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West Side Story is a 2021 American musical romantic drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner. The second feature-length adaptation of the 1957 stage musical, itself inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, it stars Ansel Elgort as Tony and Rachel Zegler (in her film debut) as María, with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno in supporting roles. Moreno, who starred in the 1961 film adaptation, also served as an executive producer alongside Kushner. The film features music composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The film entered development in 2014 at 20th Century Studios (then named 20th Century Fox); Kushner began writing the screenplay in 2017. Spielberg was hired in January 2018, and casting began that September. Justin Peck choreographed the dance sequences. Principal photography occurred in New York and New Jersey; filming began in July 2019 and ran for two months. West Side Story premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on November 29, 2021, three days after Sondheim's death. The film was later theatrically released by 20th Century Studios in the United States on December 10, after a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It received widespread acclaim, with some critics deeming it superior to the 1961 film, and was named one of the top ten films of 2021 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. The recipient of many accolades, West Side Story garnered seven nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, with DeBose winning Best Supporting Actress. However, the film was a box-office bomb, grossing $76 million against a $100 million production budget and estimated $300 million break-even target, though it achieved greater success through streaming and home video releases. Since its release, it has been cited as one of the best musical films of all time as well as one of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century.