Many people have been saying that Alice in Wonderland benefited from the hype generated by Avatar. Back then, the global excitement for 3D movies was at an all-time high due to Avatar, and just when the world was riding that wave, a big-budget pseudo-3D film appeared right on time, meeting the market's demand. Despite its mediocre quality and lackluster 3D effects, it became the highest-grossing film of 2010.
Before the celebration party was even planned, the film had already surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.
"No matter what others say," Matthew said to Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney, as they stood in the bustling banquet hall, "Disney's market acumen is unmatched."
Robert Iger shook his head. "Not as sharp as yours."
Matthew smiled knowingly. "Come on, Bob, let's not joke around. There's no way I can compare to Disney."
"I'm not joking," Robert Iger said seriously. "The biggest financial losses Disney has suffered in the past few years came from Cloud Atlas and John Carter. When you backed out of competing for those projects, Disney should have done the same."
"I backed out because I didn't have the money," Matthew said, unwilling to discuss the deeper reasons. "Brad Pitt doubled the offer, and I had no choice."
Robert Iger had heard bits and pieces of the story and knew that Brad Pitt had indeed outbid Matthew for those two projects by paying a hefty sum.
"Brad Pitt failed, and he even dragged Disney down with him," Robert Iger said calmly. "I've issued orders to all Disney subsidiaries: from now on, Disney won't collaborate with Brad Pitt or Natalie Portman on any projects."
Is this the treatment reserved for failures? Matthew wasn't surprised and commented, "I didn't expect those two projects to end up like that."
Film investments are inherently high-risk.
Suddenly, Robert Iger remembered some recent rumors. Word was that Matthew had been involved in the creative process of the G.I. Joe series, the Fast & Furious series, and even the Twilight series.
All those projects had been massive successes.
He sighed. "If you had been the lead actor in those two projects, maybe the outcome would've been entirely different." He went on, "I've also heard that in the films you've invested in and starred in over the past two years, your creative input has been crucial?"
Matthew felt a little embarrassed and, for once, told the truth. "I just weed out overly pretentious elements in the script and make the movies more accessible to the audience."
Directors and writers aren't machines; they often have strong personal visions. In the creative process, they sometimes add overly artistic or abstract elements, which are often the downfall of commercial films. In projects like G.I. Joe, Fast & Furious, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, including those kinds of elements would be a recipe for disaster.
All Matthew did was ensure that the films remained accessible to a broad audience. Beyond that, he didn't have much control.
He also knew his limitations. In areas where he wasn't skilled, he kept quiet, like when he was on the set of Inception. He never commented on the plot or the filming process because he knew he was no match for Christopher Nolan in that department.
At that moment, other guests came over to greet Matthew and Robert Iger. After chatting for a while, Matthew moved on to mingle elsewhere.
As he navigated the crowd in the banquet hall, exchanging brief pleasantries here and there, he overheard people saying that Disney got incredibly lucky with Alice in Wonderland.
It wasn't hard for Matthew to imagine why. The success of Alice in Wonderland had left many feeling envious.
Directed by Tim Burton, the film had several test screenings in late 2009, and the reception was lukewarm. Disney originally planned to release it during the holiday season before Christmas but had to push back the release date to give Burton more time to adjust the film.
No one could have predicted that this delay would allow Disney to catch a lucky break—Avatar.
With Avatar becoming a massive box office hit, the world became nearly obsessed with 3D films. After Avatar's release, other 3D films did make it to theaters, but those small-scale productions couldn't satisfy audiences' hunger for 3D experiences.
Sensing the shift in the market, Disney made a quick decision to convert Alice in Wonderland, originally filmed in 2D, into 3D during post-production.
This pseudo-3D film snuck into 3D theaters, embarking on its journey of... well, "scamming" for money might be too harsh—let's say, raking in box office profits. And it was wildly successful.
In fact, the success of Alice in Wonderland's conversion to 3D marked the beginning of a troubling trend for Hollywood. If converting a movie to 3D after filming could make money, why bother spending extra money and time on true 3D productions?
It's easy to predict that in the coming years, a flood of pseudo-3D films will hit theaters.
Noticing that Johnny Depp was no longer surrounded by people, Matthew quickly walked over.
