The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 120

The Mummy Returns launched in the North American market, opening in over 3,400 theaters. Building on the foundation laid by its predecessor, The Mummy, and bolstered by a massive budget, large-scale production, and a wide release, the film grossed an impressive $23.38 million on its opening day. That Friday haul marked the highest single-day box office result in the North American market since the start of 2001.

On Saturday, the box office for The Mummy Returns surged another fifteen percent, pulling in $26.91 million from 3,401 theaters.

In just two days, the film had amassed over fifty million dollars at the North American box office, cementing its status as a resounding commercial success.

However, the film's critical reception was decidedly mediocre. Its two-day rating on IMDb stood at just 6.5, and it fared even worse on Rotten Tomatoes, which gave it a freshness rating of only 47% and an average score of 5.2—a significant drop from the original The Mummy.

"The sequel piles on new gimmicks and spectacular fight scenes but forgets the most crucial element: the story."

Professional critics were largely unimpressed.

"The film fails to reach the heights of the original Mummy. Its plot is riddled with gaping logical flaws, and the lead, Brendan Fraser, delivers a clumsy and rather mediocre performance."

"Where The Mummy Returns truly stumbles is in its neglect of its characters, particularly Brendan Fraser’s, who is largely sidelined. The plot serves as little more than a flimsy excuse for special effects and action sequences. Were it not for the foundation of the 1999 film, this sequel would lack even the most elementary storyline."

In The Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert's review of the film hit the nail on the head.

On the website Metacritic, which aggregates scores from thirty-one specialized media outlets, The Mummy Returns held an average score of just 48.The site is a collection of reviews for films, TV shows, music albums, and games. It combines the scores from each review to generate an overall rating, displaying brief excerpts ranked from best to worst. Top scores are colored green, middling ones yellow, and the lowest red. Metacritic's ratings are frequently used as a benchmark by many companies in the industry.

Of course, there were positive reviews as well.

"For most viewers, the film remains fresh and magical. Its thrilling adventures, grand battle scenes, magnificent computer effects, and powerful visual impact are sure to dazzle audiences."

A review like that read more like a promotional blurb from Universal Pictures, outlining the film's main selling points in the most compressed terms possible.

Regardless of what the press and critics said, the fact that The Mummy Returns was a box office smash in its opening week in North America was indisputable.

But the negative word-of-mouth, which would inevitably impact the film’s long-term box office performance, was just as certain.

...

"They're just nitpicking." In Helen's office at the Angel Acting Agency, Matthew was perched on a swivel chair, spinning back and forth. "It’s a commercial popcorn movie," he said to Helen. "Isn't it enough for people to watch it, have a laugh, and enjoy some spectacular action scenes? You'd think they were expecting the next Titanic."

Helen, who wasn't busy, opened the container of green tea Matthew had brought her. She brewed two cups, placed one on the desk in front of him, and remarked, "Nitpicking? A fitting description for film critics. It’s what they do, it's their entire reason for being."

Her expression turned serious. "Don’t underestimate the critics, Matthew," she advised. "In the future, when you want to win a prestigious award, their support will be crucial."

Matthew nodded. He supposed if professional film critics had no value, newspapers wouldn't give them entire columns.

"I just don't think an entertaining film like The Mummy Returns needs to be held to such a high standard." Matthew lifted his teacup and took a sip. "And it is a spectacle, isn't it? It feels like they’re giving it low scores just for the sake of it."

Helen set down her cup. "The Mummy Returns is indeed a spectacle, but spectacular doesn’t necessarily mean good." She deftly changed the subject. "I heard that the executives at Universal Pictures have hired a professional research firm. They're conducting audience surveys in theaters across major US cities."

Matthew looked puzzled. "What for?"

"I'm not sure," Helen admitted, shaking her head. "Universal Pictures must be planning something."

She looked at Matthew. "Did you hear anything about this during filming?"

"No." Matthew shrugged. "I wasn't around for the pre-release publicity tour. I have no idea what they’re trying to do."

Even Helen was in the dark, let alone a supporting actor like him.

"Alright." Helen sat at her desk and opened her laptop. "In any case, your role has received a lot of positive feedback. Many in the press and a lot of fans are saying the Scorpion King is one of the film's highlights."

Matthew’s mood lifted considerably at that. "I guess that’s what they call getting a return on your investment."

Helen, however, tempered his enthusiasm. "In this business, effort doesn't always guarantee reward."

