Chapter 358: Overwhelming the Competition

The next day, as newspapers hit the stands and more reviews were gathered by Rotten Tomatoes, the approval rating for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" continued to decline, quickly dropping to 56%, marking it as "rotten."

On the other hand, on IMDb, a site where fans rate movies, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" garnered an average score of 7.6 from nearly ten thousand users. It was well known that these ratings primarily came from fans who attended the previews, many of whom were fans of Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron.

This situation was reminiscent of the release of "National Treasure," where there was a stark contrast between critic scores and fan ratings. Even among the positive reviews from critics, few were highly favorable, with most belittling the film.

"The film is just a mess, leveraging the star power of Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron to portray a foolish, inflated, and combative couple."

"The movie is filled with horror and madness; these two words are the only suitable descriptors."

In contrast, fan reviews of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" were much more favorable.

"Matthew and Charlize are so playful, their fight scenes are just like watching my parents throw dishes during an argument!"

"I loved it from start to finish, Matthew and Charlize are such a match."

"Matthew and Charlize are perfect in the film and even more so in real life!"

"A typical action movie, entirely held up by the chemistry between Matthew and Charlize, their charm is just too powerful."

"Light and fun, it cleverly hides marital issues under an entertaining facade, quite innovative."

"A fantastic entertainment piece, it has action, humor, good-looking leads, an unconventional love story... and the stars are seriously sexy!"

In a luxurious suite in the Beverly Hills Hotel, French director Louis Letellier sat on a couch flipping through the latest statistics. After going through the data, he spoke to the plump Luc Besson sitting opposite him, "The professional reception of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' is much worse than our 'Danny the Dog,' which is fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an approval close to 70%."

He harbored some hope, "Do we have a chance to come out on top?"

Luc Besson, a Frenchman but a pure commercial director who had been in the North American film market for over a decade, shook his head, understanding the reality well. "The midnight show of 'Danny the Dog' only made $1.5 million. Do you think we can surpass them?"

Before Louis could respond, Luc Besson raised his hand to stop him, "Sometimes the actual quality of a film doesn't determine its box office."

Luc Besson walked around the room, continuing, "The North American film market is highly xenophobic; we are outsiders after all. Jet Li, no matter how skilled, can't match Matthew Horner's appeal."

Louis nodded slowly; not even Jason Statham, whom he had worked with, could compare to Matthew Horner.

Though a French director, Luc Besson had a rare commercial sense among his peers, "If 'Danny the Dog' makes a third of what 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' does on its opening weekend, I'll be satisfied."

The success of his film in making a profit depended on markets outside North America. He was well aware that none of his films involved directly had ever crossed the $100 million mark in North America.

Even though 'Danny the Dog' had significantly better critical acclaim, it stood no chance against 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith.'

As Luc Besson expected, on Friday alone, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" easily dominated over "Danny the Dog" and "Kingdom of Heaven" in terms of screening and occupancy rates. The impact on "Danny the Dog," which also opened that weekend, was starkly apparent.

And Luc Besson's estimation of achieving a third of their figures was overly optimistic, underestimating his film's appeal and buzz.

On Google's search rankings on Friday, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" led with over 143,000 searches, with "Danny the Dog" not even close.

By Saturday, when the latest box office figures were released, the results were clear.

"Danny the Dog" garnered only $2.73 million on its opening day, even less than "Kingdom of Heaven," which made $2.87 million on the same day...

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith," a romantic action comedy, swept $28.6 million effortlessly from over 3600 theaters across North America.

Numerous websites and media outlets commented on this performance.

The Los Angeles Times highlighted in the entertainment section that Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron's on-and-off-screen chemistry was key to the action film's success.

Entertainment Weekly online stated, "The success of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' once again proves Matthew Horner's box office

 draw and his value to commercial cinema. This fast-rising Hollywood star deserves a paycheck of over $10 million per film."

Yahoo Entertainment was quick to react, "Since 'The Scorpion King,' every film starring Matthew Horner has been a box office hit, proving that the tough-guy action star is far from outdated."

The New York Times commented, "'Mr. & Mrs. Smith's' first-day blockbuster sales reflect less on the film's success and more on that of Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron, Hollywood's coolest actors, who salvaged a mediocre action movie."

TMZ reported a scoop: According to reliable sources, over 70% of the first-day audience at theaters was drawn by Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron. In other words, of the $28.6 million made on the first day, 70% was directly driven by their presence.

Such straightforward calculations are unreliable, but they reflect the significant impact Matthew and Charlize had on the promotion of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

Early Saturday morning, Matthew and Charlize appeared together at ABC's Burbank studio for a live interview via satellite on "Good Morning America." The show's weather forecast segment had just ended, and the interview was about to begin.

"Good morning, Matthew!" The brightly lit studio showed the host David Gibson greeting them cheerfully on the big screen, "Morning, Charlize."

Matthew and Charlize waved to the camera, "Good morning, David."

David Gibson quickly got to the point, "Congratulations to both of you. 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' pulled in impressive box office numbers yesterday."

Charlize and Matthew, each seated in a chair, prepared for the questions. Matthew promptly said, "Thank you."

David asked, "In the film, your characters fight over relationship issues. Do you ever have conflicts in real life?"

Matthew didn't respond, allowing Charlize to answer, "Of course, there are conflicts, but they are usually minor and end after a few arguments."

"Do you ever shoot at each other? With shotguns, perhaps?" David asked playfully.

This time, Matthew replied, "Of course!"

David displayed an exaggerated expression of shock.

Matthew continued, "We just had a battle in our new house yesterday..."

Hearing this, Charlize felt an urge to drag him over and scold him; indeed, they had fought yesterday, but she didn't have a gun, Matthew did.

"Our new home is riddled with bullet holes," Matthew joked, "Before the show started today, the crew just bailed us out of jail. We'll have to go back after the interview."

David timely asked, "Is your engagement ceremony still on schedule?"

"Absolutely," Matthew responded promptly.

"Everything is almost ready," Charlize added.

"Even the apocalypse wouldn't stop our engagement!" Matthew declared.

"Wow, I'm envious!" David played along, "Can you share the time and place of your engagement? Because I'd love to attend."

Knowing the engagement was a show, Charlize understood the media's role, "It's next Wednesday at our new home."

Matthew chimed in, "David, your invitation was mailed out. You should receive it by tomorrow."

"Really?" David expressed surprise, "I'm invited?"

Though not truly invited, Matthew and Charlize's remarks were just for publicity.

"You'll know if it's real when you get the invitation tomorrow," Charlize said with a smile.

David laughed, "Then let me congratulate you in advance."

"Thank you!" Matthew thanked him again.

David brought the conversation back to cinema, "Will you two star in other films together after 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'?"

Charlize shook her head, "There are no such plans in the near future."

"If the right opportunity comes along, we'll definitely work together again," Matthew added.

Due to the limited time allocated for various segments on "Good Morning America," the ten-minute interview concluded successfully.

___________________

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