Sitting in his study, Sean Daniel looked at the poster of "The Scorpion King" on the opposite wall, with Matthew Horner particularly prominent on it. This young actor from Texas had gradually risen to fame under his watchful eye, and was about to enter the upper echelons of Hollywood's vast star system.
Hollywood production companies have a clear system for evaluating celebrity actors in the industry, with the most important criteria being the box office performance of their last three starring films and the popularity of their roles.
This directly determines how much appeal a celebrity actor can bring to future new projects, as well as the level of their salary.
Based on the word-of-mouth and box office trend of "Pirates of the Caribbean" in the first two days, a North American box office exceeding 100 million is 100% certain, and surpassing 200 million is not a problem. As long as the later trend remains stable, it can even challenge 300 million US dollars.
Such a successful film is enough to propel an unknown actor directly into the ranks of second-tier stars, let alone a minor celebrity like Matthew Horner, who already has "The Scorpion King" as a foundation.
Sean Daniel refreshed his email again, but no new emails had arrived.
According to his estimation, the opening weekend box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean" would definitely not be less than 60 million US dollars. With such box office figures, plus the highly praised character Will Turner, Matthew Horner would undoubtedly attract a large number of fans, which could directly translate into box office appeal for new films.
The higher the opening weekend box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the more praise Will Turner receives, the greater Matthew Horner's future appeal will be.
Correspondingly, his salary will also increase.
Sean Daniel was waiting for the latest data, wanting to quickly find a balance point from it to begin negotiations with that woman, Helen Herman.
If he had had any doubts about Matthew Horner starring in "Dawn of the Dead" before, he was now firmly committed to inviting him. As long as "Dawn of the Dead" connects well, the film will definitely be able to continue the popularity Matthew Horner gathered through "Pirates of the Caribbean."
"Should I consider increasing the male lead's screen time?" Sean Daniel thought seriously for a moment and decided to discuss it with director Zack Snyder.
A pop-up suddenly appeared in the lower right corner of the computer screen, indicating a new email. Sean Daniel eagerly moved his mouse and clicked it open.
The email opened immediately, revealing a string of numbers: Friday $22.2 million, Saturday $23.8 million, Sunday $18.6 million, a total of $64.6 million for the three-day weekend!
Sean Daniel nodded slightly, this figure completely reassured him, but then new worries emerged. With the massive opening weekend box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean," Matthew Horner's market value as the male lead would surely rise. His salary for a new film could no longer stay at the 2 million US dollar level. Would the 25 million US dollar production budget for "Dawn of the Dead" be enough?
It's better to first see the negotiations with Helen Herman. If they can agree on Matthew starring as the male lead, with the current situation, it shouldn't be difficult for Universal Pictures to increase the budget.
As the Monday sun rose, due to the time difference and his recent busy preparations for "King Arthur," Jerry Bruckheimer, in London, had just received a faxed document from Disney Pictures.
He glanced at it and handed it to his assistant, Anderson Martinez, who was beside him. Anderson Martinez couldn't help but smile after reading it, "Boss, we've succeeded again."
Jerry Bruckheimer smiled faintly.
"When the project started, I told the people at Disney that there was still potential to be tapped in pirate movies." He snorted disdainfully, "That fool Michael Eisner actually said my project would be a complete disaster!"
Anderson Martinez also laughed, "It's Michael Eisner's vision that's problematic."
"Michael Eisner's abilities have seriously deteriorated, clearly unable to keep up with the times." Jerry Bruckheimer criticized his former Disney partner without reservation, "Although Walt Disney grew and prospered under his leadership, he has now become an obstacle to Walt Disney's further development. 35xs"
"Mmm." Anderson Martinez nodded.
In fact, he didn't quite understand Michael Eisner's problems, only knowing that Michael Eisner refused to invest large sums of money into the "King Arthur" and "National Treasure" projects, causing delays, and "National Treasure" was still in the script development stage, which made his boss very unhappy.
He knew very well that Michael Eisner was not the Michael Eisner he once was, and Jerry Bruckheimer was also not the Jerry Bruckheimer he once was.
"Boss, there are also two statistics on the fax," Anderson Martinez said after carefully reading the entire document, "You might be interested."
Jerry Bruckheimer spoke directly, "Tell me."
