Alita: Battle Angel is returning to theaters later this month as an increasing number of films originally slated to be released in 2020 are being pushed to 2021. Select showings of the Rosa Salazar-led film will start on October 29 with a wider release occurring the next day.
Released in early 2019, the film marked the culmination of a nearly two-decade effort by James Cameron to make the film. Originally slated to direct the adaptation himself, Cameron's work on the Avatar sequels forced him to step back in favor of Robert Rodriquez, though Cameron still served as producer and co-wrote the script with Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon).
The film debuted to moderately favorable reviews and a 61% Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score. The cyberpunk-action film reportedly cost an estimated $150-$200 million to produce, meaning that its $404.9 million worldwide box office gross fell just short of the mark needed make Fox greenlight a sequel. Complicating matters further is the fact that just a few months later, Fox would be purchased by Disney, a move that resulted in many of the key execs at Fox who developed the film being eventually laid off.
Still, the project has steadily increased its fan base as stuck-at-home U.S. citizens discover the film on digital and OnDemand. The cast and crew for the project have also been fairly vocal about wanting to return for a sequel so it will be interesting to see if the re-release of Alita: Battle Angel can increase its box office total enough to make Disney execs consider a sequel or maybe even a Disney+ project.
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past - she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world sheas grown to love. Based on the graphic novel 'manga' series 'Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro.
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