Fox Pushes Back 'The Predator,' 'Alita: Battle Angel' Release Dates
Fox has pushed back the release dates of some of its films. Earlier this week, the studio confirmed firming up their release slate for this year, bumping back their biggest 2018 releases like "The Predator" and "Alita: Battle Angel."
Both "The Predator" and "Alita: Battle Angel" are scheduled for release this 2018. With Fox's recent move, however, both films will now come out later than expected. Also joining them in Fox's slate of upcoming films is the "Murder on the Orient Express" sequel "Death on the Nile," which is now included in the studio's 2019 calendar.
Fox's inclusion of "Death on the Nile" in its 2019 slate seems to suggest that the studio is keen on expediting the completion of the highly-anticipated Agatha Christie adaptation. The studio announced the project shortly after the release of "Murder on the Orient Express" in 2017. The film was made from $55 million production budget but earned $349 million internationally, making it one of Fox's box office successes last year. It was because of "Murder on the Orient Express'" unexpected success that Fox is now eager to get its sequel "Death on the Nile" in motion. The film will hit theaters on Nov. 8, 2019.
Fox has also pushed back the release of the "Predator" reboot, which was originally supposed to come out this February. A few months ago, its February release was moved to August. Now, the studio has once again changed its release date to Sept. 14 to give the project more time to do the necessary reshoots.
Meanwhile, Fox has given "Alita: Battle Angel" a Dec. 21 release, six months later than its original release date of July 20. The project is reportedly working on a hefty budget of $200 million, making it one of Fox's priority projects. With its new release date, the film is going up against Warner Bros.' "Aquaman" and Paramount's "Bumblebee."