Because it was opening the same weekend as pirates of the caribbean, Matthew specifically looked up information on the "league of extraordinary gentlemen". Only then did he discover that van helsing was not alone; the league of extraordinary gentlemen also gathered a host of famous monsters, making it a true monster mash-up film.
The explorer Allan Quatermain from King Solomon's Mines, Tom Sawyer from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde from Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the female vampire Mina Harker from Dracula's Guest, The Invisible Man from The Invisible Man, Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray... These individuals answered the call of Queen Victoria of Great Britain to form an "Extraordinary Gentlemen's League" to combat The Phantom, a madman plotting to subvert the world.
After reading the materials, Matthew had only one feeling: isn't this just a Victorian-era version of The Avengers or the Justice League? It turned out Hollywood had the idea of forming teams to grind monsters so early on, and the lead actor was the famous Sean Connery.
Unfortunately, he hadn't seen this film and had no impression of it at all.
Matthew later saw the preview box office for the league of extraordinary gentlemen in the newspaper; it was less than half of pirates of the caribbean, at less than $3 million.
Judging solely from the preview box office, the league of extraordinary gentlemen was simply no match for pirates of the caribbean.
The facts bore this out. After Friday passed, pirates of the caribbean earned $22.2 million, while the league of extraordinary gentlemen only took in $8.5 million. The two films were not even in the same league.
The gap in word-of-mouth was even larger.
After one day of release, the league of extraordinary gentlemen had a pitiful 17% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while pirates of the caribbean remained above 80%.
On IMDb, the average audience score for the league of extraordinary gentlemen was 5.9, a direct fail; pirates of the caribbean was as high as 8.3!
There was absolutely no comparison between these two films.
The terrible reputation of the league of extraordinary gentlemen caused Matthew to toss it aside. No matter how one looked at it, this film starring Sean Connery was not enough to pose much of a threat to pirates of the caribbean.
The media was also comparing these two commercial blockbusters released at the same TIME. Even in the crowded summer season, it was relatively rare for two productions with investments exceeding $70 million to squeeze into the same opening weekend.
Even a major newspaper like the Los Angeles Times published a related review.
"As commercial entertainment films released concurrently, the league of extraordinary gentlemen is completely incomparable to pirates of the caribbean; the gap is all-encompassing."
"Firstly, as directors, Stephen Norrington of the league of extraordinary gentlemen turned an extremely clever and stunning idea into a vulgar, rotten film; conversely, Gore Verbinski, the director of pirates of the caribbean, gave new life to the old and declining pirate genre."
"Secondly, the actors. Sean Connery, the lead of the league of extraordinary gentlemen, still looks like James Bond even when playing an explorer after all these years. In contrast, Johnny Depp, the lead actor of pirates of the caribbean, achieved a magnificent transformation through Jack Sparrow, delivering a brilliant performance. There is also a clear gap between the 'eye candy' characters in the two films. Stuart Townsend and Matthew Horner are the visual representatives of their respective films, and both play sword masters."
"Stuart Townsend is as wooden as a stone, while Matthew Horner brought a rock-like character to life vividly..."
Seeing this, Stuart Townsend threw down the Los Angeles Times, his face visibly unpleasant. He had woken up Saturday morning feeling unhappy after getting yesterday's box office data, and now the newspaper was comparing him to a nobody with nothing but sarcasm. How could his mood be good?
the league of extraordinary gentlemen was his first role in a major production, which would directly decide his future stardom. With the film's box office looking bleak, his future... The sudden sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Stuart Townsend looked up to see his girlfriend, Charlize Theron, coming out of the gym. Her previously bloated figure had already slimmed down significantly.
"What's wrong, honey?" Charlize Theron asked, looking at him.
Stuart Townsend suddenly remembered hearing Charlize Theron mention the name Matthew Horner before. Recalling it briefly, he said, "Do you know Matthew Horner?"
Although she saw that Stuart Townsend's expression was a bit off, Charlize Theron didn't want to lie to her boyfriend. She said, "I know him. We met last year at Depp's Black Mamba Bar. Depp, Keanu, and I have had drinks with Matthew Horner at the Black Mamba Bar a few TIMEs."
"Go there to drink less often from now on," Stuart Townsend said with a dark face. "Don't associate with Matthew Horner anymore!"
Charlize Theron frowned slightly and asked, "Why? I..."
"No reason!" Stuart Townsend suddenly flew into a rage, cutting Charlize Theron off directly. "Because I don't like him!"
After saying this, Charlize Theron wanted to open her mouth to argue, but Stuart Townsend grabbed the Los Angeles Times he had just been reading and threw it directly at her. The newspaper scattered, landing all over the floor in front of Charlize Theron.
Stuart Townsend yelled at Charlize Theron, "If you go to the Black Mamba Bar again, don't come back! You're not welcome here!"
Charlize Theron remained silent. Although she had bought this house, paid for the cars in the garage, and was basically responsible for all their expenses, she could endure it all for the sake of this hard-won love.
Stuart Townsend stood up and went upstairs. That damn pirates of the caribbean, that damn Matthew Horner... In Burbank, at the Angel Talent Agency office, Amanda was sitting in Helen Herman's office chair, browsing a website on the computer.
"Helen, is pirates of the caribbean definitely going to be a big hit?" she asked curiously.
Helen Herman was sitting on the sofa tasting the green tea Matthew had given her. She put down her cup and said, "The opening weekend box office won't be lower than $50 million."
She wasn't just talking nonsense. After the midnight box office for pirates of the caribbean came out, both Walt Disney Pictures and multiple professional outside forecasting agencies had raised the minimum opening weekend box office figure for pirates of the caribbean to $50 million.
Amanda looked up and asked again, "is Matthew going to become a big star?"
"As long as the long-term trend for pirates of the caribbean isn't bad," Helen Herman said calmly, "Matthew becoming a B-list star won't be a problem."
"I've heard you say that the long-term trend is directly related to the audience's word-of-mouth." Amanda looked back down at the computer screen. "Judging from the internet, the response to pirates of the caribbean is very good."
She scrolled through the pages, seeing positive audience reviews for pirates of the caribbean everywhere. This was different from Rotten Tomatoes, which reflected the views of film critics; this reflected the views of the front-line market audience.
"Can the Captain and the Blacksmith be any more handsome? The Captain is wild and unrestrained, the Blacksmith is domineering; both are overflowing with heroism, the ultimate of men!"
"This film feels very original. The Captain is so beautiful, the Blacksmith is so cool, the partnership between these two is just perfect! The only flaw is Elizabeth Swann; having this character between Depp and Matthew feels like a total mismatch."
"The characters of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner are so brilliant; they enhanced the fun of the whole movie!"
"The plot is complete, the pacing is tight, and the tropes are delivered in a way that makes them easy to accept. Most importantly, it introduced me to an actor I'll never forget, Matthew Horner."
Amanda then opened IMDb, where the site was also filled with praise.
"pirates of the caribbean will definitely become a classic entertainment film. A smooth story, dense fighting and humor, Hans Zimmer's classic score, the crazy, lazy, drunken, orchid-fingered Captain Jack—Depp is so charismatic and domineering. The love between a beautiful, rebellious noblewoman and a poor boy, a group of skeleton villains walking on the seabed, the cannonballs between pirate ships and crashing through giant waves, and the Captain mobilizing his men to set sail after boarding—it's full of Disney's undying childhood heart for fantasy adventure. Shocking."
"Depp and Matthew played the two most charismatic characters, outshining the entire story. The feminine pirate and the powerful blacksmith complement each other perfectly."
"I thought there wouldn't be many action scenes in a pirate movie, but after watching it, the balance between action and drama is handled quite well. Of course, there are many funny segments interspersed between action and drama. Some very good special effects also add to the fun of this movie. If you like action movies, you'll like this; if you like comedies, you'll like this. This is a top-tier entertainment movie: plot, action, adventure, and humor combined so perfectly!"
Closing IMDb, Amanda went to check Matthew's personal blog. Unlike the previous quietness, Matthew's blog was very lively, with the comment section almost exploding.
"Matthew, you're so manly! I love you..."
There were far too many fangirl comments like this.
"As a fan of looks and physiques, my main focus is Matthew. Simply too cool!"
There were quite a few comments like this as well.
There were also more rational fans whose comments echoed the voices of most viewers praising the film.
"Matthew and Depp carried the whole movie between them. The brilliance emitted by their partnership even overshadowed the story and special effects."
A very small number of people posted some inexplicable remarks.
"I really don't know why Matthew chose Keira Knightley as his girlfriend. They clearly don't match at all, okay? Matthew, you should hurry up and break up with Keira Knightley; she's not good enough for you!"