‘Alita: Battle Angel 2’ production: Was 1st movie’s box office record enough to convince Disney to make a sequel?

Disney and 20th Century Fox have yet to say anything about their plans, or lack thereof, for the production of “Alita: Battle Angel 2.” This leaves fans with the first movie’s box office record to try and determine the likelihood of the sequel getting made.

‘Alita: Battle Angel 2’: What the box office says about having a sequel

Like most things in life, the business aspect of producing and distributing a movie is one of the most decisive factors for any title awaiting sequel confirmation. Unfortunately, the case to make “Alita: Battle Angel 2” is not easy to defend if one would only account for the first movie’s box office performance.

After 44 weeks in theaters worldwide, “Alita: Battle Angel” garnered box office grosses of over $85.7 million in the United States and a whopping $319.1 million in the international scene. Totaling to more than $404.8 million, it appears that the first movie was a market success.

However, considering that the movie’s budget was around $170 million, reports suggest that these numbers might not be enough to convince 20th Century Fox to order a sequel. But since its merger with Disney, a new opportunity emerged.

No one from the cast and crew might directly discuss the profitability aspect of the first movie. But judging from lead actress Rosa Salazar and co-producer Jon Landau’s previous statements, it is obvious that they expect Disney to mainly consider “Alita: Battle Angel 2’s” profitability before announcing any good news.

‘Alita: Battle Angel 2’ petition gets support from more than 130,000 fans

Another indicator that “Alita: Battle Angel 2” has gathered a large fanbase is the ongoing online petition that now has more than 130,000 signatures asking Disney to greenlight the sequel. While this is a notable achievement for the manga-based film, Disney might want to see more proof that a sequel could outperform the first film’s box office numbers.

In an interview with Slash Film, Salazar encouraged fans to buy the movie’s home media copies when asked about the possibility of “Alita: Battle Angel 2’s” production. Landau advised fans (via CinemaBlend) to keep on convincing Disney that they want to see the sequel happen and that they would pay to see it on official platforms.