Back when people were downloading Thor online, what left the deepest impression after watching the movie? Was it the tall and burly Thor? The dazzling, blindingly golden Asgard? The awkward romance between Thor and the unremarkable Natalie Portman, who couldn't even match up to half of the supporting actresses? Or was it the explosive action scenes?
The answer was clear: none of these!
What truly stuck with people was the phrase summarized by fans across the Pacific: "My brother tortures me a thousand times, yet I still treat him like my first love!"
The most successful part of this movie was how it shaped the "Thor and Loki romance."
The love-hate relationship between Thor and Loki was epic and twisted, spanning a lifetime of trials and tribulations that moved gods and men alike.
In fact, the film industry entered a new era because of it—where lesbian romance saves the world, and male bonding changes fate!
This Thor movie didn't differ much from the one Matthew remembered, except for one major change: the lead actress. Natalie Portman was no longer in the picture.
In Matthew's memory, Natalie Portman was terrible in this film—essentially playing the role of an old woman. Even her sidekick outshined her significantly.
Sure, Natalie Portman is a talented actress and an art film goddess to many, but she was completely unsuited to this kind of straightforward commercial "vase" role. No amount of post-production makeup could make up for her natural limitations.
Although Matthew hadn't invested in Thor, he suggested to Kevin Feige to cast a prettier lead actress, considering his future investment in The Avengers. The Jane Foster that appeared in the film was a newcomer he'd never heard of.
Her standout feature? She was pretty and sexy.
Other than that, everything else remained the same—Chris Hemsworth still played Thor.
This Australian actor once again fit the role of Thor, aligning with Hollywood and Western cinematic standards. It's clear from Marvel's casting choices that a pretty boy could never become a superhero.
Marvel superhero films couldn't escape this trend—looks are justice!
If you look at the lineup of handsome actors who have been cast as Avengers, one thing is clear: they're all robust men, like Matthew.
The characters may be handsome, but they are far from being porcelain dolls with flawless skin, not a wrinkle or freckle in sight, even after fleeing from explosions.
Take Tony Stark, for example. He's supposed to be the least physically dependent of the bunch.
When Tony is captured and held in a cave, he's disheveled, covered in dirt, bruised, and his hair is tangled. Even in this state, his handsomeness shines through.
When audiences saw him hammering away at iron, the lean muscles in his arms rippling, extracting tiny bits of metal from missiles with precision, drawing up complex blueprints to design his armor—his genius and confidence on full display—it was impossible not to be captivated by him. Even if he had looked like a caveman, people would still have fallen for him. In that dirty, wrecked cave, Tony Stark exemplified walking testosterone.
Now imagine if he had been cast as some over-styled, soft-looking pretty boy… Forget it, Iron Man would've flopped, and Marvel would have gone bankrupt. Matthew's investment would have been a disaster.
In any case, the "Thor and Loki" dynamic was successfully portrayed, setting up a strong foundation for Matthew's future investment in The Avengers.
However, Thor received a lukewarm to poor reception from fans.
Online, many fans called it one of the worst superhero films ever made.
But with the success of two consecutive Iron Man films, the so-called "Marvel magic" was taking shape. Thor clearly benefited from this, earning over $67 million in its North American opening weekend—a decent figure for a third-tier comic book hero.
If Thor hadn't been part of the Avengers plan, it's hard to say what its box office prospects would have been.
Mediocre or even bad movies achieving great commercial success had long been a Hollywood norm. Compared to films Matthew had invested in, Thor wasn't an outlier.
Take The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, for instance, often called "terrible beyond limits" by countless fans and media. Two weeks after Thor's release, Eclipse hit theaters in North America just in time for Thanksgiving, welcoming an enthusiastic audience.
Teen girls and young women up to their thirties flocked to the cinemas, often dragging their boyfriends along.
Amid the groans and complaints of millions of male viewers, Eclipse exploded in its opening weekend, grossing $152.7 million—the highest opening of 2010 in the North American market.
This result put Matthew in an excellent mood, considering the film's production budget was only $65 million.
Not only was the production cost relatively low, but the combined marketing expenses from Studio 13 and Disney for the global market wouldn't exceed $70 million.
That same weekend, Eclipse opened globally, performing strongly overseas as well, grossing $167.8 million in 71 countries and regions.
