Despite critical acclaim and two years-worth of anticipation, Steven Spielberg's lavish West Side Story revival made little noise at the box office, debuting with US$10.5mil (RM44mil) in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday (Dec 12) - a worrisome result for a movie industry struggling to recapture its finger-snapping rhythm.
A dazzling widescreen adaptation and Spielberg's first musical, West Side Story was one of the year's most eagerly awaited titles. With a script by Tony Kushner and Rita Moreno returning to her breakthrough film 60 years later, the US$100-million West Side Story epitomises a grand-scale prestige film that Hollywood infrequently produces anymore. It hit theatres on a wave of glowing reviews and expectations that it could play a starring role in March's Academy Awards.