Chapter 281: It's Over

There are certain things that definitely can't be openly discussed by the media, and the media isn't that foolish. At times like these, it's necessary for an online army to step in. Internet governance today is far from what it will be in the future, and the scandals within the entertainment industry rarely attract the attention of regulatory bodies. The omnipresent online army becomes a weapon for Murphy and CAA in their counterattack.

For this kind of counterattack, rather than expanding the scope, it's more effective to target a specific point. A best-selling movie often perfectly combines elements that a variety of audiences enjoy, while a failed movie can be doomed by just one disliked element.

During the test screenings of "Catwoman," the character's design, the actors' performances, and the unreliable plot were all criticized by the audience and the media. Among all these points, the most criticized was the change in Catwoman's skin color.

Even if the Catwoman in the script wasn't named Selina Kyle, Halle Berry was still heavily criticized by countless comic fans. Just like with "Deadpool," comic fans are a foundational audience group for newly released comic book movies.

If even these fans can't be pleased, and given that "Catwoman's" test screening reputation was already poor, the future of its theatrical release can easily be imagined.

In the days leading up to "Catwoman's" premiere, there was widespread online criticism, summarized in one sentence: "Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

This was accompanied by images of Halle Berry's Catwoman outfit, which leaned into BDSM aesthetics.

Beneath every online criticism, there were many responses, including guidance from paid posters, but even more so from regular internet users' criticisms.

"Why choose a black woman to play Catwoman? Did the producers lose their minds?"

"Looking at this design really makes me want to vomit!"

"Choosing a black woman is a slap in the face to Catwoman's character and an insult to our intelligence!"

"Halle Berry's look is so stupid. I really want to ask, how many times did she perform blow jobs for Warner Brothers' executives to make them foolishly choose her to play Catwoman?"

Almost everyone criticized Halle Berry's portrayal of Catwoman. Even if some people agreed, it wasn't with the character but just that they thought Halle Berry had a nice figure.

For a movie, if even the most basic design of the protagonist is completely rejected by the audience, the consequences are terrifying.

Warner Brothers also tried hard to reverse the negative impact of Halle Berry's look while using other aspects of promotion to shift the fans' focus.

They targeted Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., who, since the release of "Deadpool," had been the focus of movie fans. Attacking them could not only shift the fans' focus but also curb the hot streak of "Deadpool."

Consequently, both online and in many print media, there were numerous negative stories about the two.

"Murphy Stanton, a drug dealer director from the slums, and Robert Downey Jr. are faithful drug buddies..."

Beneath such shocking headlines was a mix of truths and falsehoods.

Murphy, Bill Rossis, and Kara Faith all anticipated potential counterattacks from Warner Brothers and Halle Berry. With Twentieth Century Fox as their support, they weren't afraid of these within-the-rules tactics and continued to counterattack, always focusing tightly on one point.

"Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

They kept using this point to remind the audience, although this might attract some black viewers, it would lose a larger audience group.

The two sides, using the internet and entertainment newspapers as their battlegrounds, escalated their war of words in the period before "Catwoman's" release.

"Murphy Stanton's ambiguous relationship with Jessica Alba, his current girlfriend angrily moves out of his Santa Monica residence, this international romance is about to break..."

Nothing that could be used to create buzz was overlooked.

But Murphy's side always stuck to one point.

"Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

"Robert Downey Jr.'s drug addiction flares up, seen smoking and vaping in nightclubs..."

"Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

"Murphy Stanton accused of racial discrimination..."

"Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

"Unveiling the real relationship between Murphy Stanton and the Stanton followers, they are actually a group of homosexuals..."

"Catwoman is actually a black woman!"

Unlike the opponent's wide-ranging attacks, Murphy's side focused their strength on one point, constantly reminding the audience through the online army not to forget that a black woman was cast as Catwoman.

Some female characters, by leveraging their own strengths or amplifying the character's advantages, can significantly benefit a movie, like Jessica Alba's Nancy in "Sin City." However, some female characters naturally bring a negative aura, inherently downgrading a movie by two levels.

Halle Berry and Catwoman, taken separately, are entirely unproblematic. But when combined in such an extremely peculiar way, it undoubtedly falls closer to the latter.

