At the beginning of April, "National Treasure" officially withdrew from the North American cinema market. Although Matthew didn't attend the Razzie Awards before the Oscars like Halle Berry did, the professional reputation of the film continued to decline.
By the time the film was pulled from theaters, the Rotten Tomatoes website, which collects film reviews from critics, showed a fresh rating of only 45%. Judging by the critics' scores alone, "National Treasure" was definitely a box office bomb.
However, the reality was quite the opposite. This family-friendly entertainment movie, with a North American box office of $225.6 million, outperformed Twentieth Century Fox's "The Day After Tomorrow" at $186.7 million and "The Bourne Supremacy" at $172.64 million, ranking seventh in the 2004 North American box office.
With a production budget of $100 million, "National Treasure" returned $225.6 million in the North American box office, which can definitely be described as a great success.
Moreover, the film's performance overseas was also quite good, having appeared in nearly a hundred countries and regions so far, with overseas box office totaling more than $200 million, amounting to $243.2 million.
To date, "National Treasure" has accumulated a global box office of $468.2 million.
Although the film has not yet been pulled from some overseas markets, the remaining screenings are mostly in places like the Faroe Islands and Haiti, where the box office earnings are negligible.
The film's final global box office will unlikely exceed $500 million.
But the figure of $468.2 million was enough to make everyone involved in the film grin from ear to ear.
Even though "National Treasure" had poor professional reviews, it couldn't change the fact of its commercial success, and Matthew once again proved his market value in action films.
Disney Studios, due to its connection with Walt Disney, was somewhat chaotic and couldn't focus on a sequel. However, as one of the film's producers, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, had already scheduled a sequel and had someone tentatively contact Helen Herman.
Helen Herman was unapologetic, given Matthew's consecutive box office successes, and with the added bonus of sequel fees, she told the representative from Jerry Bruckheimer Films that without a $20 million salary, there was no point in discussing Matthew's contract for the sequel.
Afterward, there was no news from Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Matthew guessed that they were probably waiting to see Disney Studios' stance.
"National Treasure" nearing $500 million in global box office was definitely good news for Matthew, and another piece of good news also came.
Zack Snyder, far away in New York, called Matthew. The test footage he produced had finally won Frank Miller's approval. With lobbying from a PR expert hired by Helen Herman and the promise of the success of his last film, Frank Miller in principle agreed to start negotiating the rights for "300 Spartans" with Zack Snyder and Matthew.
"The negotiations will not start immediately."
In the office of Angel Agency, Helen Herman adjusted her glasses and said, "I've got news from my people, Frank Miller won't start negotiations with us until the end of April at the earliest."
Matthew was puzzled, "Why is that?"
"Have you been focusing all your energy on Charlize Theron lately?" Helen Herman reminded him, "Sin City just premiered on April 1st, and it's been a huge hit. We need to wait for this film's box office and reputation to continue to rise, so Frank Miller can demand a higher price."
Matthew slapped his forehead, "I overlooked 'Sin City.'"
Helen Herman gave him a look, "You and Charlize Theron better be careful, or it could get messy."
"Don't worry," Matthew assured her. "Her safety awareness is even higher than mine."
He brought the conversation back on track, "How much do you think the licensing fee will be?"
"It's hard to say," Helen Herman thought for a moment. "In today's Hollywood, original movies are becoming less successful, and adapted movies are getting more attention from major companies. The rights for popular novels, comics, or other adaptable materials have at least doubled since before 2000."
"Yeah," Matthew nodded. "We can't change the big environment."
In today's Hollywood, if an unknown screenwriter, with an original commercial script, goes to a movie company, the chances of being utilized are negligible.
Like Simon Kimber, if it weren't for the recommendation of producer Akiva Goldsman and an Oscar-winning screenwriter, Peak Entertainment would be crazy to take on a script like "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."
But with Akiva Goldsman's recommendation, it's a different story.
Helen Herman then said, "The rise in adaptation costs is indeed troubling." She sighed lightly, "My people have sounded out Frank
Miller, and his bottom line is $8 million, twice what we expected."
Matthew frowned; that was definitely not a small figure.
