We may not be getting Alita 2 just yet but Alita: Battle Angel is officially coming back to theaters. The news was revealed by James Cameron, who co-wrote and produced the beloved sci-fi flick. It was a long-running passion project for Cameron, with Robert Rodriguez ending up in the director’s chair. Now, the movie will be getting a second shot at life in theaters, which could potentially reignite hopes for a sequel.
Alita: Battle Angel will officially be returning to theaters on October 30. It will be one of few blockbusters hitting theaters this month, even if it is a re-release, as most big movies have moved to 2021 or beyond in the wake of Tenet‘s underperformance at the box office. James Cameron, taking to Twitter, made the announcement, saying the following.
“We’re with you #AlitaArmy, Alita’s coming back to the big screen on October 30th.”
The #AlitaArmy formed not only as hardcore fans of the movie but as a group that actively hopes to get a sequel made. Multiple online campaigns have happened, and billboards even showed up in Los Angeles earlier this year. Alita: Battle Angel was received reasonably well critically but was wholly embraced by audiences. However, it only earned $85 million at the domestic box office, working against a steep $170 million production budget. Though it performed well internationally, ultimately earning a grand total of $404 million. So it fell in that odd area of not quite a flop, though not exactly a huge hit.
To complicate matters, the Disney/Fox merger went into effect last year. Fox originally produced the movie but now, decisions regarding Alita: Battle Angel 2 are in the hands of the Mouse House. Given its box office performance, it’s not surprising that the studio has yet to give the green light to a sequel. That said, if the re-release performs well, that could be enough to push Disney over the edge. The movie has unquestionably found a loyal audience on home video.
Alita: Battle Angel is based on the graphic novel Gunnm by Yukito Kushiro. The story is set several centuries in the future. Alita is found in a scrapyard of Iron City by a cyber-doctor named Ido, who takes the cyborg to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is and doesn’t recognize the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to make her way through her new life and the dangerous streets of Iron City, Ido attempts to shield her from her mysterious past.
The cast includes Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Jackie Earle Haley, Ed Skrein and Lana Condor. It is not yet clear how many theaters Alita: Battle Angel will be released on. Regal has closed its doors again in the U.S. but AMC and Cinemark will remain open. Cinemark has already confirmed that they will be showing the movie. It is also likely that drive-ins throughout the U.S. will screen it as well, as they have become a haven for moviegoers in recent months. You can check out the official announcement from James Cameron’s Twitter.