Moreover, "Catwoman" only had a few screenings and hadn't officially premiered, yet its online reputation had completely collapsed. Its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating plummeted to 13 percent, its popcorn index was a pitiful 50 percent, and its IMDB audience rating fell below the pass mark to less than 6 points.

In stark contrast, "Deadpool's" online reputation remained strong. Even after the first weekend, its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating was still at 84 percent, and its IMDB rating was 8.4.

Especially telling was the CinemaScore audience rating from theaters, which consistently stood at an A+.

This directly resulted in "Deadpool's" box office trend being exceptionally stable.

The box office on the first weekday, Monday, only dropped 40 percent from Sunday, bringing in a revenue of $14.52 million—more than what most movies make in three weekend days.

Tuesday, being discount day, saw a slight increase to $15.38 million. Wednesday experienced a slight drop, earning $13.86 million. On Thursday, as "Catwoman" began to hit North American theaters, it brought in another $13.74 million.

In four weekdays, "Deadpool" earned $57.5 million from North American theaters, pushing its North American box office total past the $100 million mark to a substantial $141.3 million.

Before entering its second weekend, "Deadpool's" North American box office was already nearing Twentieth Century Fox's expectation of $150 million.

Twentieth Century Fox executives were understandably thrilled. This was entirely a blockbuster-level film, and their attitude towards Murphy was quietly changing, evident from their strong support during the verbal war.

In addition to box office revenue, merchandise sales also contributed. Deadpool hats, uniforms, and dual swords became must-have items for many fans going to watch the movie, with sales consistently rising. Following the release of first weekend box office numbers, Twentieth Century Fox also launched Deadpool and Vanessa figurines, which were very popular.

In one week, Deadpool-related products had brought nearly $17 million in revenue to Twentieth Century Fox. Including various licenses, the movie's merchandise income easily broke $30 million.

For Twentieth Century Fox executives, seeing Murphy was like seeing the dollar sign.

In Hollywood, it's fair to say that no method is more direct and effective at improving a director's status

 within a film company than box office and revenue numbers.

As "Deadpool" entered its second weekend, its box office performance would depend not only on its own merits but also on the strength of new competitors. If the competitors were too strong, it would definitely impact its performance.

Before the sun rose on Friday, Halle Berry got up early, took a walk in her villa's garden, and couldn't settle down. She casually drank a glass of milk in the restaurant, returned to the living room, sat on the long sofa, and patiently waited.

At yesterday's premiere, judging by the audience's reaction, the film seemed not as bad as imagined. She had specifically observed that almost no one left early, and the applause at the end of the screening was enthusiastic enough.

This might be a polite response from the premiere audience, but Halle Berry preferred to take it as their attraction to the film and character.

If other advance screenings were like the premiere, "Catwoman" wouldn't be a blockbuster hit, but at least the numbers wouldn't be embarrassing.

Although the verbal war was pressed down by the opponent's repeated phrase, Halle Berry still held hope. After all, there were movies with poor test screening reputations and low pre-release expectations that had exploded at the box office, even creating miracles in Hollywood. Wasn't "Titanic's" situation back then similar to "Catwoman's" now?

She believed that "Catwoman" could turn the tide.

Sitting here, anxiously waiting, Halle Berry picked up her phone several times. Half an hour later, the phone finally rang.

It was a call from her agent. She quickly pressed the call button and put it to her ear. "It's me, Halle. Have the advance screening box office numbers come out?"

"Just got them." There was a pause on the other end, and Halle Berry's heart sank. Her agent always prepared her this way for bad news. "It's a bit lower than expected."

Warner Brothers' expectation for the advance screening was $3.5 million. Even $3 million would be fine, Halle Berry thought, but the voice on the phone shocked her, "Around $1.7 million."

Around $1.7 million! That's far below expectations, not even half!

Halle Berry didn't know how she hung up the phone. She sat dumbfounded on the long sofa, wanting to do nothing, say nothing, with only one thought in her mind: it's over, my superstar path is over...

Will anyone ever cast her in an A-list big production again? Is her future only in small investments, then relying on lukewarm roles like Storm to maintain presence?

After a long while, she gradually recovered, clasped her hands together, and prayed devoutly, hoping the audience would go see this movie.

A widely released movie, no matter how bad, will have its audience. This is an inevitable situation in every movie market. However, the audience's response is beyond guarantee.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT