Early this morning, the Alita Army embarked on a campaign to get cinema chain Cinemark to re-release Alita: Battle Angel into theaters at some point before the end of the year. A campaign that could help boost awareness for a potential sequel, the Robert Rodriguez film’s fans took to social media and did what they do best: flooded the internet with requests to make this happen. And just hours later, something pretty big happened: Cinemark responded, and it sounds like Alita: Battle Angel will be coming back to select theaters.
Just shortly over three hours of tweets from around the world have already returned a response, and while there’s no specifics just yet on Cinemark’s Twitter feed, there is an obviously promising tease. Drink the following words in deeply Alita Army, because this is the fruit of your labors thus far:
Again, there’s no concrete announcement of when or where Alita: Battle Angel might return, as this morning marks the official start of the campaign to re-release the film. However, to see Cinemark already chiming in with such a positive announcement is rather encouraging. Even in a market where bringing back older titles is no assurance of business, and with movie theaters hanging in there as release dates of films like Wonder Woman 1984, as well as a slew of Disney titles like Black Widow, and Death on the Nile find themselves pushed back again, someone in their ranks heeded the call.
Naturally, some might still be wondering just what good a theatrical re-release of Alita: Battle Angel might do for the film’s fortunes. We are talking about a film that did decently at the box office over a year ago, and has seen any potential sequels put into limbo. But if enough people were to go and see Alita: Battle Angel at the movies again, think of the message that sends to Disney, Fox, and potentially Paramount and Universal, as Alita sequel suitors.
It’s not a surefire strategy, as even the expectations of a theatrical re-issue might not be met in such uncertain times. However, it couldn’t hurt to try, which is a message that the Alita Army has firmly in its heart. They don’t intend to stand by in the absence of a sequel, and will launch as many campaigns as it takes to see it happen. That tenacity has gotten them this far, and a potential theatrical return for Alita: Battle Angel is still a pretty big win on this particular path.
Alita: Battle Angel is still out there for your enjoyment, be it on physical media & streaming rental/purchase points, or at its new home of Cinemax as of tomorrow night. But now, thanks to the internet, you just might get another chance to see this beauty on the big screen. So stay tuned to CinemaBlend for late breaking developments, and the potential addition of Alita’s name on our 2020 release schedule when and if it happens.
