"Friday box office results are out: Green Lantern takes the crown as expected!"
Reading the newspaper headline, Matthew initially thought Green Lantern had achieved an unexpected success. But once he saw the numbers, his concerns eased.
Green Lantern topping the box office on its release day wasn't due to explosive ticket sales; rather, it was because there was simply no competition in the big-budget film market at that time. With an early release gross of $3.3 million, and a total of $17.6 million including the advance screenings, the figures were insufficient for a film with a $250 million production budget.
According to insider information Matthew received from Warner Bros., the studio's global marketing and distribution costs for Green Lantern were nearly as high as its production budget.
In other words, this was a $500 million production. For such an investment, North American box office earnings below $350 million and global earnings below $700 million would be disastrous.
The opening day box office fell far short of expectations, although some were still holding out hope that Green Lantern would perform steadily, like Avatar. But with a 22% drop on Saturday, everyone, including Warner Bros., could see that Green Lantern was only going to slide downhill.
From the opening day's $17.6 million to $13.8 million on Saturday, it was clear a box office disaster was looming.
To make matters worse, the film had received universally poor reviews from the media, critics, and general audiences alike.
Unlike the Twilight series, which was also poorly reviewed but beloved by its niche young female fanbase, Green Lantern struggled to find any devoted audience—even among DC comic fans.
Compared to any Green Lantern comic, the movie had deviated significantly from the source material. Casting Will Smith as a Black Hal Jordan alienated a large segment of the DC fanbase, with only a small portion of Black audiences embracing the change.
Comments ranged from, "Will Smith is very charismatic, I admit that, but I can't accept a Black Hal Jordan," to "What was the studio thinking, turning Green Lantern into a Black character?" and "This trashes the comic's original concept. As a comic fan, I have nothing to say but 'What were they thinking?'"
With even comic fans disappointed, Green Lantern's reputation plummeted entirely.
"Childish dialogue and weak character development undercut what could've been amazing special effects."
"Watching Green Lantern is a harmless way to waste two hours of your life, but I can't imagine anyone seeing this green-suited character as a rival to Batman."
"Green Lantern isn't just bad; it's somehow worse than Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer!"
"The story is just lazily average, and the way it's trying to set up a sequel is downright irritating."
By Sunday, daily earnings had fallen below $10 million, with the weekend total coming to $39.5 million.
The CinemaScore audience rating, based on a survey of over 4,000 moviegoers, awarded Green Lantern an average grade of "B-," which was discouraging for any movie.
On Monday, CinemaScore released its projection for Green Lantern's North American box office, predicting that it would struggle to even reach $100 million domestically.
For a film with such a massive investment, this was undeniably a disaster.
Subsequent box office data confirmed it. Green Lantern not only fell far short of Warner Bros. and DC's expectations for its opening weekend, but by its second weekend, it had already lost its top spot on the box office charts.
Initially, no major studio had scheduled a blockbuster to open against Green Lantern in its second weekend due to Warner Bros.' heavy investment and the film's anticipated box office performance. The most expensive release in that weekend lineup was Universal's modest $32 million production, Bridesmaids.
However, Bridesmaids topped the box office with $26.7 million, pushing Green Lantern to second place.
Green Lantern's second weekend saw a 65% drop, earning just $13.8 million. By the end of that weekend, its North American box office earnings barely crossed the $50 million mark.
Many movies with poor domestic box office performance can rely on international markets, but Green Lantern fared no better overseas.
Reflecting its weak performance in North America, Green Lantern grossed only $31 million across 80+ countries and regions during its opening international weekend.
With this trajectory, industry experts doubted the film would exceed $150 million worldwide. Looking over the summer release schedule, Matthew knew Green Lantern's path was unlikely to change.
In Green Lantern's third weekend, Marvel Comics' close competitor, X-Men: First Class, hit North American theaters, produced by 20th Century Fox.
Matthew, preparing for his role in American Sniper, accepted invitations from James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to attend the X-Men: First Class premiere.
Afterward, he invited Jennifer Lawrence, who played Mystique, back to his place, capturing some memorable "training sessions," which she later even photographed herself "as a keepsake."
Jennifer Lawrence possessed many qualities of a rising star: strong stage presence, the willingness to market herself, and bold ambition. Yet Matthew felt a bit disappointed—Lawrence had earned an Oscar nomination, and with her upcoming role as Mystique, her rate for The Hunger Games sequel would surely rise.
As for X-Men: First Class, its $55.1 million opening weekend wasn't huge, but Fox, with the success of the previous X-Men trilogy, had kept promotion costs under control. It still topped the box office.
In contrast, Green Lantern faced another 60% drop, bringing in just $5.1 million over the weekend and falling out of the top five.
Theater numbers for Green Lantern dropped sharply from nearly 4,100 to less than 3,000.
Matthew learned from Warner Bros. that director Martin Campbell was now on the studio's blacklist. Studios quietly dropped their projects with him, and, as Helen Herman noted, the 60-year-old Campbell would likely retire from the industry.
The poor reception forced Warner Bros. to adjust its Justice League plans. The Justice League universe couldn't be abandoned entirely, so they chose to sacrifice Green Lantern.
Warner Bros. revised its approach, opting to make Zack Snyder's Man of Steel the universe's starting point instead. To ensure success, they hired Christopher Nolan as the producer.
Green Lantern, however, was temporarily shelved from the Justice League plans.
Warner Bros. reached out to Matthew once more, offering him $30 million plus 15% of gross revenue to play Clark Kent. The studio was truly pushing for a successful start to the Justice League Universe.
But Matthew declined due to scheduling conflicts. With American Sniper, Fast & Furious 6, and The Martian lined up, he simply had neither the interest nor time for a superhero role.
Green Lantern's failure had affected Warner Bros.' Justice League plans, but it impacted Will Smith most profoundly.
Since losing I Am Legend to Matthew years ago, this return to a Hollywood tentpole project had not yielded the success he had hoped for. Instead, it had become one of Hollywood's most notorious box office failures in recent years.
If it had been 2007, a single flop—even one with a $250 million production cost—would not have hurt Will's career as badly. However, with no big hit since The Pursuit of Happyness, the fallout from Green Lantern was more damaging than it seemed on the surface.
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