|
 "Alita," the cyberpunk CGI spectacle, earned $27 million when it
debuted in 3,790 locations and $33 million over the four-day
frame. Since opening on Thursday, the movie has generated $41
million at the domestic market. It came in slightly ahead of
expectations heading into the weekend, but "Alita: Battle Angel"
still has a lengthy uphill battle to become profitable. Directed
by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron, the Japanese
manga adaptation cost over $170 million to produce -- and that's
not including the tens of millions spent in marketing.
With that said, it looks like the studio made the right decision
pushing back "Alita's" release date. Fox originally intended to
drop the movie in December, where it would have competed with a
lineup that included "Aquaman," "Mary Poppins Returns," and
"Bumblebee." By doing so, "Alita" avoided getting steamrolled a
la "Mortal Engines," Universal's sci-fi epic that flopped in
spectacular fashion when it debuted right around that time. In
its first weekend, "Alita" has already passed the entire
domestic haul of "Mortal Engines," the $100 million movie that
stalled out with $15 million in North America.
Another promising sign? Unlike critics, audiences seem to be
enjoying "Alita: Battle Angel." Moviegoers branded the
blockbuster with a promising A- CinemaScore, suggesting that
positive word of mouth could lead Rosa Salazar's cyborg heroine
to a long life in theaters.
"Alita" certainly didn't set any new President's Day weekend
records, but it did benefit from its new release date that saw
most kids out of school over the holiday. The movie will now
bank on international markets to get "Alita" out of the red. The
movie is resonating overseas, where it pulled in $56 million
this weekend when it opened in most major foreign markets. That
takes its international bounty to $94 million. It opens in China
and Japan on Feb. 22.
"Alita: Battle Angel" just barely fended off Warner Bros.' "The
Lego Movie 2: The Second Part." Last weekend's champ dropped to
the No. 2 spot, adding another $21.2 million for a domestic haul
of $62.6 million. The animated sequel based on the popular kids
toys has hefty competition on the horizon. Next weekend sees the
release of "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" and
Disney's "Captain Marvel" not far behind. All three titles are
targeting younger audiences.
[to top of second column] |
In third place is Warner Bros. and New Line's "Isn't It Romantic."
The satirical take on a romantic comedy benefited from opening ahead
of Valentine's Day, with $14.2 million during its first four days of
release. Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth star in the flick about a
woman whose life begins to play out like a PG-13 romantic comedy
(the horror!) after getting hit on the head.
Fellow new release "Happy Death Day 2U" didn't fare as well from the
holiday. Universal and Blumhouse's slasher sequel launched in fifth
place with $9.8 million over the weekend. Its $11.4 million bounty
since opening on Wednesday is almost half of what tracking services
estimated heading into the weekend. It's also a steep decline from
the opening weekend of its predecessor, "Happy Death Day," which
bowed with $26 million. The good news, at least, is the movie only
cost $9 million so it won't take much for "Happy Death Day 2U" to
end up in the black.
Paramount's gender-bending remake, "What Men Want" came in fourth
place, bringing in $10.8 million during its second outing.
On the indie front, MGM's "Fighting With My Family" brought in
$131,625 over the three-day frame and is expected to make $163,584
through Monday. It generated the best screen average of the weekend
with $40,896 per location. The Dwayne Johnson-produced WWE drama
expands nationwide next weekend.
To nobody's surprise, ticket sales are down almost 60 percent from
last year when "Black Panther" delivered a record-breaking $202
million debut. The rest of February will make for tough comparisons
since Marvel's more inclusive take on the superhero genre generated
a massive $700 million during its long run in multiplexes.
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