Helen Herman continued, "Given the current situation in Hollywood, Frank Miller will also demand a share of the post-release profits."
"Post-release sharing?" Matthew suddenly felt like he and Zack Snyder were being strong-armed.
"Don't be surprised, and don't feel sudden," Helen Herman remained calm. "Sin City is currently doing very well, not just with professional critics but also with movie fans. In the past, the industry thought Frank Miller's work was too stylistically strong and not suitable for film adaptations, so despite the big names of 'Sin City' and '300 Spartans,' no movie company had adapted them."
Matthew understood her point, "But now things have changed. 'Sin City' is basically confirmed to be a success, and given the style of Hollywood's major companies, someone will definitely take interest in Frank Miller's other works."
He suddenly realized something, "Zack Snyder had been with the test footage to Frank Miller long ago, and only now Frank Miller has expressed his stance. Frank Miller must be deliberately delaying, right?"
"It's definitely intentional," Helen Herman was very sure of this. "Even if Frank Miller himself didn't think of it, his agent would have asked him to do this."
Matthew stood up and paced, frowning, "Frank Miller completely holds the upper hand, and that can't be changed."
Helen Herman nodded slightly, "Indeed."
"Post-release sharing is one thing," Matthew paced back and forth, his thoughts becoming clearer, "but the increased adaptation licensing fee is the trouble."
At this point, Matthew realized that he and Zack Snyder basically had no experience in operating movies, nor did Helen Herman have much experience in this area, overlooking many important issues.
Especially regarding finances, they had only planned for an adaptation fee budget of three to four million dollars.
He turned to Helen Herman, "As far as I know, Zack Snyder doesn't have that much money. His salary for directing 'Dawn of the Dead' was only a few hundred thousand dollars, all thrown into the production of the test footage, and most of the salary he earned as a commercial and music video director had turned into fixed assets."
This matter was specifically mentioned by Zack Snyder when they discussed producing the test footage.
Matthew pointed at himself, "I don't have that much money either, most of the money I've earned has also turned into fixed assets. Our initial thought was that three to four million dollars in adaptation fees would be enough, but now..."
He shook his head; unless he sold his Apple shares, but even without understanding investment and financial markets, he knew it would be incredibly foolish to liquidate Apple shares at this time.
Apple shares were one of his future securities, even if he became as notorious as Nicolas Cage, he could still live comfortably.
Helen Herman also stood up, pacing like Matthew, and said, "Actually, there's a way."
"Hmm?" Matthew looked at her, asking, "What's the way? Don't keep me in suspense."
"We bring in a movie production company to negotiate with Frank Miller," Helen Herman slowly said. "Let the movie company fund the purchase of the rights to '300 Spartans.'"
Hearing this, Matthew was initially pleased, then felt it was not quite right, asking, "If the movie production company gets the rights, they hold the initiative. If they oppose Zack Snyder directing or disagree with me starring, that would be bad..."
Helen Herman continued, "That's not impossible." She thought for a moment, then said, "There are ways to balance this, like first agreeing on terms with Frank Miller, reaching an agreement, and stipulating in the transfer of rights agreement that the director must be Zack Snyder and the lead actor must be you."
Matthew considered for a while and said, "That sounds difficult, doesn't it?"
Helen Herman nodded, "It should be very difficult. If Frank Miller knows that Zack Snyder and you don't have enough funds, he might very likely bypass us and negotiate directly with the movie company."
According to Helen Herman's strategy, Matthew was confident that with the recent box office performance of the films he starred in, production companies and Frank Miller kicking him out was not likely, but it wasn't the same for Zack Snyder, as he had only directed one film.
With such a strong personal style in '300 Spartans,' without Zack Snyder, Matthew really didn't have the courage to try.
Helen Herman then said, "There's another way! If we can find an investor, not a movie company, as long as they are willing to pay, the lack of funds can be solved, and even the production costs can be resolved."
"Investor?" Matthew immediately thought of the investor who financed 'Underworld,' but he seemed not very wealthy.
Then, he thought of another candidate, leaned over to Helen Herman, and whispered a name.
"Let's try it
," Helen Herman said. "If that doesn't work, there's still the mortgage loan route."
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