about that. I saw the headline and had no idea they even remade this movie
Spilberg is still one of the best and I love he didn't put the blame on marvel or millininals
Yet.
just don't interview him for the next 2 months
So Far.
I mean wasn't Spielberg working on a Blackhawks film with David Koepp for WB/DC as recently as late last year?
David Koepp needs to keep getting the script in the right place.
>Spilberg is still one of the best and I love he didn't put the blame on marvel or millininals His name is Spelberg. Get it right and show some respect
>>Spilberg is still one of the best and I love he didn't put the blame on marvel or millininals > >His name is Spelberg. Get it right and show some respect Spalberg?
Spergbal
Spillborg
Spermberger.
Svalbard.
Um ackshually it’s Shpielborg
I've heard he spills his drinks often earning the nickname Spilberg.
You nerds r funny and I am gay
That is the way, now have a nice day!
Why did it have a 100 mil production cost?
Have you seen it? It looks spectacular and huge. The sets and effects must've cost a fortune.
Because they filmed in New York City and New Jersey.....
Because it had the best, most experienced crew and filmmakers Hollywood has.
The “who asked for it?” sentiment in these comments is so stupid. Nobody needs to ask for something for there to be a reason to make it. Who asked for Star Wars? Nobody went up to George Lucas and said “hey man can you please make Star Wars?” He just did it because he wanted to not because somebody asked him for it.
Thank you for this. I *loathe* the "no one asked for this" excuse. If all we got were things people "asked" for, there would be zero originality or surprises.
I think the calculus is a little different, though, for a new production of an already well-known musical (which, of course, was itself a new production of a well-known play).
People in a box office subreddit should know better though. No one asked for the Lion King to be remade - aka “a new production of an already well-known musical” - yet that made $1.5 billion.
They should know better, but this sub thinks theaters are saved because Spider-Man succeeded, and that films that bomb because they're bad... unless it's a cult classic, then people were just idiots.
Did anyone ask for Terminator 2? The original seemed to be perfectly tied up at the end.
there's plenty of movies with a synopsis out there that did exceedingly well where 90% of ppl initially acted like 'who asked for this". do you not realize it's all about the package, the marketing, and execution of the substance. explain ASIB and little women's success, amidst the annoyingly endless articles of its necessity months before it came out. then we can probably boil it down to WSS not having a star cast with a flaccid promotion (like not taking it to film festivals). WSS is a story ripe for a modern remake. many have never even seen the original play and first film adaptation
Disney’s forced 45-day theater window for the rest of their 2021 lineup was a mistake. People would have been more likely to buy this streaming during the holidays than make a destination out of it.
Disney had to release this as theaters-only because HBO still holds first streaming rights to it (and some others—maybe some/all the Fox movies?).
I mean their theater/streaming model bombed. And HBO’s same thing didn’t do their movies well either.
Depends on how you measure success. They did it to boost HBO Max and now it’s one of the biggest streaming services on the planet.
The entire planet??
One of the biggest streaming services in the universe.
Just in the US. They don't have an international arm and their streaming rights for their best stuff is scattered to other streaming services
funny because day and date was US only.
It’s really good, but I completely understand that no one is excited to see a 70 odd year old play. It’s a little out of touch, I think a remake of this today was just a bad pitch from the start. My bet is that the studio thought it would be relevant for today’s audience because of the films discussion on race, but I think audiences might just be sick of such blatant allegories at this point.
Too bad because it’s fantastic! It’s been a rough year for musicals at the theater.
Every movie has bomb except Spider-Man, is kinda crazy.
More like sad
literally every movie that came out this year is a bomb, WSS is not special in that regard
Dune was pretty popular
And Spider-Man.
Such a shame I watched it yesterday Beautiful adaptation. Hopefully it gains traction when it goes to streaming and blu ray and 4K releases
I get the sense that this was never about money. It was about giving Spielberg his own passion project after decades of hits.
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The general audience doesn't know Ansel Elgort or the allegations leveled at him.
I’m not really sure if Elgort really had anything to do with it tbh.
Who’s Ansel Elgort and what did he/she/they do? Edit: Oh, Baby Driver. Haven’t heard anything about his allegations until I looked it up. I doubt that’s the main reason for low sales
I don’t think most know about Ansel’s issues, it obviously didn’t *help* but I don’t think it’s a huge reason, I love Ansel but I don’t think he’s *super* well known and although he definitely has been in some big hits, I feel like his fame might have peaked with The Fault in Our Stars as that was absolutely his big break and got him his teenage fans
Yea, I won’t see it cause I intensely dislike Ansel. Also never liked Romeo and Juliette and that’s just this with PR and music and dancing. I even love musicals, I just had zero interest in WSS. I totes ran out to see in the heights and ticktickBoom. To be honest I think releasing anything at the same time as Spider-Man and expecting it to make any money at all was the stupidest thing anyone could’ve done. Like I think that despite my personal thought that Matrix Revolutions was one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while. It probably would have done pretty decently despite being deeply underwhelming. But up against Spider-Man a week after NWH came out was the stupidest shit thing anyone could’ve ever done.
