After Fox shifted the release date for James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Battle Angel Alita, it was perfectly logical to write the film off as a potential box office bomb. However, the film opened to better than estimated numbers in North American and is slated to repeat that feat in China.
With strong buzz and little competition, Battle Angel Alita was estimated to open somewhere near $50M in China. However, after a strong Friday night opening to the tune of $20M, analysts are now predicting that the film will gross $60M in its first weekend in China.
Alita sat at $163.7M worldwide prior to opening in China. The film also premiered in Japan this weekend, where it is also expected to have a strong box office run.
With an estimated production budget of $170M, analysts are now predicting that the film's final worldwide box office gross will eclipse the $400M mark.
ABOUT ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
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 she’s grown to love.
In Theaters February 14, 2019
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay by: James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis
Based on the Graphic Novel (""Manga"") Series: ""Gunnm"" By Yukito Kishiro
Produced by: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson