Sunday, December 8, 2024

Spielberg’s “West Side Story” Kicks Off Previews Thursday Night and Long Road to the Oscars with $800K

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And now the long road to the Oscars begins.

Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of “West Side Story” kicked off with Thursday night previews totaling $800,000. That’s a little soft but not disappointing at all. The musical with rave reviews will play in 2,800 theaters starting tonight, about a thousand fewer than most wide releases these days.

“WSS” is a 20th Century release from “WSS” which means Disney is distributing it. So far Disney has done a pretty lousy job with 20th releases. But the pressure must be on to make “WSS” a hit. There’s a potential here for a record number of Oscar nominations. Many have praised the new edition as better than the original classic. So we should big numbers over the holidays.

Get out and see a movie this weekend. We now have “WSS” and “Belfast” in theaters. Wear a mask, big deal. Sit a seat apart from strangers. But get away from the TV set and the computer!

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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