I’ve been getting some emails inquiring about when Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” will be made available digitally. I’ve been messaging people for a week now and finally got an answer — it seems as though Searchlight/Disney will make Spielberg’s film available in early February with the plan being a Disney+ VOD launch.
The film needs the momentum boost and is banking on a slew of Oscar nominations to kickstart its campaign leading to a possible Best Picture prize. It’s barely made $30 million at the domestic box-office on a budget of $100 million (not counting marketing costs).
The 2022 Oscar nominations will be announced on February 8, 2022. Look for “West Side Story” to be available a few days after that. It badly needs to build up buzz amongst audiences, critical acclaim doesn’t seem to be enough to push it to Oscar gold.