Well, this is a position James Cameron hasn’t found himself in too often, but according to The Wrap, things aren’t looking good for his latest project, the Robert Rodriguez-directed Alita: Battle Angel, with the site reporting that studio 20th Century Fox could end up losing up to $200 million on the movie.
The manga adaptation, which Cameron has been planning since the early 2000s (he produces and co-writes, having stepped aside from the director’s in favour of his Avatar sequels), cost a reported $150 million to $200 million to make (plus marketing costs), and is tracking a lowly $25 million domestic opening weekend and a total North American haul of around $50 million.
Alita has already begun its international rollout ahead of its U.S. release next week, but one saving grace could be its performance in Asia, where the property is more well-known. The film launches in China and Japan on February 22nd where the hope will be that it manages to pull a Warcraft and proves a success in the Middle Kingdom.
Fox has already suffered one big box office flop this year in The Kid Who Could Be King, and at this rate the bean counters at 21st Century Fox will likely be hoping the Disney deal closes sooner rather than later.
You can read our reviews of Alita: Battle Angel here and here, and be sure to check out our exclusive interviews in the videos below…
Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) create a groundbreaking new heroine in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an action-packed story of hope, love and empowerment. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories. A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.
Alita: Battle Angel features a cast that includes Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Michelle Rodriguez (The Fate of the Furious), Keean Johnson (Nashville), Jackie Earle Haley (Preacher), Jennifer Connelly (American Pastoral), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), Eiza Gonzalez (From Dusk Till Dawn), Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage), Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming).
