‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Box Office Total Nears Potential Sequel Territory

Anime fans have been paying particular attention to how well Alita: Battle Angel has been doing in the box office because a good performance is one of the many factors that goes into deciding whether or not there will be a sequel. While not an immediate hit, anime fans have been impressed by how well the original series has translated into a live-action Hollywood film.

There still is no indication of what exact number Alita: Battle Angel would need to net a sequel, but with its current worldwide box office total of $394 million USD, the film could be close to actually getting a sequel.

According to reports from Box Office Mojo, the latest weekend totals brought Alita: Battle Angel to $82 million USD, and $312 million USD in foreign territories. This brings the worldwide box office gross to $394 million USD. Exhibitor Relations on Twitter suggests this total is near the “magic sequelizer number” of $400 million USD, but this is all conjecture as well.

The budget behind the film has largely been kept under wraps, with Deadline previously reporting the film was took around $500 million to produce. Beyond box office totals, there are several factors that go into whether or not a sequel would actually be produced.

The recent Disney and 21st Century Fox merger might throw the distribution of this film and any future ones into question, but it’s hard to tell this early on. Anime fans are definitely hoping Alita: Battle Angel gets a sequel because there’s a lot of potential there. That’s more than fans can say for a lot of live-action anime adaptations, and this impressive box office run reflects that regardless of whether or not more Alita: Battle Angel hits the screen.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, Alita: Battle Angel opened in theaters February 14, and in Japan and China on February 22. The film stars Rosa Salazar (as the titular Alita), Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley. ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis recently reviewed the film, and here’s an excerpt of his thoughts:

“All things considered, the movie is an immersive escape to another world. Attempts at emotion and human connections are supplemented by amazing visual and practical effects, along with well-crafted action sequences. It’s not going to be the next Avatar despite being an equally massive idea, but Alita builds its own world for a second adventure which could get audiences more invested.” You can read the full review of Alita: Battle Angel here.

Battle Angel Alita (known as GUNNM in Japan) was originally created by Yukito Kishiro for Shueisha’s Weekly Business Jump in 1990. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic future and follows Alita, a cyborg who is found in a garbage heap by a doctor and rebuilt. Completely devoid of her memory, all she has to cling to is a legendary cyborg martial art known as Panzer Kunst. With this knowledge, Alita decides to become a bounty hunter. The series has since been licensed for an English language release by Viz Media, and collected into nine volumes.

via Box Office Mojo