Because of Warner Bros. relations, Martin has been paying attention to the film since the premiere of "Dark Places".

In North America, the theater attendance rate is not high.

The market response has been mediocre.

In the master bedroom of the villa, Martin got the latest box office data.

Elizabeth Olsen asked: "I looked at the word-of-mouth on the Internet, it seems that it is not ideal, how is the box office?" ”

Martin forwarded the stats to her, saying, "It's worse than I thought, with $2.74 million on the first day in North America." ”

This is not a small-scale screening, but a large-scale screening in more than 3,000 theaters.

"So little?" Elizabeth was somewhat surprised, an idea popped into her head, shook her head again, and asked, "I remember that Warner Bros. finally decided to produce a production budget of up to $70 million, right?" ”

She is also familiar with Gillian Flynn: "The response to "Gone Girl" is so good, but this one is so bad......"

Martin said: "Maybe the directorial level is a little bit worse than David Fincher. ”

Elizabeth read the data forwarded by Martin, kicked off her slippers, moved her feet to the sofa, rested her head on Martin's lap, and said: "The key is that you are missing the leading role." ”

Martin stroked her bulging area and said, "I thought the film might not be well received, but I didn't think it would be so bad." “

Elizabeth had just eaten enough and didn't want to ask for any more, so she pressed Martin's hand and looked up at Martin: "I heard you talk about the box office figures just now, and I suddenly thought, this adaptation project can't be deliberately given to Warner Pictures, right?" ”

"It was Warner Pictures who stole the project." Martin moved his hand back again, and deliberately pinched it: "I'm a good person, how can I do something to frame people." ”

Elizabeth felt something rise quickly under her head, as awkward as an iron bar, and was helpless: "Isn't it enough yet?" ”

Martin said, "Honey, that shows that you are so attractive to me. ”

Elizabeth felt that she was going to be unable to cope with it, and suddenly remembered something.

Lily had secretly complained that she was always not taken with her when playing games......

Although the two have a good relationship, Elizabeth knows that Lily is difficult to deal with, and she can't let her get her wish easily, and she has to make her grateful to herself.

Elizabeth turned over, and when she was full, she could barely eat a little more.

She doesn't eat it, and it will only cheapen the ones outside.

Martin quickly threw away his phone and left the Dark Lands behind.

The old boy and the little witch went on to study the loss and replenishment of protein.

…………

Century City, WMA headquarters.

Sitting at his desk, Ali Emmanuel frowned, with the box office coming out on the first day, the ending of "Dark Land" was basically confirmed, and it was bound to be a box office tragedy.

But it doesn't make sense.

Warner Pictures has invested heavily in the project, with a production budget of up to $80 million, and the director has also been on the rise before.

Best-selling writer Gillian Flynn adapted it based on her popular work, and the last "Gone Girl" was a box office hit.

The heroine Natalie Portman is the new Oscar-winning actress, the darling of the mainstream media, and the representative of Hollywood's post-80s actresses, and her reputation has always been very good.

A film project with so many success factors has failed.

Why?

Ali couldn't figure it out for a while, got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at Beverly Hills and sighed.

"Dark Places" is unlikely to be a reversal drama, and his plan to make Natalie Portman a Hollywood sister is facing bankruptcy at the beginning.

Ali thought of the Oscar-winning curse again.

But Sandra Bullock, who preceded Natalie, was unaffected.

The consequences of the failure of "Dark Land" are quite serious, and it will be difficult for Natalie to receive films and roles of the same grade in the future.

How can this damn Oscar-winning curse be lifted?

Ali thought for a moment and made a call to Thomas.

Thomas soon came to his office.

Ali asked, "Is there a concern about the situation in Darklands?" ”

"There is concern." Thinking he wanted to ask Martin's opinion, Thomas said: "When the statistics came out, I forwarded them to Martin as soon as they came. ”

Hearing this, Ali asked, "What did Martin say?" ”

Thomas shook his head slightly: "He didn't say anything." ”

Ali came back and sat down and asked, "What do you think is the problem?" ”

Thomas said in his heart, I only have what I am today because I followed the right person, and you know all the keys to the success or failure of the movie.

But he couldn't say that, and suddenly thought of an article he had just read, and felt that there was some truth in it, and said: "In some cases, we may have misjudged. ”

Ali heard what he meant: "About Natalie Portman? ”

Thomas cautions: "There's a professional analysis article on Cinemascore, which uses theater audience ratings as a basis for ratings, and you can check it out. ”

Ali went to look at the computer.

Thomas glanced at his watch: "I'll go first." ”

Ali nodded.

Thomas went out and looked back, feeling that the key to the success or failure of "Gone Girl" and "Dark Places" actually lies in Martin and Natalie.