Anderson Martinez immediately said, "In the survey conducted by Disney Pictures during the first week, the most popular character was Jack Sparrow, and the second most popular character was Will Turner. These two characters combined received 85% of the interviewed audience's support, with Jack Sparrow at 46% and Will Turner at 39%, not a significant difference."
"The decision to change Will Turner was correct." A serious expression appeared on Jerry Bruckheimer's face, "Matthew Horner is indeed a very capable actor."
Anderson Martinez followed his words, "That's true, and he's not as difficult to deal with as Johnny Depp during work. He's the kind of actor who makes people feel at ease and confident."
Jerry Bruckheimer nodded slightly. He had worked with Matthew Horner twice and understood this point well.
"What a pity..." Jerry Bruckheimer sighed, "I originally wanted him to continue as the male lead in 'King Arthur,' but he took another movie."
"Boss..." Anderson Martinez tentatively asked, "Are you very optimistic about Matthew Horner?"
"It's not that I'm very optimistic," Jerry Bruckheimer said, "but rather the film's reception proves to us that Matthew Horner has the potential to become a star with powerful appeal."
He suddenly showed a reminiscent expression, "Matthew Horner reminds me of the time I worked with Don Simpson on 'Top Gun.' Tom Cruise truly embarked on his path to superstardom after that movie."
Anderson Martinez didn't expect Jerry Bruckheimer to have such a high opinion of Matthew Horner and said, "Boss, don't we still have a project? The male lead for 'National Treasure' hasn't been decided yet."
Jerry Bruckheimer considered for a moment and said, "Go and communicate with Helen Herman about scheduling issues. Once the funding is in place, send Matthew Horner an audition invitation."
He paused for a moment, then added, "The success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and the relative box office failure of 'Black Hawk Down' made me fully understand one thing: films geared towards all ages are more likely to achieve commercial success."
Anderson Martinez agreed, "That's true."
"So, I've already spoken to the two screenwriters," Jerry Bruckheimer continued, "There won't be any large-scale scenes in the script for 'National Treasure,' and the age range of the male and female leads will be lowered to better suit the tastes of younger audiences."
When he produces films, he never bothers with those superficial things. His focus is on the market and the audience, taking the aesthetics of the vast majority of audiences as the standard, and young audiences have always been the main consumer group in the cinema market.
Burbank, at the entrance of Angel Agency, Matthew had just gotten out of his car when he was surrounded by reporters who had followed him and were waiting there.
He walked towards the company entrance, protected by several company security guards, while answering some of the reporters' questions.
"Success was certainly expected!" Matthew said with a smile, "I said it at the premiere, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' will definitely be a success!"
Now that the film's opening week box office had exploded, numerous media outlets and professional organizations predicted that the final North American box office would land around $300 million. Of course, he had enough confidence to say such things.
The success of "Pirates of the Caribbean" also caused the Waterloo of another big production in the same period, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." This Victorian-era Avengers-style film produced by 20th Century Fox only earned a little over $20 million at the box office in its opening week, and its North American box office would certainly not reach its cost line.
"A sequel to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?" Matthew shook his head, "Sorry, I haven't heard of it. No one has ever told me that 'Pirates of the Caribbean' would be getting a sequel."
Disney Pictures hadn't released any news yet, so he certainly wouldn't speak carelessly and disrupt Disney Pictures' publicity rhythm.
Furthermore, at this stage, it should be Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer who are eager to announce and produce a sequel, not a lead actor like him.
A sequel is definitely coming, but Helen Herman had communicated with him, telling him not to express his stance casually. As for foolish remarks like "I'm very much looking forward to continuing to star in the sequel," they were strictly forbidden.
The situation is very clear now: the higher the North American box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean," the more favorable it is for his negotiations to continue starring in the sequel, and he can demand a higher salary. There's no need to rush at all.
According to Helen Herman, once the North American box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean" exceeds $200 million, securing a salary of at least $8 million for him in the sequel would not be a problem at all.
For nothing else, even for that $8 million, he would cooperate with Helen Herman.
"Matthew, there are rumors that you and Keira have broken up?"
Hearing this question, Matthew immediately debunked the rumor, "Absolutely not true. Our relationship is very good and very stable!"
After answering this question, he entered the Angel Agency, preparing to meet Helen Herman to discuss some upcoming matters.