Chapter 630: Dominating the Field

On Saturday morning, Matthew attended a TMZ website event and took the time to check on the situation with "Alien vs. Predator 2." The movie was abysmal.

The film's reputation was shockingly bad. On Rotten Tomatoes, it had a freshness score of only twelve percent, with reviews saying things like "The movie is terrible, and you wonder why you even went to see it" and "A dull action flick that looks like a video game." The harsh and sarcastic comments from critics made Matthew appreciate that the critics were relatively kind to him.

If only the critics' reviews were bad and the Rotten Tomatoes score was low, it wouldn't matter much. After all, there have been films with awful Rotten Tomatoes scores that were box office hits.

"This movie has terrible audience feedback as well."

In the editorial office's lounge, Elena Boyar placed a cup of coffee in front of Matthew and said, "You're really lucky 'I Am Legend' avoided the colossal pitfall of Francis Lawrence."

Matthew casually replied, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe he could have succeeded with 'I Am Legend.' 'Alien vs. Predator 2' was a mid-sized investment, and Francis Lawrence had some say in the production. But with a major production like 'I Am Legend,' he would have just been a set director with Akiva Goldsman in charge, limiting his bad ideas."

Elena Boyar laughed, "Anyway, he's not as good as Guillermo del Toro."

"That's true," Matthew agreed, then added, "Bad critical reviews are one thing, but bad audience feedback is a death sentence."

Elena Boyar said, "I got some on-the-ground data from Cinema Score. It's horrendous. Even theater audiences wouldn't give it a 'B-'. The highest score was 'C,' with most giving 'D's. Audiences are fed up with this film."

She shook her head, "Yesterday's box office was only about $3.3 million, not even a fraction of 'I Am Legend.'"

The two films weren't comparable at all.

In terms of box office and audience feedback, "Alien vs. Predator 2" couldn't even compare to the B-movie "Loch Ness Monster," which was outperforming it at the box office.

This past weekend, a large number of Alien and Predator fans gathered in front of the Fox building in Century City, protesting with signs saying, "Stop making Alien vs. Predator movies; we can't take it anymore." Some extreme fans even burned posters of director Francis Lawrence.

Jim Gianopulos, the president of 20th Century Fox's film division, stood by his office window, taking in the scene outside the Fox building.

"John Davis!" he called out to the producer of "Alien vs. Predator 2" without turning his head, "Have you seen the latest box office stats?"

John, wiping the sweat from his forehead, replied, "Yes."

Jim Gianopulos turned to face him, "The opening weekend box office is only $9.1 million! What do you think of that?" Without waiting for a response, he continued harshly, "A $60 million production budget and $35 million in marketing costs, and this is the result you give me?"

John Davis hadn't expected that, with two of Hollywood's most famous monsters, the box office would be this bad.

"You recommended Francis Lawrence and suggested giving him some authority," Jim Gianopulos knew someone had to take responsibility for such a failure, "John, cancel 'Alien vs. Predator 3.'"

"Alright," John Davis replied.

Jim Gianopulos continued, "No more projects at 20th Century Fox will use Francis Lawrence as director."

"Got it," John Davis responded again.

In reality, without Jim Gianopulos needing to say much, no one would casually use Francis Lawrence as a director again.

Jim Gianopulos' tone softened a bit, "Submit a report to the board yourself."

John Davis nodded lightly. As the lead producer of "Alien vs. Predator 2," and having insisted on hiring Francis Lawrence as director, he couldn't shirk the responsibility.

Who could he blame? Leaving Jim Gianopulos' office, he shook his head, realizing he had misjudged Francis Lawrence.

With the new week starting, the fate of many of the past weekend's releases was sealed. For some directors and actors, there would be no future in Hollywood.

Francis Lawrence and Paula Patton were undoubtedly among them.

"Alien vs. Predator 2" opened in over 2,800 theaters in North America but only grossed $9.1 million over three days, ranking sixth on the latest North American box office chart.

It couldn't even compare to "I Am Legend," let alone "Juno," a typical indie film that outperformed it.

In contrast, Matthew's "I Am Legend" continued to perform well over the past weekend, grossing $49.5 million in its second weekend, maintaining the top spot on the North American box office chart. Second place went to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with $21.08 million, and third to "Charlie Wilson's War" starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which made less than $12 million.

Fourth and fifth were "Juno" and "Loch Ness Monster," each with around $10 million.

"I Am Legend" was clearly dominating the market.

After two weeks, the film's North American box office broke $200 million, totaling $211.63 million, steadily approaching the $300 million mark.

Meanwhile, "I Am Legend" also debuted in over 50 overseas markets. Boosted by the North American box office success, its overseas performance was also excellent, nearing $100 million in just a few days.

"I Am Legend" easily surpassed $300 million worldwide, becoming the biggest hit of the holiday season.

Unquestionably, "I Am Legend" was on a successful trajectory, while "Alien vs. Predator 2" plummeted.

As the new week began, the average screening rate for "Alien vs. Predator 2" dropped below five percent, with many theaters showing it only once a day, often in the least crowded morning slot.

Cinema Score also released a new forecast, predicting "I Am Legend" could reach $350 million at the North American box office, while "Alien vs. Predator 2" wouldn't exceed $30 million.

The failure of "Alien vs. Predator 2" would impact everyone involved, from the director to the stars, and affect 20th Century Fox's plans for further developing these monster series.

Some seemingly unrelated companies were also affected.

At a Warner Bros. Christmas party, Matthew learned some news from Zack Snyder.

Zack Snyder had been planning "Watchmen" and had discussed the feasibility of a Batman vs. Superman film with Warner Bros. several times. However, the failure of "Alien vs. Predator 2" made Warner Bros. abandon the idea, deeming the risk too high for two classic characters to fight on screen.

Hearing this, Matthew didn't say much, only lamenting that Warner Bros. missed an opportunity.

Perhaps after "Iron Man" was released in May, Warner Bros. would change their minds.

Matthew had interacted with many Warner Bros. executives, who had lofty goals and impressive abilities. Still, they often made decisions that seemed foolish.

Even so, Warner Bros. was still the best-performing film company in Hollywood...

How long they could maintain that position was uncertain.

As Akiva Goldsman said, sometimes Warner Bros. management didn't trust their collaborating producers and directors enough, preferring to interfere directly in film production.

Although not highly educated, Matthew knew that the balance of power was an art. If not managed well, the results could be disastrous.

2007 was coming to an end, and 2008 was just around the corner.

As Matthew boarded David Ellison's private jet to London, Hollywood was already in turmoil with an inevitable writers' strike.

As Helen Herman predicted, after the agreements with the Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild expired, the Producers Guild reached new, mutually acceptable profit-sharing agreements with these two organizations. However, the Writers Guild's similar demands were flatly rejected.

Thus, the East and West Writers Guilds called on their members to strike.

For the first time since 1988, Hollywood was hit by a major writers' strike.

The strike had a noticeable impact, halting many projects. Major productions like "Angels & Demons," "Quantum of Solace," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "The Hobbit," and "The Adventures of Tintin" were temporarily paused.

Although Matthew's two crews had finished their scripts, they were still affected. With Christmas and New Year approaching, he and David Ellison decided to give their crews a long holiday, resuming work after the new year.

Matthew and David Ellison headed to London to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

But before that, Matthew planned to visit Emma Watson on set.

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