Standing in front of the huge glass curtain wall of the master bedroom, Matthew held his phone and looked out into the distance. The lights of Beverly Hills and the City of Angels were brilliant; from this vantage point, he had a panoramic view of half of Los Angeles' night scene.
The sound of faint footsteps came from behind him. Charlize Theron, draped in a short bathrobe, slowly walked to his side.
Matthew turned to glance at her and asked, "Did I wake you?"
Charlize Theron didn't answer, but instead asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?"
"Can't sleep," Matthew told the truth. "At a time like this, it's too hard to fall asleep."
"Because of the box office?" Charlize Theron asked directly.
Matthew nodded, confirming, "Because of the box office." He then added, "Unlike you, I'm an actor who survives on commercial appeal. If the film fails at the box office, you still have your academy award for best actress as capital to make a comeback, but I'd be finished."
"You're exaggerating," Charlize Theron huffed. "As if you'd really be finished just because this movie didn't do well!"
She knew very well that the movies Matthew starred in—the scorpion king, pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl, dawn of the dead, and national treasure—were all box office hits. Even if mr. & mrs. smith failed, he could withstand it.
"You can't sleep either?" Matthew asked, looking at Charlize Theron.
"Yeah," Charlize Theron said bluntly. "I can't sleep because of the box office either."
She smiled and said, "If this film doesn't do well, the impact on me will be much greater than on you. For many years to come, I wouldn't be able to appear in A-list productions."
Matthew knew she was telling the truth. Hollywood studios weren't charities. Even if Charlize Theron had an oscar best actress winner title and a Dior endorsement contract, once mr. & mrs. smith failed, there was no telling how many years she'd have to wait for another invitation to an A-list blockbuster.
Perhaps her status wouldn't be affected too much, but Hollywood producers would automatically put her on a red list and wouldn't easily invite her to star as the female lead in major commercial hits.
Matthew reached out and put his arm around Charlize Theron. "You saw the pre-sale box office numbers; it's impossible for it to fail."
Charlize Theron pointed to the phone in his hand. "Still no news?"
"Not yet." Matthew lifted his hand to check. "Bella is keeping an eye on it; she'll text me when there's news."
He pointed toward the sofa. "Let's go sit over there and wait."
Until she saw the preview night box office, Charlize Theron couldn't sleep either. She sat on the sofa with Matthew and waited patiently.
With nothing else to do, Charlize Theron asked, "How are the engagement ceremony preparations coming along?"
"The sponsorship funds from Dior and Mercedes-Benz have already arrived."
Matthew had been the one preparing the engagement ceremony. He said simply, "Mercedes-Benz will specially deploy a fleet to pick up the important guests from both sides. After the ceremony, every guest will receive a small gift from us; Dior has already prepared 'J'adore' perfume gift sets."
Charlize Theron covered her forehead somewhat helplessly. "It's almost turning into an advertising event." She suddenly realized, "Well, this was a show to begin with."
Matthew was quite open-minded about it. "Dior and Mercedes-Benz are covering two-thirds of the ceremony costs, so of course we have to display their products appropriately."
The other third of the cost was being covered by the mr. & mrs. smith Crew.
Charlize Theron thought for a moment and asked, "Have you thought about how we'll break up?"
"Um... no." Matthew suddenly said, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "How about this: why don't we just not break up and stay together for real?"
"I've never thought about getting married."
Charlize Theron blurted this out subconsciously, then beat Matthew to the punch, saying, "We were originally good friends, and I know a bit about you."
Matthew didn't understand what Charlize Theron meant; he just looked at her.
There was no smile on Charlize Theron's face; she seemed very serious. "Matthew, would you give up many women for just one?"
Matthew knew his original intentions and had never forgotten them. Especially after breaking up with Britney and seeing more breakups in the industry, he wasn't about to give up his original path.
To him, Charlize Theron was completely different from the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Rachel McAdams, and Jessica Alba.
Matthew didn't want to lie to her. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a long sigh and said, "No."
Charlize Theron spread her hands. "Instead of becoming enemies in the future, it's better to stick to the plan. We're still good friends."
Matthew followed up immediately, "Good friends with a special relationship?"
