One of the Most Expensive Sci-Fi Passion Projects in Recent Years Surges Onto Streaming Charts

One of the Most Expensive Sci-Fi Passion Projects in Recent Years Surges Onto Streaming Charts By  Rahul Malhotra Published 10 minutes ago Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema. 

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him). Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

As expected, audiences have already started revisiting James Cameron's Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water in the lead-up to the sci-fi franchise's upcoming third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash. The hotly anticipated new film is only a few days away from release, giving fans just enough time to catch the first two blockbusters at home. However, in addition to watching Avatar and Avatar 2, they also seem to be flocking to one of Cameron's biggest passion projects; a movie that he developed for nearly a decade: Alita: Battle Angel. The legendary filmmaker didn't direct the movie himself — he served as a producer, with Robert Rodriguez taking the helm instead — but only because he shifted focus to the labor-intensive Avatar sequels.

While promoting Avatar 3, Cameron shared a positive update about Alita 2, finally giving fans of the first film the most encouraging news they've had in quite some time. He said that he struck a "blood oath" with Rodriguez about making at least one more movie in the franchise, and hopefully a third as well. Meanwhile, the first Alita witnessed a spike in viewership recently, successfully claiming a spot on HBO Max's global top 10 charts at the end of November, when the leader board was topped by The Conjuring: Last Rites. Based on a manga series by Yukito Kishiro, which was introduced to Cameron by Guillermo del Toro, Alita was produced on a reported budget of $200 million.

'Alita: Battle Angel' Emerged as Robert Rodriguez's Biggest Hit

Cameron was attached to direct Alita as far back as 2000, but he pivoted entirely to the Avatar sequels after the first movie became a historic blockbuster. Rodriquez, who'd oscillated between major studio movies and scrappy indies made in his backyard, bagged the gig when Cameron became occupied with Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, which were shot together. Alita grossed a little over $400 million worldwide, which didn't exactly make it a bona fide blockbuster. However, the movie has developed a devoted cult of fans in the years since its release. It now sits at a 91% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' score is resting at 61%. Starring Rosa Salazar as an amnesiac cyborg, the movie also featured Mahershala Ali, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Ed Skrein in supporting roles. You can watch Alita at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Alita: Battle Angel

Like Follow Followed PG-13 Action Science Fiction Adventure Release Date February 14, 2019 Runtime 122 minutes Director Robert Rodriguez Writers James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis Producers James Cameron, Jon Landau, Robert Rodriguez

Cast

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• Christoph Waltz Dr. Dyson Ido
• Rosa Salazar Alita

A deactivated cyborg's revived, but can't remember anything of her past and goes on a quest to find out who she is.

Genres Action, Science Fiction, Adventure Powered by Expand Collapse

• Movie News
• Alita: Battle Angel
• James Cameron

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