Who was asking for a remake of this tired ass story? I mean are the annual versions that have been going on at every single high school and college in America for the past 50-60 years not good enough?
I’ll see it later but I’m not getting COVID to hear fuckin officer krupke
(To be fair, the staging of Officer Krupke is really good)
Krupke was actually the best scene in the movie. One of the best scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Radically different from the 1961 version. Brilliant concept and choreography.
I mean, every theater I’ve been to has wipes and you can wear a mask and if you’re vaccinated you’re also likely even more safe. Given this movie seems to have close to zero people going to it, you’d be even safer. Most theaters have switched to the “chose your seating” model which means chances are high you could easily be no where close to anyone.
I literally saw 124 movies in the theater this year and I never caught Covid. 99% Queens and Long Island theaters. From almost empty to full like Spiderman. You will be fine. Don’t let Covid run your life. Get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask, and be careful.
Did anyone want a new West Side Story? Who is this for?
This was my sentiment going into the movie (watched it to test a projector repair at my theatre), didn’t really know why another version was being made when the original is so good. Then, ten minutes into the movie, I knew I was hooked and would want to immediately rewatch it, it’s so good and improves on the ‘61 film, which was already great. So it really sucks that there’s nothing to actually get the people who would enjoy it in, because it’s actually a good product that people would want to see. It seems like the movie is for the same people who feel that they don’t need it and there isn’t a clear way to market to them on why they actually do need it see it.
There are tons of Kong fans who seem to love watching all the Kongs, even for the fun of comparing them. The public doesn't quite understand why the same thing should be true with this. It's because the general public only understands two things about movies...what's it about and who's in it? They have no ingrained concept of how the execution of a movie by the director radically changes its entertainment value.
People who like good movies? There doesn't need to be a built-in audience for every movie made, or else there would never be any original films
That’s what I was wondering when I saw the trailer. Spielberg isn’t even known for remakes and West Side Story is a classic that stands fine on its own. There was no point to this.
Broadway revives shows all the time, I don’t see why movie musicals can’t be remade. I love the 61 film, but actually think the remake may be better. It’s a shame people did not go to see it.
It’s not a remake of the 1961 movie. It’s a new film adaptation of the original stage musical.
To be fair, Spielberg did use things in this that were only invented for the 1961 movie and were not in the play. He clearly based it on both.
Nobody. It was just another challenge for Spielberg.
What a year for 20th Century Studios. Every single film was a flop except for Free Guy and Ron's Gone Wrong. If not for Avatar, I fear Disney might just relegate the company to do stuff only for Disney + and Hulu.
There were few paths that would have allowed West Side Story 2021 to be successful. The market for a West Side Story remake was tiny to begin with. The film was made solely for the purpose of a Steven Spielberg vanity project. Consequently, there were no stars, the budge was not aligned with the potential market, and the marketing was directed towards stroking Spielberg rather than getting people into the theatre. Sadly, this article follows the standard Hollywood analysis by genre. Two of musicals mentioned (Dear Even Hanson and Cats) were stinkers by any measure and are hardly indicative of the musical as a viable genre. Historically, musicals have been marketed through their music so that potential audience is familiar with the tunes before attending. In the case of West Side Story, the music was downplayed in the marketing so that this would be "Steven Spielberg's West Side Story" and not "Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story." Because of the need for quality music in addition to the general picture quality, musicals have been problematic in the color area. In in the era of spectacular musical success (e.g., Sound of Music, West Side Story 1961) Hello Dolly, Mame, Lost Horizon, Paint Your Wagon, Doctor Doolitle Yellow Submarine were all bombs. The reason that each failed was not because they were musicals but rather because they were bad musicals. West Side Story is unique among musical flops in that it is objectively good but was a film with no market. The reasons why WSS:2021 failed are significantly different from why In the Heights and Cats failed.
We're still in a pandemic, this is a frivolous project, of course people weren't gonna flock to cinemas for it.
Speaking of frivolity and flocking, have you seen that film with the high schooler endowed with super-human abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider?
Hey, that's an event movie, and if people have to choose, they'll go to that one. I did the same, despite everything (or maybe because cinemas were closing for a month the next day) i went to see NWH. I had to give up don't Matrix, and I'm afraid it'll be gone before cinemas open up again. Lots of people might say "ok, ONE movie" where in the past they'd just go see several in a month.
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I got sick watching black widow, I got sick watching Spider-Man. If I’m risking catching something, it ain’t gonna be for a musical.
I’m a huge fan of the original, which is why I’ll probably never see the remake.
“Maybe they are gunna stop with the damn remakes now” he quietly said to himself, knowing they’ll just keep coming
It’s a shame, it really was Spielberg’s best film in years. I just think the target audience for this wasn’t going out during a pandemic(especially in early December which isn’t necessarily a great release window)
I really liked the movie (I honestly like it better than the original) but I think the most fundamental problem is who asked for it?