Matthew shrugged and got to his feet, ready to leave. "You always know how to kill the mood. I think I'll just go home and have a drink to celebrate on my own."

"Suit yourself," Helen replied. "But don't bother me for the next couple of days. I'll be planning how to leverage the buzz around the Scorpion King to your advantage."

...

On his way home, Matthew bought a stack of the latest entertainment papers. Back at his house north of Burbank, he immediately began sifting through them for any news that concerned him.

Unlike his role in Band of Brothers, he played a major villain in The Mummy Returns, and many newspapers mentioned the Scorpion King in their coverage of the sequel.

Entertainment Weekly, for example, had a review of The Mummy Returns that contained a line Matthew reread at least ten times. It said: "The greatest highlight of this mediocre film belongs to Matthew Horner as the Scorpion King, a character both menacing and commanding, who looks stunning and leaves an unforgettable impression."

...

Inside an office building on the Universal Studios lot, a dozen people had gathered in a conference room for a meeting.

"We should move forward with another sequel to The Mummy franchise, just like we did two years ago," said Jet Brighton, the assistant director of production at Universal Pictures. "Instead of changing our focus and direction."

Several people beside him nodded, and one of them agreed, "Based on how things are going, and considering The Mummy Returns has dominated the North American box office and will probably gross over two hundred million dollars, there's no reason we can't make a sequel."

Presiding over the meeting was Philip Cranston, the director of production. He turned to Sean Daniel, who sat on the other side of the table, and asked, "Sean, you’re the producer of the series. What's your opinion?"

"I believe we need to be cautious about developing the next sequel." Sean Daniel’s expression was serious; no one in the room knew the franchise better than he did. "I have to admit one thing: the word-of-mouth for The Mummy Returns has been dreadful. You could even say the only reason the film is doing so well at the box office is because of the strong foundation laid by the first movie."

He looked around at the others and continued, "Most likely, The Mummy Returns will exhaust most of the goodwill built up with the fans. If we rush out a third film, we’ll just be amplifying the negative word-of-mouth."

From the beginning, he and Stephen Sommers hadn't planned on a direct sequel to The Mummy Returns. The two of them had no idea where to take the story next, and the risk of failure would be much higher if they forced it.

Despite their past disagreements, they were united on what was at stake.

Jet Brighton asked with some reluctance, "So we're just going to abandon the franchise? It seems like a waste not to make a sequel to such a massive hit."

"You’re burying the franchise too soon." Sean clearly had a plan. "We’ll use the time to let the film marinate on the home video market, attract more fans, and then wait three to five years. That will give the negative reviews time to fade and allow audience anticipation to build back up. That's when we can talk about the next sequel."

Seeing Jet Brighton across the table about to speak again, he cut in, "And I'd also like to draw your attention to one other thing: the problem with our lead, Brendan Fraser."

Jet Brighton swallowed whatever he was about to say, his mind flashing to the poor reviews Brendan Fraser had received.

Sean continued, "Brendan lacks self-discipline. He's gained a significant amount of weight, which will likely only become more obvious over the next couple of years. We're making an action-adventure film, not a comedy; we can't have an overweight man as the star. The negative reviews for The Mummy Returns are partly because of him. The fans don't seem to love him anymore, so if we start production on a sequel now, we have to ask: do we use him or not? And if we do use him, after this second film became a huge hit, how much will he demand for a third? Twenty million dollars? Is he worth that? The risks could increase exponentially."

"That is a real problem." Director Philip Cranston had also seen plenty of criticism leveled at Brendan Fraser in the papers. "A lead actor the audience dislikes can ruin an entire film."

"We can wait and see for now," Sean suggested. "If Brendan is willing to get himself back in shape and his subsequent films are successful, we can keep him as the lead when we restart The Mummy franchise. If his situation is worse in a few years, we’ll drop him. Didn't O'Connell have a son? We can fast-forward the timeline and cast an adult version of O'Connell's son as the male lead. That would still provide a connection between the sequel and the previous film."

Director Philip Cranston nodded slowly. "That's the safest route. The Mummy franchise is a key profit-generating project for us right now. We can't afford to let it be destroyed."

Jet Brighton considered this, then asked, "So we just put the franchise on ice? I'm afraid the board might have a problem with that."

Sean immediately followed up. "I forgot to mention, Stephen has already come up with something new for the franchise."