Johnny Depp's daughter, nearly twelve-year-old Lily-Rose Depp, tugged at his sleeve and pointed towards Matthew. "Dad, godfather's coming over."
"Hey, Depp," Matthew opened his arms and gave Johnny Depp a tight hug when he turned around. "Congratulations, Mad Hatter."
Even though Johnny Depp was supporting Alice in the movie, no one could deny that outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, this was his first film to explode at the box office.
Johnny Depp was clearly in a great mood and mimicked one of Matthew's usual sayings. "Just lucky."
Matthew patted his arm and couldn't help but laugh.
"Godfather!" A slightly disgruntled voice piped up. "Did you not see me?"
Matthew looked down at the person standing next to Johnny Depp and said, "Lily, you've grown taller since the last time I saw you."
Lily-Rose puffed out her cheeks. "It hasn't been just a few days. It's been months!"
Matthew pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. "So, I brought you a gift."
"Wow!" Lily-Rose's eyes lit up as she took the box and ran off to the side.
Johnny Depp looked at Matthew, who shook his head. "It's nothing expensive, just a spinning top I used on the set of Inception. I called Lily once, and she said she was curious, so I brought it along."
Though it was an original prop, it wasn't worth much.
Lily-Rose's fascination with the spinning top was understandable. Thanks to Matthew's use of it in the film, the Inception-branded tops were currently one of the hottest items on the market.
Initially, Warner Bros. had sold commemorative tops for $12 each in theaters, and they sold out on the day the film was released.
Later, the commemorative tops sold through retail stores and online ranged from $80 to $130, with hundreds of thousands sold in just one week.
Warner Bros., with its extensive experience in the merchandising market, had capitalized on the Inception top's success, thanks to its vast and well-developed supply chain.
In fact, in today's Hollywood, merchandising revenue from successful blockbusters can account for nearly 70% of a film's total earnings, far surpassing box office profits.
For a film like Inception, which was expected to succeed, Warner Bros. had already laid out its merchandising and marketing plan well in advance, ensuring that the products would hit the market in sync with or even ahead of the film's release, seizing the best market opportunities.
Of course, a mature market like North America, with its well-developed copyright protection systems, was a crucial foundation for the massive success of film merchandise.
On the other side of the Pacific, however, things weren't as ideal.
Last weekend, Inception premiered across the Pacific, and Warner Bros. saw decent sales for the "Inception tops," which were priced at only 10 RMB. However, alongside the official merchandise in theaters, knockoffs flooded the online and street markets.
Every market goes through a maturing process. Even North America once dealt with the same issues.
And compared to what domestic films face over there, Inception's situation wasn't that bad.
When Matthew had lived across the Pacific, he had personally seen what happened after Stephen Chow's CJ7 became a hit. The character CJ7 was wildly popular, and its toys became hot items. At the time, vendors selling counterfeit CJ7 toys even set up shop right outside cinemas owned by China Film Group, the film's distributor, much to the dismay of their staff.
A mature market can't be built overnight. Many over there have profited from piracy, just like Matthew himself, who used to download pirated content from the internet.
After chatting with Johnny Depp for a while, Matthew excused himself when more people came over to greet Depp. He found a quiet spot to sit and rest.
While sitting, he noticed Anne Hathaway, who played the White Queen. It seemed like she spotted him too and quickly avoided him.
Matthew assumed it had to do with Emma Roberts. Anne Hathaway clearly didn't want to be associated with him anymore.
He didn't bother going over to make things awkward. After exchanging pleasantries with a few people who approached him, he asked a server for a glass of water and scanned the banquet hall, searching for any potential opportunities.
The night was long, and sleeping alone
was not appealing.
Suddenly, he noticed Lily-Rose Depp approaching him.
"Godfather," she said as she came up to him, "what are you looking at?"
Matthew casually replied, "Oh, nothing, just looking for familiar faces."
Lily-Rose scoffed and said playfully, "Ha! I know what you're really doing—you're looking for women!"
"Uh?" Matthew was momentarily speechless.
Lily-Rose continued, "Mom said you're the biggest flirt. You can't keep your eyes off a pretty woman."
Matthew immediately defended himself. "That's slander! Lily, don't listen to what Keira says."
Lily-Rose didn't push the matter further. She pulled out a chair and sat across from him, her face suddenly serious. With a pleading look, she asked, "Godfather, can you help me?"
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