The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 730

Back in his office, Helen briefed him on the current situation.

During Matthew's absence from Los Angeles, Helen had accumulated a fair amount of business related to him. "The Inception crew sent a notice," she began. "They need you at Warner Studios in early June to meet with the team."

Matthew thought for a moment before replying, "Tell Nolan I'll be on set on time."

Filming for Inception wasn't finished yet; several on-location scenes in Los Angeles and Canada still needed to be shot.

Helen added, "Production on Iron Man 2 has already started. Kevin Feige would like you to visit the set sometime."

His production company held a forty percent stake in the film, so Matthew took it seriously. "I'll call him later," he said. "I'll stop by when I'm done with my other commitments."

The Marvel superhero film series was set to become a significant source of income for him in the future.

His shares in Apple and Disney were solid long-term assets, and the profits from his film investments were more than enough to ensure a comfortable life.

He just didn't know how many more years superhero films would continue to dominate the market.

Regardless, Marvel's superhero movies were still in high demand.Helen's expression suddenly turned a little peculiar. "Someone named... Nini called the office," she said. "Claimed she's an acquaintance of yours from across the Pacific."

"Her..." Matthew recalled the young Asian woman he had met on his trip. "She's a good actress."

Helen nodded, seeming to grasp his meaning. "She left a phone number and said she'd be coming to Los Angeles soon."

With that, she slid a card with the phone number toward Matthew. He glanced at it and put it away.

The Angel Agency had a team that handled miscellaneous affairs. Naturally, Matthew wouldn't give his personal number to a woman he'd just met; the number Nini had been given was for that team.

"Coming to Los Angeles..." Matthew murmured to himself. "So she's made her decision."

And Los Angeles was his home turf, where he had the advantage.

Helen knew Matthew better than anyone. She didn't dwell on the matter and moved on. "Amanda asked me to tell you that a portion of the funds for child rescue and education in Africa has been allocated, so you don't need to worry."

Matthew nodded.

"One last thing." Helen produced an invitation. "Natalie Portman sent this. It's for the premiere of

Cloud Atlas in Los Angeles mid-next month."

Matthew took the invitation, glanced at it, and said, "I'll be there."

The major production from Plan B, Cloud Atlas—directed by the Wachowskis—was being released in mid-June. As one of the project's promoters, how could he miss the premiere?

The hottest part of the summer movie season had already begun in North America, and Fast & Furious 4 was hitting theaters amid fierce competition from numerous commercial blockbusters.

Every summer, the North American box office schedule is packed to the brim with big and medium-budget commercial films, and this year was no exception. Since May 1st, the major studios had been rolling out one blockbuster after another.

First out of the gate was 20th Century Fox's prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The origin story of the beloved character rode a wave of popularity to a staggering $85 million opening weekend, an impressive result.

However, like most fan-driven films that struggle to maintain momentum, Wolverine opened strong but plummeted by 70% in its second weekend, earning only $26.4 million.

Replacing Wolverine at the top was Paramount Pictures' reboot of Star Trek, a science-fiction film with broad appeal that pulled in $75.2 million on its opening weekend and boasted far better reviews and staying power than its predecessor.

But in its second weekend, Star Trek faced a formidable competitor

— Fast & Furious 4, released by Disney Pictures.

The film was generating massive buzz due to Matthew's involvement and had already set a North American pre-sale record of $43 million.

Everyone, including Paramount Pictures and the Star Trek team, knew that Fast & Furious 4 would undoubtedly be this weekend's box office champion.

The Thursday night previews proved it.

Just after midnight, Matthew received the latest figures from Disney Pictures, and the early screenings of Fast & Furious 4 had brought in $16 million!

Even the fan-centric Wolverine had only managed $9.5 million in previews. Sixteen million was the best preview gross in North America so far in 2009.

On its second day, the popularity of Fast & Furious 4 continued to surge. From the moment theaters opened, there was a steady stream of traffic for the film. Fans kept pouring in, and while it was far from sold out—Friday was still a weekday, after all—most theaters had sold about a third of their tickets.

At the same time, the film received widespread media coverage. Perhaps it was because Matthew had recently taken down three terrorists in real life, or maybe the film's high-octane car chases genuinely resonated, but the reviews were generally strong.

The Los Angeles Times declared that Matthew's addition made the entire film exciting and full of insane energy; the Washington Post noted that Fast & Furious 4 felt "real and vibrant"; USA Today praised it as a classic Western, just with cars instead of horses; and Entertainment Weekly concluded that for male viewers under 30, the $8 ticket price was "definitely worth it."

CinemaScore's on-site polling gave the film an average audience grade of "A." On Rotten Tomatoes, with 57 reviews counted, the film held a 68% positive rating. It was also one of the rare recent Matthew Horner films to be certified "Fresh."

Furthermore, on IMDB, over 35,000 users had rated Fast & Furious 4 an average of 7.8.

