Chapter 759: Bound to Lose

Russell Crowe's Robin Hood drew plenty of attention. With a $200 million production budget and a focus on the legendary British hero, it logically should have seen a strong return, but the outcome fell short of expectations.

The film's premiere screening opened to a tepid response and ended without applause. By comparison, the press conference was far more explosive. It was the same all over the world: as long as there were stars, a movie would generate enough attention.

However, when television crews set up cameras at theater exits to interview audiences about their impressions, most respondents called the film "very average" and "nothing special."

"The concurrent plotlines of political turmoil, ancestral roots, and budding romance make the story bloated and tedious. In the second half, the narrative threads become chaotic, failing to distinguish what is important and completely losing their momentum. The film focuses on the birth and origins of Robin Hood, but unfortunately, his character development feels incomplete and superficial. A lack of climaxes throughout the movie limits audience enthusiasm, and the excellent cultural atmosphere and period charm cannot save the film."

The epic film's online reputation collapsed the moment the premiere and advance screenings ended.

"Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett play the leads, and I can't think of a more uninteresting on-screen couple. It was an absolute disaster."

David Ellison wanted this film to succeed, but too many traditional Hollywood powers wanted him to fail. Duke was just one of them.

If the film's audience reception had been strong enough, there actually wouldn't have been much they could do. But the word of mouth was truly abysmal. Russell Crowe's portrayal of Robin Hood was widely mocked for being too old and fat, drawing endless complaints.

Many people in Hollywood quietly and tacitly banded together to suppress Robin Hood. This wasn't just directed at David Ellison, but also at Russell Crowe.

This former Oscar best actor and twenty million club member had a temper remarkably similar to Mel Gibson's. He was practically synonymous with arrogance and conceit. During the years when he was at the height of his popularity and box office draw, his attitude toward studios and talent agencies was beyond atrocious. Back then, his market value was high enough that those people tolerated him for the sake of commercial interests. But just like Tom Cruise before him, the moment his career slipped, they naturally stuck their feet out to kick him while he was down.

As Robin Hood opened in wide release on Friday, scandals regarding Russell Crowe and Robin Hood spread across the internet at lightning speed. Relevant information could be seen in prime spots on websites like Instant Sharing and Google.

They highlighted how, during preparation for Robin Hood, Russell Crowe had demanded a change of director, a script rewrite, and the replacement of the female lead, Sienna Miller, right on the eve of filming.

The 44-year-old Russell Crowe was no longer the muscular tough guy he used to be. He was now another version of Tom Hanks. Even though Disney had set up a strict fitness plan for him, he hadn't managed to shed his excess fat at all. He had a sex scene with the female lead in Robin Hood, and he worried that since he was old and fat while the initially cast Sienna Miller was young, beautiful, and slender, filming the scene together would definitely turn him into a laughingstock. Thus, he demanded the producers replace Sienna Miller.

Big stars always had their privileges. Just like that, Sienna Miller lost her leading role, and the relatively less striking Cate Blanchett took her place.

Once this news spread widely, coupled with Robin Hood's wide and fat appearance in the film, Russell Crowe instantly became the laughingstock of the entire nation...

Although Disney and Russell Crowe's agency, William Morris, tried their best to dispel the rumors, claiming that Sienna Miller left the cast due to scheduling conflicts, mockery of Russell Crowe could be seen everywhere online.

"Russell Crowe went way too far..."

"They should have swapped her for Whoopi Goldberg..."

A male lead who failed to win over the audience would undoubtedly drag down a movie, not to mention that the film's quality was painfully average to begin with.

Perhaps thanks to the good reputation Ridley Scott had built up over decades, and the fact that the online information had yet to fully ferment, Robin Hood grossed a little over $10 million from more than 3,600 North American theaters on its opening Friday. It ranked second on the daily box office charts, which wasn't considered particularly terrible.

Ahead of it was Duke's Inception, which easily claimed the daily box office crown with $13.27 million.

By Saturday, the daily box office for Inception rose to $14.56 million, while Robin Hood suffered a massive slump, dragged down by its atrocious word of mouth and negative news. It pulled in a mere $6.21 million that day.

Compared to the massive sums invested in Robin Hood's production and marketing, anyone could see by now that this was a movie bound to make its investors bleed money.

"Rose, great news..."

Inside an independent apartment in West Hollywood, a middle-aged woman hurried into the gym.

