{"id":4485,"date":"2019-02-13T20:40:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T20:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-proxy.atomtickets.com\/?p=4485"},"modified":"2019-08-05T11:18:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T18:18:45","slug":"in-theaters-this-weekend-alita-battle-angel-happy-death-day-2u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/in-theaters-this-weekend-alita-battle-angel-happy-death-day-2u\/","title":{"rendered":"In Theaters This Weekend: \u2018Alita: Battle Angel\u2019 &#038; \u2018Happy Death Day 2U\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each week on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atom Insider<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we\u2019re giving you the heads up on the biggest and most talked about films arriving in theaters. This week, female stars rule Valentine\u2019s Day with sci-fi spectacle, a horror comedy, and, of course, a romantic comedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t Underestimate Alita<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E4Fal4EnOqo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alita: Battle Angel <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been a massive question mark for 20th Century Fox since it started development. James Cameron has <a href=\"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-alita-battle-angel\/\">wanted to make this film for at least 20 years<\/a>, ever since Guillermo Del Toro brought the manga to his attention. All this time later, Cameron is producing and co-writing the screenplay with Robert Rodriguez directing, but to be honest, most of us have been expecting the type of film Cameron is known for: a big, bold CGI effects machine with mainstream appeal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the hype has been somewhat dampened in the last year because the film was delayed from July\u00a02018 to&#8230;well, right now. There have been reports of budget issues and the post-production needing more time, and yeah, you can try to give them the benefit of the doubt that this is the sort of \u201cnew franchise\u201d you don\u2019t want to release in a heavily competitive summer season full of existing franchises. And if the international box office is any indication, this might have been a smart move, because <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/alita-battle-angel\/233304\">Alita: Battle Angel<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is already performing pretty well in those markets now that the December blockbusters are winding down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here in the States, it\u2019s up in the air how <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alita <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will do with audiences, but Fox clearly has confidence considering how many theaters they\u2019re giving the film. February has been a good luck charm for Fox with releases like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deadpool<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Logan<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and let\u2019s not forget the first <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kingsman<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But critics are a bit mixed (skewing positive) on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alita<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and it\u2019s unclear if audiences will feel just as uncertain. As someone who actually enjoyed the film quite a bit and even recommend it, I have a feeling it will surprise a lot of people.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Death Day 2U Lives, Dies, And Repeats<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qsQWJGbUqcQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fun fact, I predicted this would be the name of the film a while back, and the director announced and confirmed this as the title on my Twitter thread. Weird flex, I know, but that goes to show how long I (and many others) have been waiting for this sequel from Blumhouse to arrive, despite not knowing much about it until pretty recently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Death Day <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was a big surprise for slasher fans, because it was the type of \u201cscary, but basically a comedy\u201d film that Sam Raimi helped bring into mainstream culture with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evil Dead<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Jessica Rothe returns in the sequel, which repeats the \u201ctime loop\u201d formula where she\u2019s forced to repeat the day of her murder over and over again like some murderous\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Groundhog\u2019s Day<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but this time with a few new twists that include her friends also dying around campus. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once again, Christopher B. Landon writes and directs (he also wrote my favorite <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paranormal Activity <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">films), so you get the sense that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/happy-death-day-2u\/279939\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy Death Day 2U <\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will be a familiar, but welcome return to this world of poisonous cupcakes and creepy baby masks. Sure, it\u2019s not coming out on Friday the 13th like the last film, but what better time to celebrate horror than on Valentine\u2019s Day?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is It Romantic, Or Is It Just Fantasy?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8ZwgoVmILQU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lego Movie 2<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> still out in theaters, Warner Bros. is continuing their \u201cmeta\u201d streak this month with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/isnt-it-romantic\/250460\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isn\u2019t it Romantic<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a romantic comedy that parodies romantic comedies (think <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They Came Together<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but starring Rebel Wilson). The concept itself is definitely interesting and a good idea for a Valentine\u2019s Day release, because the joke is that Wilson\u2019s character wakes up in a world governed by rom-com tropes and clich\u00e9s. For example, her \u201csex scenes\u201d with Liam Hemsworth are always cut short because of the PG-13 rating, so she keeps waking up afterward with no memory of what happened. Brutal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like the other wide releases coming out this weekend, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isn\u2019t It Romantic <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is getting pretty mixed responses from critics, but that probably won\u2019t stop a lot of couples and romantic comedy fans from checking this one out for a few laughs. Wilson has made a name for herself in goofball comedies like this thanks to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pitch Perfect<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so as a leading lady, I can definitely see audiences coming out to see how well she carries a film on her own.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In (Select) Theaters this Weekend: Fighting With My Family<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ll talk more about this one next week, but if <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/fighting-with-my-family\/245910\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fighting With My Family <\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">happens to be in your neighborhood this weekend, you\u2019ve got a solid wrestling family comedy to add to your watchlist. It hits limited release this Friday then expands wide on February 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay tuned next week for our recap of how these movies fared at the box office. To get tickets to these movies and more, head to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atom Tickets homepage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>You Might Also Like<\/h2>\n<hr style=\"color: #000; width: 95%; margin-left: 0;\" \/>\n<!-- The Grid Plugin Version 2.7.4 --><div class=\"tg-error-msg\" data-grid-name=\"Home Featured\">No post was found with your current grid settings.&#xa;You should verify if you have posts inside the current selected post type(s) and if the meta key filter is not too much restrictive.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each week on Atom Insider, we\u2019re giving you the heads up on the biggest and most talked about films arriving in theaters. This week, female stars rule Valentine\u2019s Day with sci-fi spectacle, a horror comedy, and, of course, a romantic comedy. Don\u2019t Underestimate Alita Alita: Battle Angel has been a massive question mark for 20th [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[74,51],"tags":[37,46],"class_list":["post-4485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-box-office","category-news","tag-news","tag-newspage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4485"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4491,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4485\/revisions\/4491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}