'West Side Story' disappointed at the box office, as adult dramas and musicals continue to struggle

• "West Side Story" disappointed at the US box office in its opening weekend with $10.5 million.
• Disney inherited the movie in its acquisition of the Fox film studio.

Adult-oriented dramas and musicals have struggled at the box office this year, and not even Steven Spielberg's take on "West Side Story" could turn the tide.

The movie opened over the weekend exclusively in theaters with $10.5 million domestically and $4.4 in international markets. With a $100 million production budget before marketing costs, it's a disappointing figure for Disney, which inherited the movie in its acquisition of the Fox film studio in 2019. It could still have legs through the holidays and awards season, but has an uphill battle.

It follows other musicals and adult dramas that have underwhelmed at the box office this year as the theatrical industry strives to recover from the pandemic, including:

• "House of Gucci" — $14 million opening weekend
• "In the Heights" — $11.5 million opening (also on HBO Max)
• "Dear Evan Hansen" — $7.4 million opening
• "King Richard" — $5.4 million opening (also on HBO Max)
• "The Last Duel" — $4.7 million opening

Older audiences have been slow to return to theaters, and just 26% of the "West Side Story" audience over the weekend was 55 years or older. Meanwhile, the most successful movies this year have been driven by younger audiences, like "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage."

Some feel this reflects a long-term shift for the theatrical market. Richard Gelfond, the Imax CEO, recently told Insider that the pandemic has "accelerated the drive towards blockbuster movies," i.e. franchise releases like "Shang-Chi" and "Venom."

After the success of "Shang-Chi," Disney announced that its remaining 2021 releases would have 30-to-45-day exclusive theatrical windows.

Disney might feel compelled to quickly move a film to either of its streaming services, Disney+ or Hulu, if it has a slow box-office start. But in the case of "West Side Story," a preexisting deal between WarnerMedia and Fox (now called 20th Century Studios) prevents Disney from streaming the movie simultaneously while it's in theaters like it has for other titles like "Black Widow" and "Jungle Cruise."

The deal, which ends next year, gives WarnerMedia pay-one window rights to 20th Century movies, meaning they would stream on WarnerMedia's HBO Max after their theatrical and video-on-demand windows.

Instead of dropping it on one of its streamers, Disney could make "West Side Story" available to rent early on VOD platforms before it jumped to Max. Disney would just have to break its 45-day theatrical window promise in order to do so.

Disney and WarnerMedia did recently amend the agreement so that Disney+ or Hulu, and Max could share streaming rights on select 20th Century titles before Max's exclusive pay-one window begins, Variety reported last month. But the only movie to get that treatment so far is the animated "Ron's Gone Wong," which starts streaming on both Disney+ and Max December 15, according to Variety. It's unclear what other movies might be part of the new agreement.

A Disney representative did not respond to a request for comment.