The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 742

Silence hung heavy in the spacious office. Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman sat across from each other, a freshly printed report lying on the table between them. Their eyes occasionally drifted back to the document they had already read, their brows furrowing deeper with each glance.

The tense atmosphere, compounded by the funereal silence, made the situation feel particularly oppressive.

All their hopes, every positive expectation, had been shattered today.

Brad Pitt didn't know what to say. His gaze fell once more on the opening day box office numbers for "Cloud Atlas." Including early screenings, the film had earned a mere $3.67 million on its first day!

That was $3.67 million! That wasn't even a fraction of what "Fast & Furious 4" had made!

The positive reviews from test screenings and the high praise from the media following the premiere had filled Brad Pitt with too much confidence. The result was an opening day box office that wasn't just disappointing—it was catastrophic.

The film had received additional investments several times, bringing the final production cost to $120 million.

How much of that $120 million could they possibly recoup?

Brad Pitt didn't even want to think about it. Although nearly half of the production cost for "Cloud Atlas" had ultimately been covered by external financing, more than half of that sum had come from Plan B and his own personal investments.

How much would he get back in the end? The thought made his head spin.What good was positive word-of-mouth if it didn't translate into box office success?

Natalie Portman kept her eyes downcast, avoiding the sight of Brad Pitt and the statistical reports on the table, her mood utterly crushed.

Why was it so hard to prove her bankability? After the "Star Wars" prequels, she had a solid reputation, but she hadn't starred in a single film that had truly hit it big at the box office. And who didn't want to earn more money?

Natalie Portman bit her lip slightly. "Cloud Atlas" was a complete box office bomb. Now, if she took another film, her salary would undoubtedly be cut even further.

It was anyone's guess if she would even be invited to star in another mainstream commercial film.

A knock at the door suddenly broke the silence. Brad Pitt said hoarsely, "Come in."

His secretary pushed the door open, placed another piece of paper on the table, and announced,

"Boss, here are the CinemaScore statistics you asked for."

Brad Pitt gave a slight nod.

The secretary turned and left, closing the door behind her.

A flicker of hope appeared in Natalie Portman's previously clouded eyes. She stood up and hastily scanned the data, but after a single glance, she sank back into her chair.

"It's over..." was the only thought running through her mind.

Brad Pitt picked up the report and looked at it. His hand suddenly trembled. The CinemaScore survey for "Cloud Atlas" showed that audiences had given it a dismal "D" rating. The report projected that the film's opening weekend box office in North America would be around $9 million, with a final domestic gross of less than $30 million.

CinemaScore's forecasts were notoriously accurate, a fact well-recognized throughout the industry.

Less than $30 million at the North American box office? How much would Plan B see after everything was said and done? They still had to subtract distribution costs and marketing expenses...

There was no hope of "Cloud Atlas" turning a profit. The film would only further tarnish his reputation in the industry.

But Brad Pitt wasn't completely defeated. He set the report down and whispered, "There's still the overseas market."

Natalie Portman looked at Brad Pitt. "What should we do?"

Brad Pitt shook his head. "Nothing. Nat, we can afford this failure." He lifted his head, his gaze slowly hardening with resolve. "We still have 'John Carter'."

He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. "That's right! We still have 'John Carter.' It's a top-tier commercial blockbuster. The loss from 'Cloud Atlas' is nothing in comparison."

The more he spoke, the more confident he sounded. "Andrew Stanton has never had a failure, and the 'John Carter' franchise will be as successful as 'The Lord of the Rings'!"

Hearing these words, Natalie Portman's despairing mood lifted slightly. She looked at Brad Pitt and suddenly felt a pang of regret. If she hadn't chosen to help Brad Pitt and had worked with Matthew Horner instead, Would "Cloud Atlas" have been a success?

As she considered this, she subconsciously felt that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

But she was certain of one thing: she shouldn't tie herself too closely to Brad Pitt anymore. What if "John Carter" failed too?

Whether it was "Cloud Atlas" or "John Carter," she hadn't lost any money on the production, but for an actress, the failure of two consecutive major films with her in the lead role was a death blow to her career.

The phone on the desk rang. As she watched Brad Pitt answer it, her thoughts became clearer.

She needed to prepare a backup plan.

She remembered a script she had seen in Rachel Weisz's hands, one that Darren Aronofsky was preparing for her.

Darren Aronofsky wanted to use the film to give his wife a shot at winning an Oscar.

Natalie Portman made an instant decision. She would call Rachel Weisz under the pretense of wanting to play a supporting role and ask for her advice. Then, Rachel could arrange a meeting for her with Darren.

If possible, she needed to get his contact information first.

A supporting actress? How could she accept something like that?

Natalie Portman sat in silence, no longer thinking about "Cloud Atlas," but focusing on how to approach Rachel Weisz and Darren Aronofsky.

Given her recent commercial failures, she could change course for a bit and go for an Oscar first.

As for Brad Pitt, if "John Carter" was a success, he would still be valuable. But if it failed...

Lost in thought, Natalie Portman paid no attention to Brad Pitt's phone call. It was only when he slammed the receiver down with a clatter that she snapped back to reality.

Natalie Portman noticed that Brad Pitt's face had grown even redder.

"What's wrong?" she asked with concern.

With "John Carter" yet to be released, Brad Pitt still had value to her.

"A bunch of bastards with no business sense!"

Brad Pitt spat out the words with irritation. "That was Disney. Two dozen overseas distributors who were originally interested in 'Cloud Atlas' have unilaterally broken off negotiations."

Natalie Portman immediately grasped the core of the problem. "What about the overseas box office for 'Cloud Atlas'?"

"It's nothing," Brad Pitt waved his hand dismissively. "They're all distributors from East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, not the traditional overseas markets for Hollywood films."

He let out a long sigh. "The foreign box office isn't looking promising."

Natalie Portman said nothing.

Why would two dozen foreign distributors unilaterally halt negotiations? It wasn't just about the disastrous opening day box office.

It wasn't just Natalie Portman and Brad Pitt; few in Hollywood could have predicted that the new film from the Wachowskis would be such a colossal failure.

A production budget of $120 million, directed by the Wachowskis of "The Matrix" trilogy fame, starring the celebrated Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman—and in the end, the opening day box office for "Cloud Atlas" didn't even break four million dollars.

Once the opening day numbers were released, it was clear to everyone: "Cloud Atlas" was headed for a box office fiasco.

What few expected, however, was that after "Cloud Atlas" premiered on Friday, its Saturday box office numbers didn't see the usual weekend bump. Instead, they plummeted.

On Saturday, the film earned less than $3 million.

After two days in theaters, as more people saw the film, the industry began to get a clearer picture of the "Cloud Atlas" fiasco. As Roger Ebert had said, it might have been one of the most ambitious films ever made in Hollywood, but that didn't change the fact that most viewers either couldn't understand it or found it incredibly difficult to follow.

Perhaps in the future, such a film might become a classic, but for now, it was a hard sell.

If "Cloud Atlas" had been a small, independent project, the situation would have been much different. But it was a commercial film with a budget in the hundreds of millions.

Over its three-day opening weekend, "Cloud Atlas" grossed only $9.2 million in North America. Its box office failure was a foregone conclusion.

As for ancillary revenue—DVDs, streaming, and television rights—who would pay a premium for a film with such dismal box office numbers?