Charlize Theron gave him a roll of her eyes but didn't say anything else. After a long while, she said, "To be honest, I wasn't that interested in that sort of thing until I met you..."
Beep—Beep—
The phone's text message alert sounded. Charlize Theron immediately shifted her attention to the matter she cared more about and reminded Matthew, "Quick, check it."
Matthew didn't look at the phone but tossed it directly to Charlize Theron. She caught it, tapped the message, and visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"How much?" Matthew was actually very concerned, even forgetting what Charlize Theron hadn't finished saying just now. "Did it pass 5 million dollars?"
Charlize Theron laughed, her smile particularly brilliant. "Way more than 5 million!" She didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "8.8 million dollars for the preview night!"
"Whoa..." Matthew let out a deliberate exclamation. "That's awesome!"
Charlize Theron handed the phone back to Matthew. "That's nearly 4 million more than expected."
"This shows our hype campaign played a huge role!" Matthew judged immediately. "Our work didn't go to waste."
He thought of another point but wouldn't mention it to Charlize Theron. Ever since hiring Bella Anderson, with Helen Herman's assistance, Bella had established contact with the heads of his fan organizations in many North American cities. Through the help of the Angel Talent Agency, they gradually organized these spontaneous fan groups.
According to the data provided by Bella Anderson, in the Greater Los Angeles area alone, his fan organizations had booked nearly twenty theater screenings for the mr. & mrs. smith previews.
Although he paid out of pocket to print uniform t-shirts, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars across the U.S., it was worth it if it could establish stable organizations like fan associations.
These preview box office numbers that far exceeded expectations must have been significantly bolstered by fan screenings.
Furthermore, once these fan organizations stabilized, they would surely pay for such things themselves.
Basically, every big star had dedicated people or teams handling fan operations. It might not be very common yet, but Matthew knew that for a star, the power of die-hard fans was immense.
These matters involving his very foundation were things Matthew wouldn't mention even to a woman he admired and liked as much as Charlize Theron.
"What do you think the opening weekend box office will be?" Charlize Theron asked then.
Matthew stood up, walked to her side, and said, "Who cares! It'll definitely be higher than the expected 50 million!"
As he spoke, his eyes swept over Charlize Theron, as if sizing up his prey.
Charlize Theron said warily, "What are you trying to do?"
Matthew bent down and picked her up. "Sally, don't you think we should celebrate?"
On this dark night, Matthew and Charlize Theron weren't the only ones staying up late. In a small apartment in Burbank, Bella Anderson sat in front of her computer, still working through the night.
She had just sent the text to Matthew, and now, looking at the box office numbers in the email, she could hardly believe they were real.
Bella Anderson had also seen the premiere that night. Could a movie of mr. & mrs. smith's caliber really achieve such excellent box office results?
She truly wondered if there was something wrong with her taste.
But the preview box office data sent by Universal Pictures, Summit Entertainment, and Helen Herman was identical; there was no way it was a mistake.
Thinking about the operations she'd been involved in since taking this job, and everything happening around Matthew and Charlize Theron, Bella Anderson felt relieved again. mr. & mrs. smith had such high buzz, and the couple pairing of Matthew and Charlize Theron extended from the screen into reality, with the media and the general public all discussing them... such box office numbers were normal, weren't they?
Bella Anderson stopped thinking about it and opened web pages to start collecting online reviews and word-of-mouth, intending to summarize them before sending them to her employer.
First was Rotten Tomatoes. The site had already collected 12 reviews from professional critics: 7 positive and 5 negative. The film's word-of-mouth currently seemed quite average.
"mr. & mrs. smith is a very stupid and boring romantic action comedy."
This was the latest negative review, followed by a positive one.
"mr. & mrs. smith is a work that at first glance seems somewhat flashy and superficial. However, it's undeniable that whether it's the romantic tone brought by the pairing of the handsome Matthew Horner and the beautiful Charlize Theron, or the exciting and hilarious plot, the movie is a sweet treat even if viewed merely as a popcorn flick. If you look deeper into this work, you'll find that beneath the bizarre story lies a core of sincerity regarding marriage and family; love and honesty will always be the healing and moving focal points."
After browsing the reviews and adding her own viewing experience, Bella Anderson felt that the word-of-mouth for this film would definitely be polarized.