West Side Story to debut on Disney+ in March

Fresh off of receiving seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, it has been announced that Steven Spielberg’s take on West Side Story will be hitting Disney+ on March 2, 2022.

Per Disney, West Side Story will debut on the streaming service in the U.S. and most international countries on the aforementioned date and it will launch in Taiwan on March 9, 2022, and Japan on March 30, 2022. In addition to its Disney+ debut, ABC’s one-hour special called Something’s Coming: West Side Story – A Special Edition of 20/20, is currently available to stream on the platform now.

West Side Story’s debut on Disney+ will give watchers a chance to catch the film ahead of the Academy Awards if they happened to miss the film in theaters. Spielberg’s musical adaptation was well-received by critics, scoring a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes but, due to the film skewing to an older demographic that’s still hesitant to head to the theater during the pandemic, the movie’s box office performance was a bit muted. To date, the $100 million film has grossed $36.7 million domestically and $67 million worldwide since opening in December.

Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler headline the film as star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria. The official synopsis reads, “‘West Side Story’ tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. This reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony); Rachel Zegler (María); Ariana DeBose (Anita); David Alvarez (Bernardo); Mike Faist (Riff); Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino); Ana Isabelle (Rosalía); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); and Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works). Moreno — one of only three artists to be honored with Academy, Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony, and Peabody Awards – also serves as one of the film’s executive producers.”

Will YOU be catching West Side Story on Disney+?