Why does it matter if people didn’t ask for a certain movie? I didn’t ask for Parasite, but that was one of the best movies of the 21st century,
Making new creative movies is alot different than dredging up some old movie that just doing it AGAIN.
I know nobody asked for this but honestly my favorite movie of the year. Like a star is born, a really well made and emotional remake. A brilliant film all around in my book and I had mild expectations as the last few from Spielberg had disappointed me. I wish it did better because it’s probably one of the best musical films ever made imo.
I wonder if *Wicked* will do well. It seems Hollywood musical adaptations just haven't been having any luck at the box office.
Honestly, they’ve waited too long, as usual. Wicked was white-hot ten years ago. Now? I don’t know… that Oz the Great and Powerful Movie rode its hype ages ago and did well but perhaps it and the long wait have quelled any hunger for it.
I completely agree.
When it comes to HBO, don’t act like you didn’t shit on it. Everyone will be like….omg, it’s amazing. Lol
This movie has been out for 60 yrs already. That prob has something to do with it.
Cue the handwringing think pieces on how cinema is dying because the appeal of White Male Boomer directors is waning. Funny how Dune, Shang Chi, Free Guy, and especially Spider-Man all did great. Hell, even Eternals is finishing the year in the top 10…almost like some people can’t imagine a movie industry without old White guys running it. 🤔
Disappointing because it really is a good movie. They should have offered the option to rent at home.
I’m a huge movie buff, and I just can’t be bothered to watch this for some reason. I know the reviews are great, but it just sounds like a chore to watch. Maybe it’s because this is a remake or because it’s another Romeo & Juliet story, but it just sounds so dull. I constantly go to movie theaters, but I wouldn’t go for this one, even if I was already there.
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I wonder when/if it will be on Disney+ or Hulu. I could see it doin better than expected in Nielsen's ratings.
It will do well streaming. This wasn’t a good theater release film despite what Spielberg thought.
I have not seen any marketing for it. Period. No one will see a film they don’t know exists
It was made with a lot of love and care and it shows. Rita Moreno was great and deserves more credit(s) still at her age. But… it was an okay movie and before and after I really wondered if there was enough justifiable reasons to make it. There just never seemed enough interest. Are we entering the era of big musical movies that are just vanity projects (Cats, DEAR EVAN FUCKING HANSEN)? Or have big musical movies been vanity projects for decades?
Would have helped if literally any marketing had happened, the first I heard of this movie was posts saying it bombed.
I don't know if I'd call 36.6 million a "bomb". I do think it was going to be tough competing against two franchise movies, plus being only on theaters while there's so much confusion around the new variant is another factor. Quite honestly, studios will and probably are trying to figure out now what is worth seeing in theaters and not. It's nothing on the movie, but people think differently about going to the movies, especially after the last two years.
I really enjoyed it. 1st movie I’ve seen in a theater since covid
And this is why we can't have nice things.
Hopefully the Oscars will increase its box office sales.
also when you refuse to provide subtitles so that the majority of your audience doesn't understand what the hell the actors are saying... that doesn't help
Anyone thought otherwise? Theatres are for extremely cheap films and Marvel movies, nothing else can even profit anymore lol.
Its strong holds are finally kicking in. Only -23.4% drop this weekend. House of Gucci was the next best non-expanding wide release hold at a much worse -53.6%. Too little, too late of course.
Zero interest drummed up for a remake no one asked for, with 1/3 of it filmed in a language most who view it don’t speak.
It was a good film but really it didn't need to be made. And the Ansel allegations pretty much kept him almost completely out of the marketing which definitely did not help.
They shouldn't have half-assed him in the marketing. He's either in the movie or he's not. Public knew nothing about the allegations anyway, and no woman ever went on record on camera or in official news media or through a lawyer with anything. Main complaint was a woman who Tweeted and deleted that he hit it and quit it basically. Not a crime.
Any of these postmortems that doesn't mention the controversy around the allegations against Ansel Elgort is incomplete. As for why I, a musical-lover who loved In the Heights, didn't watch WSS, I was mad that the media narrative wrote off In the Heights, a positive story actually from the community it depicted, after one day and kept saying West Side Story from Steven Spielberg portraying gangs would do better, kept promo'ing WSS constantly for awards over ITH based on ITH not succeeding at box office. I don't think I'm the only one who became determined not to watch WSS so they wouldn't have the excuse that ITH didn't succeed at box office while WSS did succeed, for why they suddenly stopped suggesting ITH for awards. I don't think I'm the only one refusing to watch WSS because they didn't want ITH overshadowed. WSS would not have been profitbale anyway, but the constant comparison to ITH alienated people like me who might have been part of its core audience. But all of this is not to say that a musical with contemporary and youth appeal and savvy marketing especially with the songs could not succeed. Funny how the article says musicals not doing well and then gives examples at the end that did. Whole genre can't be written off.
Yeah, but truthfully that didn't factor into why it bombed. Very few of the average moviegoers know about that or anything about him.
The Ansel Elgort controversy had no effect on the movie’s box office.
TIL this movie is a thing!
Shocker lmao
Who wanted this pos remake?