"Robin Hood's opening weekend box office is far below expectations!" she said to Sienna Miller, who was sweating profusely on the treadmill.

Hearing this, Sienna Miller immediately turned off the treadmill and wiped her sweat with the towel draped around her neck.

"Are there specific numbers?" she asked her manager.

"In its first three days, it only brought in close to $21 million," the manager said, walking over quickly. "This movie is definitely going to lose money, and lose big! The CinemaScore Company predicts the film's final North American box office won't surpass $50 million!"

A rare smile appeared on Sienna Miller's previously stiff face. A film like Robin Hood could indeed recoup its investment through various channels, but how many years would that take? Twenty? Thirty? How could they even calculate the resulting time costs and currency depreciation?

She knew very well that this movie was destined to lose money!

"It would be best if it lost even more!" Sienna Miller said through gritted teeth, her smile fading. "Let David Ellison suffer an even heavier loss, and let that bastard Russell Crowe roll right out of the A-list!"

Russell Crowe had constantly ostracized her within the production, and David Ellison had caved to his demands, making the decision to replace her.

From that moment on, Sienna Miller hated them to the extreme. She endlessly hoped for Robin Hood to fail.

Then there was her talent agency. Sienna Miller and Russell Crowe were both represented by William Morris, and the agency had undoubtedly favored him in the dispute. After all, compared to him, she was just a minor star.

Thinking of William Morris, a matter she had been contemplating for a long time surfaced in her mind again. She wanted to switch talent agencies. Someone had already approached her, but she had been hesitating.

"What about Inception?" she asked her manager. "How much did it make this weekend?"

"$39.25 million!" her manager said, seemingly aware of what Sienna Miller was thinking. "Duke Rosenberg's film has achieved a three-week streak at the top. Its cumulative North American box office has crossed $300 million, and its global box office is over $800 million!"

After a brief pause, the manager probed, "Rose, how are you coming along with Nancy Josephson's invitation?"

Sienna Miller frowned, but she didn't answer immediately.

Seeing her still hesitate, the manager urged, "William Morris went way too far with the Russell Crowe situation. They simply don't value you enough. On the other hand, at ICM, not only did Nancy Josephson invite you personally, but..."

"Joining ICM means there's a very high chance of working with Duke Rosenberg!" she added, emphasizing her words. "Don't you want to seize an opportunity like that?"

Only a fool wouldn't want to seize an opportunity like that!

Sienna Miller certainly wasn't a fool. She only considered it for a few seconds before nodding heavily.

"Get in touch with Nancy Josephson," she said.

As the workweek began, Robin Hood's daily box office plummeted to the one-million-dollar mark, sealing its fate as the first major commercial failure of this summer season. Inception, meanwhile, continued its steady box office trend. After crossing the $300 million threshold in North America, it was steadily marching toward $400 million, while its global box office was also smoothly approaching the one-billion-dollar milestone.

"Out of four major productions, David Ellison has already completely botched the first!"

Inside the lounge of Duke Manor, Scarlett Johansson set down the script she had been studying lately.

"Even if the published figures are inflated, Robin Hood's total investments across all areas will be at least $300 million," she said to Duke, who was peeling an orange. "Nearly half of that came from David Ellison. I'm sure it hurts him deeply."

Duke shrugged. "He has a rich dad."

That being said, Larry Ellison's money didn't exactly blow in on the wind. If David Ellison messed up too many times, Larry Ellison definitely wouldn't tolerate it indefinitely.

Having finished peeling the orange, Duke handed half to Scarlett and tossed a slice into his own mouth.

"I'd really like to see whether David Ellison will still be able to stay in this circle and keep playing his big-budget games if all four productions fail," he said.

"It probably won't take long," Scarlett mumbled while eating her orange. "Rumor has it Disney is already working on release schedules for TRON: Legacy, Alien Battlefield, and Battleship."

She seemed to remember something.

"TRON: Legacy is coming out this December," she reminded Duke. "It's very likely it'll clash with our new film."

The new film had long since passed Warner Brothers' review. Duke planned to officially begin preparations in June. To make it in time for next year's Oscars, the schedule was quite tight.

Just as he was considering this, a light knock rang out. Tina Fey pushed the door open and walked in.

"Martin Miller from William Morris wants to schedule a meeting with you?" she said to Duke.

Duke frowned slightly. What did Natalie Portman's agent want with him?