‘Alita’ vanquishes box-office rivals
Fox’s new sci-fi spectacle Alita:
Battle Angel is dominating North American box offices with an estimated $33 million take this four-day holiday weekend, industry trackers said on Sunday.
The film, with Rosa Salazar voicing Alita, a cyborg almost more human than machine, was set to make $27.8 million for the Friday-toSunday period and an additional $5.2 million for Monday’s President’s Day holiday in the US, Exhibitor Relations reported.
The computer-animated adaptation of a Japanese cyberpunk manga story has big names behind it, directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron.
The project, 20 years in the making, also has a sizable budget: $170 million.
The Fox film beat out last weekend’s leader, The Lego Movie 2: The
Second Part, which earned Warner Bros an estimated $21.2 million in ticket sales for the first three days of the weekend and $27.3 million when Monday is included.
This fourth Lego movie again features the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett – joined this time by Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph – in a story of love and chaos in a post-apocalyptic toyland.
In third was another Warner Bros film, Isn’t It Romantic?, at $14.2 million for three days and $16.5 million for four. Rebel Wilson stars as a rom-com hating New Yorker who, after a blow to the head, finds herself in her own romantic comedy. Liam Hemsworth also stars.
Fourth place went to Paramount’s
What Men Want. The genderswitching remake of 2000’s What
Women Want stars Taraji P. Henson. It had three-day ticket sales of $10.9 million and a four-day total of $12.6 million.
And in fifth was Happy Death Day 2U from Universal, at $9.8 million for three days and $11.5 million for four – already recouping the mere $9 million it cost to make. Jessica Rothe again plays the role of a young woman living and reliving the day of her murder.
Rounding out the weekend’s top 10 were: Cold Pursuit ($6 million for three days; $7.1 million for four) The Upside ($5.6 million; $6.7 million)
Glass ($3.9 million; $4.8 million) The Prodigy ($3.2 million; $3.8 million)
Green Book ($2.8 million; $3.5 million)