"Dark Lands" itself is indeed a little less quality, but Natalie Portman's lack of appeal is also the key.

In the office, Ali logged on to the cinemascore website and clicked on the section of "Dark Place", and the audience scored only B on the spot, which was slightly better than "Green Lantern".

But the latter was so bad that Warner Bros. had to cancel the entire Justice League Cinematic Universe plan.

Ali found what Thomas said about the analytical article.

This is a column by Ed Mintz, founder of the CinemaScore website.

Ed Mintz is known for his keen market acumen, accurate forecasts, and thorough analysis.

Ali discovered that the op-ed analysis article was aimed at his number one female client, Natalie Portman.

In the first few paragraphs, he glanced at ten lines and quickly found the core point of the article.

"In the past few years, Natalie Portman has been far more popular in the mainstream media than among fans, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Natalie Portman is the most popular post-80s actress in the mainstream media."

"The well-crafted character of a high degree of education, who doesn't care about fame and fortune, who went to Jerusalem for further study, etc., supported Natalie Portman's high style and made her a representative of Hollywood's Mesozoic actresses."

"Natalie Portman's invincibility in the mainstream media has created the illusion that she is very popular with fans! Although this has also won the support of a group of people and has become a typical Hollywood high-style and exquisite actress, it is not enough to support a large-scale production. ”

Looking at Natalie Portman's resume, apart from the famous "Killer Leon" and "Star Wars Prequels" trilogy, it is difficult for ordinary fans to remember what else she has written. "Killer Leon" was criticized in North America that year and was not popular with the mainstream, and even Natalie herself publicly criticized the work, and the success of the "Star Wars Prequel" trilogy has little to do with Natalie Portman herself. ”

"It may be that among highly educated people, delicate actresses like Natalie Portman are very marketable, but the lack of recognition from the widest range of ordinary audiences and fans is Natalie Portman's fatal wound, making her unable to support the market for films with a slightly larger production scale."

"The production of 'Dark Lands' itself is not good enough, and the casting problems cannot be ignored......"

Seeing this, Ali couldn't help but look up from behind the computer and carefully recall Natalie Portman's situation.

Natalie Portman joined the WMA later, and her personality and style route were like that before entering the WMA.

I used to think it was normal.

But now that Ali thinks about it, Ed Mintz's analysis seems to have some truth.

Natalie Portman's character design is not at all likable to ordinary audiences.

Ali didn't want to give up his number one female client, and wondered how to make Natalie break the Oscar-winning curse.

Three days after the weekend, although the reputation of "Dark Land" is much better than that of "Pharaoh and the Gods" and "Green Lantern" in the previous year, the box office is the same.

In its opening weekend in North America, the film only grossed $7.21 million.

Many market professionals predict that the final box office in North America will hardly exceed $15 million.

Compared to the production cost of $70 million, the dismal is not enough to describe.

In the Warner Building's most spacious office, Kevin Tsujihara looked across from Jon Berg, his brother-in-law.

He asked, "What's going on with this one?" ”

Jon Berg said: "I trusted Gillian Flynn too much to have her in post-production, and the final cut of the film respected her opinion and it turned out ......"

Kevin Tsujihara nodded slowly.

Jon Berg continued: "Gone Girl was so successful that I think Gillian Flynn will bring that success to the new film. ”

Kevin Tsujihara said, "Women are too emotional in this regard, don't make that mistake again. ”

In fact, there are very few female producers in Hollywood who can hold the final editing rights.

Jon Berg said: "I've tweaked the editing scheme for several other films and won't make the same mistakes again. ”

Which medium and large production company in Hollywood has failed productions every year, and Kevin Tsujihara didn't pursue it too much and quickly let Jon Berg go.

Back in his office, Jon Berg didn't hesitate to put Gillian Flynn and Natalie Portman on Warner Pictures' blacklist.

He was frowning because he would have to submit his first debriefing report to the group's board of directors next month.

Jon Berg quickly thought of a way, and the debriefing report focused on this year's successful movies such as "Harry Potter 9" and "The Hangover 2", and tried to shift the blame for the failures.

For the failure of "Dark Land", Gillian Flynn, who served as producer and screenwriter, was the best person to take the blame.

Jon Berg sighed, in fact, he didn't want to save the scene with the sequel left by his predecessor, isn't there no way.

After passing this level first, let's talk about anything else.

Jon Berg suddenly thought of one thing, this film is the same as "Pharaoh and the Gods", and it is also related to Martin Davis.

"Pharaohs and the Gods" is a project that Daniel intercepted Martin wants to work with Warner, and "Dark Lands" is a project that his close assistant actively snatched from Martin.

Is there a connection between the two?

(End of chapter)