Just as Clark Phillips and Hannah had anticipated, the black BMW in front followed Interstate 5 all the way to the northern edge of Burbank, then turned onto the tree-lined avenue leading to Matthew Horner's house. The people in the car were clearly heading back.
"Keira Knightley is moving into Matthew Horner's residence?" Clark Phillips and Hannah had almost the exact same thought. "The two of them are preparing to officially live together!"
Unexpectedly, the black BMW stopped suddenly by the side of the road when it reached a secluded area.
"Hurry up!" Hannah realized something was about to happen and urged, "Clark, pass them! Those two definitely couldn't hold back; maybe they're going to... in the car!"
Clark Phillips didn't need Hannah's reminder; he knew this too and quickly accelerated, passing them. Ignoring the danger, Hannah climbed out of the car's sunroof and continuously photographed the BMW behind them, her lens accurately capturing the front windshield, where the couple inside was passionately kissing.
Perhaps noticing them, the couple suddenly stopped, restarted the car, and drove forward.
"How was it?" Clark Phillips asked anxiously. "Did you capture it?"
Hannah said excitedly, "I got it! It's a shame those two didn't have a little action in the car; that would have been spectacular!"
Clark Phillips said loudly, "This is good enough. We'll continue following them."
Inside the black BMW, Matthew slightly sped up, overtook the car that clearly belonged to the paparazzi, and said to Keira Knightley in the passenger seat, "Keira, you are very sweet today."
Keira Knightley pouted and replied, "I used the same lipstick."
Since their first kiss at the premiere of Finding Nemo, showing affection and kissing in public had become normal for the couple. She had gradually gotten used to it, and passionately kissing Matthew was no big deal.
"It seems like there aren't many paparazzi following us?" She glanced back and only saw one car.
Matthew replied, "I deliberately chose a time when the paparazzi went to eat to come out."
Keira Knightley frowned, "Why?"
Matthew focused on driving and said, "Don't worry, there must be plenty of paparazzi and reporters waiting at the front gate."
He understood Keira Knightley's intention. Since they were planning to cohabitate, they needed to make a big splash; otherwise, why use this method to attract attention?
As the car approached his detached house, Keira Knightley saw a large number of reporters and paparazzi and realized that the Crew and both of their management companies had prepared for this long ago.
All these reporters would become witnesses to their cohabitation.
Matthew parked the car, and Keira Knightley followed him out, slung her bag, went to the trunk, and firmly hooked her arm around one of Matthew's, walking toward the iron gate.
The flashbulbs on both sides flashed non-stop, and reporters instantly swarmed them.
Clark Phillips had already parked his car and rushed over. Using the advantage of his agility, he quickly squeezed next to Matthew and Keira Knightley and loudly asked, "Keira, all your luggage from the hotel has been moved over. Are you preparing to live with Matthew?"
Keira Knightley turned her head and said generously, "Compared to a hotel, this feels more like a home."
Another reporter immediately shouted, "Will you two get engaged?"
Matthew, afraid that Keira Knightley might lose her head, quickly interjected, "We are enjoying this relationship very much right now. We will manage our love together, and Keira and I love each other deeply. We will always be happy."
Having said that, he dragged the suitcase with one hand and held Keira Knightley with the other, walking toward the entrance.
Reporters and paparazzi who had learned the news through various channels certainly wouldn't let them go so easily. Others shouted questions, even asking for details about their intimacy, but Matthew and Keira Knightley pretended not to hear anything and entered the main gate one after another.
Matthew closed the iron gate, completely isolating the reporters outside.
Outside the high wall, some reporters hurried away, seemingly rushing back to file their stories, while others continued to block the gate, waiting for subsequent developments.
Inside the high wall, Matthew carried Keira Knightley's suitcase into the Room. This was Keira Knightley's first time here, and she looked around curiously.
"It looks pretty good," Keira Knightley said after looking around. "It's much tidier than I imagined."
Matthew put down the suitcase. "I specifically cleaned it up to welcome you."
Keira Knightley bit her lip and asked, "Which is my Room?"
"This way..." Matthew led her to the door of a bedroom, pushed it open, and said, "This is the Room I specifically prepared for you."
Keira Knightley walked over, took a look, and frowned. "It's so simple."
Matthew ignored her remark and dragged the suitcase directly into the Room. The facilities inside were indeed very basic: just a bed, a dressing table, and a few pieces of furniture.
"You are only staying for a short while," Matthew said casually.
Keira Knightley came out of the Room and asked, "Which one is your Room?"
Matthew followed her out and said, "It's right next door."
Keira Knightley walked over, pushed open the door, entered, looked at the exquisite furnishings of the Room, and immediately announced, "I'm staying in this one."
Matthew followed her. "Can I refuse?"