Within just three days, the global box office for the film easily surpassed $300 million.
With its relatively low costs and high box office returns, The Twilight Saga series had become a legitimate cash cow.
At the same time, as Eclipse enjoyed massive success, Matthew's Inception finished its nearly five-month run in North American theaters.
In the end, Inception grossed $412.1 million domestically and $1.023 billion globally, a tremendous success.
Additionally, the Halloween release Insidious was still performing well, having grossed $52.03 million domestically and surpassed $100 million globally.
The film's domestic run wasn't over yet. Given its current trajectory, it could easily surpass $60 million, and possibly even challenge $70 million.
Considering its meager $1.5 million production budget, the film's commercial success was undeniable.
To date, Matthew and Warner Bros. had invested a total of $17 million in Insidious.
Fortunately, the return on investment was more than substantial.
Bella Anderson had practically sealed a deal with Netflix, granting them the streaming and rental rights for Insidious over the next ten years for $11 million.
Negotiations for TV and other licensing deals were ongoing, and it was certain that Insidious would bring Matthew at least $20 million in profits.
This level of return on investment was so thrilling, even Matthew couldn't help but get excited.
In a way, it was like hitting the lottery.
There was no exaggeration in saying that Matthew was one of the most successful figures in Hollywood at the moment. On the set of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, where he had just begun filming, compliments were flying his way from all directions.
"Hollywood's finest producer."
"The man with the sharpest eye for movie investments!"
"Golden producer!"
"Just getting a slightly prominent role in a Matthew Horner film will make you a star!"
Matthew often heard such remarks from crew members during filming breaks.
Success after success had transformed how everyone looked at him. Some even said he was the Steve Jobs of the film industry.
Fans online were also full of praise for him.
"Never met him in person, but I hear he's a bit of a playboy, only into gorgeous women. He's got great taste, but he's also a guy's guy, loyal, with tons of friends. Definitely a hardworking professional."
Most netizens held a positive view of him.
"I work at a TV station, and I've seen Matthew Horner in person. He's incredibly handsome, with an overwhelming presence. Of course, his reputation as a womanizer is well-known, and his skills with the ladies are legendary. It's said that the Victoria's Secret Angel incident was just the tip of the iceberg."
The success of Insidious also drew more attention to Matthew's next low-budget, high-return project, The Conjuring. Naturally, he aimed to replicate the success of his previous films.
In Hollywood, the cost of mainstream commercial productions was skyrocketing, making high investment seem like a prerequisite for success.
Matthew had come across data from an authoritative research organization that analyzed the past five years and found that 29 top-tier Hollywood productions had average total costs of $280 million. The average production cost was around $150 million, while marketing costs averaged $130 million.
All investors hope to back the most profitable film, but even among these 29 movies, the one with the highest profit margin only reached 150%.
The problem is, how do you accurately predict which movie will be a massive hit?
No one has the definitive answer.
Movies with such enormous budgets come with enormous risks. Even someone as wealthy as Matthew could face financial trouble if just one of these films failed.
Compared to mega-productions, low-budget, high-return films were what everyone dreamed of.
However, luck played a significant role in such endeavors.
Matthew had been lucky, combined with his faint memories of the past, which had led to the relatively low investment and blockbuster success of films like Insidious and The Twilight Saga.
But good luck doesn't last forever. While Eclipse was a box office hit, the agents representing many of the male leads, including Liam Hemsworth, approached Matthew, demanding higher pay for their clients.
With the series' continued success, the young actors playing the main roles were becoming major stars.
Even though Matthew had helped launch their careers, and some of them had a good relationship with him, no one wanted to remain famous without reaping the financial rewards.
At the beginning, all the actors had signed four-film contracts, including the leads, meaning their salaries were still capped below
$5 million per film.
The films were making a fortune, but the actors weren't seeing much of it, so it was no surprise that they were stirring up trouble.
In contrast, Nina Dobrev and Lily Collins were more savvy. The former had gone out of her way to perform rhythmic gymnastics for Matthew, while the latter had taken him out to dinner, playing the roles of friend and fan.
Matthew knew that raising salaries was inevitable.
He left the negotiations to Bella Anderson and Sean Daniel. Busy with filming G.I. Joe: Retaliation, he didn't have time to handle it personally.
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