Spielberg's West Side Story shows signs of weakness in its first weekend

The bet was daring.

Revisiting

Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise's Ten Oscar-winning

(1961), Steven Spielberg knew he was taking risks.

Risks which are confirmed by reading the first results of the North American box office.

The musical, inspired by the work of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, takes the top spot for its first three days of operation, according to estimates by the specialist firm Exhibitor Relations.

But with $ 10.5 million in revenue, the Universal Studios remake is very far from reassuring its producers who have invested some $ 100 million in this remake.

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If the new Spielberg takes first place this weekend, it is however the smallest leader since spring on the North American market. Even though the public seemed to have found their way back to the cinemas. For comparison,

Disney's latest

had $ 27 million in revenue for its first weekend two weeks ago,

44 million,

71 million,

41 million, and the latest

55. millions. The

prize for the

best start of this season goes to

with its $ 90 million in revenue for the first weekend of operation in the United States and Canada.

In addition to these initial signals, the increase in international revenue and attendance is not very encouraging. In France, for example,

recorded 20,000 admissions for its first day of operation on Wednesday, far behind the steamroller of

(94,000 admissions), according to figures compiled by ComScore. On the foreign market as a whole, the film is said to have raised less than $ 5 million. According to

the global revenues would therefore amount to about 15 million when Disney hoped for 25. It remains to be seen whether the holiday season will allow the last Spielberg to go up the slope.

New Yorker

, West Side Story takes again the codes, the music and the history carried on the boards for the first time on Broadway in 1957. On a music composed by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and lyrics written by Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021), recently deceased, the film tells the romance between Tony and Maria, two young heroes belonging to two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks who fight to try to dominate the district of the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Played by Ansel Elgort, Tony is a former member of the Jets, with a European immigrant background, while Maria, played by Rachel Zegler, has recently arrived from Puerto Rico and pledges allegiance to the Sharks, who hail from her native island.

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Disney Christmas in second place

Disney's new animated film

, has therefore slipped to second place collecting around $ 9.4 million this weekend, for a total of $ 71.3 million in three weeks. operating.

The film, whose music was composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the adventures of an ordinary teenager, Mirabel, born into a family in which each member is endowed with magical powers, in the heart of the mountains of Colombia.

Third place is

, latest opus of the famous franchise, which recorded 7.1 million dollars this weekend, and 112 million in four weeks of projection in theaters. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of director of the first installment Ivan Reitman, the film takes audiences on a ghost adventure that takes place this time in a small town in Oklahoma, and no longer in Manhattan in the 1980s.

Far behind this top trio,

, which stages the assassination of Maurizio Gucci, heir to the Italian fashion house, sponsored by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani, played by singer Lady Gaga, recorded $ 4 million in revenue. This feature film by Ridley Scott is rich in an exceptional cast, with stars Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and Jared Leto. Finally, the Marvel superhero film

retains its fifth place with $ 3.1 million. Follow

($ 1.7 million),

(1.3 million),

(1.3 million),

(0.9 million) and

(0.9 million).

West Side Story