Overall, Fast & Furious 4 was enjoying a very positive reputation.

***

"For Friday, including yesterday's previews."

In the Plan B office, Natalie Portman held a newspaper as she spoke to Brad Pitt, who sat across from her. "Fast & Furious 4 took in $44.6 million."

She sighed. "Matthew Horner's appeal is as strong as ever."

Hearing this, Brad Pitt seemed a bit down, but he didn't argue the point. "Nat," he said slowly, "no need to be envious. When mid-next month comes, we'll be the ones celebrating."

Thinking of the upcoming release of Cloud Atlas, Natalie Portman couldn't help but smile. "It's our turn to reap the rewards."

A smile finally appeared on Brad Pitt's handsome face, and he nodded quietly.

It was no wonder he and Natalie Portman were so confident. After post-production on Cloud Atlas wrapped, they held two test screenings. The large number of film critics, journalists, and a small group of fan representatives who saw the film for the first time gave

Cloud Atlas extraordinarily high praise. Some even hailed it as a sci-fi masterpiece comparable to The Matrix.

Although many fans admitted they didn't understand the film, Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman felt that wasn't a major issue. After all, when The Matrix was first released, many viewers were just as confused, and that didn't stop it from becoming a massive success.

"Brad, how much do you think Cloud Atlas will make on its opening day?" Natalie Portman asked. "Can it compete with Fast & Furious 4?"

She desperately needed to prove her commercial viability; a salary of two to three million dollars per film was far too low.

Brad Pitt considered this for a moment before answering, "That'll be tough." Though confident, he was also a realist. "We definitely can't match a franchise film's opening weekend, but we can aim for the long run. If the word-of-mouth is good and the box office holds steady, it's not impossible for us to eventually catch up to

Fast & Furious 4."

Natalie Portman's expression remained calm, but inwardly, she was eagerly anticipating such an outcome.

Natalie Portman needed to prove her commercial appeal, but he needed it even more. After the incident that year, his bankability had taken a serious hit, and his star power had dimmed considerably. He was the one most in need of a successful project.

If this film succeeded, he could return to the forefront of Hollywood. And if John Carter became a hit, he could once again count himself among Hollywood's most popular stars.

***

Fast & Furious 4 continued its opening weekend run across North America. A wide release in over 4,400 theaters ensured that audiences in any city with a cinema could see the film.

Its $44.6 million take allowed Fast & Furious 4 to easily surpass Star Trek, which earned $13.2 million in its second weekend, making it the clear winner of Friday's box office.

After the first day's box office results were in, profit-driven theater chains naturally adjusted their schedules. Star Trek's screenings remained largely unchanged, but Wolverine saw the biggest shift: most theaters reduced its showtimes and used the freed-up screens for Fast & Furious 4.

Wolverine had a dedicated fanbase but poor word-of-mouth. After its explosive opening weekend, its market share shrank rapidly.

Furthermore, the film had suffered a leak before its release. On April 1st, someone online claimed to have downloaded X-Men Origins: Wolverine. At first, many dismissed it as an April Fool's joke, but it soon proved to be real.

Whenever a blockbuster is released, illegal copies inevitably find their way online. However, these versions are often of terrible image quality with poor audio. The leaked version of Wolverine, however, was remarkably clean.

Fortunately for the studio, the leaked file was an unfinished cut with incomplete special effects. Wires were visible, and VFX shots hadn't been rendered. Tens of thousands of internet users worldwide witnessed one of the strangest "films" ever. They could clearly see Wolverine's claws without any of the special effects.

It was one of the worst leaks in Hollywood history.

However, 20th Century Fox played it classically—how could an unfinished superhero movie be as appealing as the final version? Many who watched the pirated copy still went to theaters, contributing to the first week's box office.

There were even rumors that 20th Century Fox had deliberately released the unfinished version as a promotional stunt.

Whatever the case, Wolverine had a successful opening weekend followed by a catastrophic second, with its box office numbers in free fall.

On the other hand, the increased showtimes for Fast & Furious 4 meant the film was playing on more screens in more theaters.

A theater's primary goal is profit, so the most popular films are always given the most showtimes.

With the average screen share for Fast & Furious 4 across all major North American theater chains climbing to nearly forty percent, the film's single-day box office on Saturday not only didn't drop but actually rose significantly compared to Friday.

On Saturday, Fast & Furious 4 grossed another $45.8 million in North America.

This was a huge increase over Friday's single-day gross, excluding the early previews.

In just two days, its North American box office had surpassed $90 million, with the $100 million mark just around the corner.

On Sunday, Fast & Furious 4 continued to draw huge crowds, and its showtimes were increased even further, cutting into some of Star Trek's screenings.

This was a deliberate choice by the theaters, as Fast & Furious 4 could bring them higher profits.

Everyone understood that Fast & Furious 4 would top the North American box office charts this weekend by a massive margin.