Keira Knightley pouted. "No!" She glared at Matthew. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"I don't mind you staying here." Matthew stretched. "However, I also have to stay here. It looks like the two of us will be sharing the same Room."
Keira Knightley looked at Matthew but didn't say anything.
Matthew closed the door behind him and put his arm around Keira Knightley's waist. Without any hesitation, Keira Knightley naturally engaged in a passionate kiss with Matthew, just like their previous performances for the media in public.
Not only Keira was beautiful in an elegant way but also her star halo from his past life turned him on completely and he directly tore off her clothes while their tounges were intertwined.
"Oh, this is different from what I thought!" Matthew's surprised voice rang out in the Room. "There's actually an A+". Naturally Keira has developed from past 1 year.
Next came Keira Knightley's grinding teeth cursing Matthew, followed by some indescribable sounds echoing... Mathew was holding on from quite some time and with a delicacy like Keira presenting herself he went into the warrior mode.
Although Keira had some experience from her ex boyfriend but seeing the size of Matthew, she almost cried in surprise. After doing the first round in bedroom, he carried Keira into the washroom for another round.She was so limp with pleasure that Matthew had to carry her back to their bedroom.He felt truly refreshed.
"Surely, Sex is the best stressbooster."
On the night Keira Knightley moved into Matthew's residence, she did not go to the Room Matthew had specially prepared; she moved directly into Matthew's bedroom, turning the nominal cohabitation into a real one.
The next morning, while Matthew was preparing breakfast, Keira Knightley finished washing up, changed clothes, came out, sat by the dining table, and asked, "You didn't really fall in love with me, did you?"
Matthew brought over two porcelain plates, placing one in front of Keira Knightley, and asked, "Then did you fall in love with me?"
"How could that be?" Keira Knightley snorted. "I'm just fulfilling the agreement."
Matthew placed a cup of skim milk in front of her and said, "I am also fulfilling the agreement."
The two tacitly stopped talking until the breakfast was finished. The brief exchange of words had made their mutual understanding clear, and there was no need to say more about the matter.
Afterward, Matthew went out to buy a pile of newspapers. A large group of paparazzi was still guarding the front gate, and he inevitably faced another wave of harassment when going in and out.
After returning, he briefly flipped through them, especially the tabloids, which mostly carried reports similar to "Matthew Horner and Keira Knightley Officially Cohabitate."
Keira Knightley also opened his computer, and websites like Yahoo Entertainment also had many reports on this topic.
Judging solely by media attention, the so-called "cohabitation" plan completely achieved its intended goal.
As for whether it was fake cohabitation or real cohabitation, the two had reached a tacit agreement not to involve romantic feelings, and the management companies and the Crew would not interfere with this matter.
Matthew was not a high-minded saint and already envied the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle; Keira Knightley was not a novice either and also enjoyed physical intimacy.
The breaking of such a scandal was undoubtedly a major boost to the promotion of pirates of the caribbean. Subsequently, Walt Disney Pictures, in conjunction with Bruckheimer Films, held a press conference announcing that the sequel to pirates of the caribbean was already being planned. The sequel would no longer be filmed individually but would instead film the remaining two parts of the trilogy at once, and then release them separately.
Walt Disney Pictures also announced that they would strongly invite the three main stars, Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley, to return. The second pirates of the caribbean film would be released during the summer of 2006.
This promotional hype and positive news successfully drew more attention to pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl, and the film's trajectory in the second week was exceptionally stable.
The box office on Monday, the first workday, dropped by forty-five percent compared to Sunday, earning 10.2 million dollars.
This was a very excellent trajectory for a commercial entertainment film.
Over the subsequent workdays, pirates of the caribbean maintained a remarkably steady trajectory, with daily box office revenue consistently stable at around ten million dollars. Before the second weekend arrived, the film's North America box office successfully crossed the 100 million dollar mark, accumulating 105.6 million dollars, thanks to the four workdays.
In just one week, the North America box office of pirates of the caribbean successfully surpassed 100 million.
During the second weekend, the film showed an incredibly stable trajectory, with three-day box office revenue dropping only slightly more than thirty percent compared to the opening weekend, securing 43.3 million dollars.
After ten days of release, the North America box office of pirates of the caribbean had already exceeded its production cost, approaching the 150 million dollar mark.
At the same time, the film was released in multiple overseas markets such as Latin America, Europe, Australia, and East Asia, grossing over 110 million dollars in its overseas opening week, smoothly pushing its global box office past 250 million dollars.
Walt Disney Pictures and several professional forecasting agencies released their latest predictions, generally agreeing that the global box office for pirates of the caribbean surpassing 500 million dollars would certainly not be a problem.
Undoubtedly, this film had achieved tremendous success, but all stakeholders wanted the film to achieve even greater success.
Increasing publicity and promotion was the most effective means.