Global first-week box office almost hit 1.2 billion dollars, and director Davis finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He was even a little cocky about it. IMDb scored 9.0, Rotten Tomatoes gave 98% fresh. For a sci-fi film, that was a dream start no one could imagine.
With such good reception, the following box office wouldn't see any sudden drops, and Davis instantly became a hot name in Hollywood. The biggest beneficiaries were the director and the lead actor. For Davis, he became a prized asset in the eyes of movie studios—Disney, Sony, Universal, they were all lining up with extremely generous offers. Sony even wanted him to direct the newest James Bond series.
Davis had won numerous film awards before, and actors respected him, but investors and big companies often ignored him. Now the tables had turned. Hollywood was still a business at its core, and he couldn't help but remark on that.
Warner Bros. was even more eager, waving cash to get him to film the sequel immediately. If he wanted money, they'd pay; if he wanted people, they'd provide.
[What about the sequel? Why end just after Neo became the savior?]
[I want to see Neo wreak havoc everywhere.]
[So many things weren't explained—who's the prophet? What exactly is Neo supposed to do as the savior? Just being in the Matrix can't save humanity. And what about Morpheus' responsibility? My god, so many things weren't clear.]
[I'll give you a number—next month, the sequel comes out next month.]
A middle-aged man with thick hair, a big mouth, and tiny eyes, nicknamed "Hammerhead Shark," had a terrible reputation in Hollywood leadership circles.
"I'm planning The Matrix as a trilogy, plus several short animations expanding the world," Davis said. "For the two sequels, I hope to invite the original cast back."
"The original cast, of course," Hammerhead Shark nodded matter-of-factly. "Once a path is proven to be fast, there's no need to open new trails."
"The difficulty for the second film is Chu Zhi," Davis said. "It's hard to convince him to return."
"Huh?" Hammerhead Shark didn't believe it. "The Matrix might become the most famous sci-fi series in film history. How could any actor refuse?"
"Even if he doesn't act, he'll still be remembered in the entertainment world," Davis said. "In fact, he already has."
"Uh—" Hammerhead Shark choked, nearly forgetting Chu Zhi was just dabbling in acting, his real profession being a singer.
"And Unsinkable and Shiyi Lang have already cemented his name in film history," Davis sighed. "During filming, I tried to persuade him to star in the sequel, but I never got a firm answer."
Hammerhead Shark thought about it. Even condensing scenes, filming a Hollywood blockbuster takes five to six months.
Actors don't make that much money compared to what Chu Zhi earns as a singer. If Hammerhead Shark were choosing, he wouldn't want to film either.
"If—" Hammerhead Shark began, but Davis interrupted.
"Chu Zhi's box office draw is at least 400 million dollars worldwide," Davis said.
To be polite, he added, "And audiences would have a hard time accepting a new actor for Neo."
"The company will negotiate, and then offer Chu Zhi a price he can't refuse," Hammerhead Shark said.
Warner Bros. was one of Hollywood's big five, making over 35 billion dollars annually. Davis hoped they weren't bluffing, since Chu Zhi was the ideal Neo in his eyes.
With all this attention, the lead actor naturally faced countless invitations too. But Chu Zhi had declined every Western show and returned home. The roadshows for the film were done this week, and other activities would just waste his energy. He'd rather record albums to earn money quietly.
Because The Matrix was so popular, even Chu Zhi's appearance on Classic Chants 7 was overshadowed. He was essentially competing with himself for attention. Media students knew overexposure often backfires, but in the entertainment world, if you don't occupy the publicity space, someone else will. Even if it backfires, you can't skip the chance to claim your share. It kind of reminded Chu Zhi of how some phone apps keep escalating features for no reason.
"Should we change the venue for this year's Orange Festival?" Chu Zhi thought. The festival was in its sixth year, with one cancellation before due to injury.
"The Mountain City Convention Center works fine, and it holds a lot of memories," he decided, letting go of the idea of moving it.
Chu Zhi had a lot on his plate, plus recording two Mandarin albums.
A few days later, The Matrix was still dominating theaters, and Hollywood studios started making offers.
"Are these people crazy? Disney wants me to play a pirate captain in Pirates of the Caribbean, Universal invited me for Fast and Furious, Sony wants me to be the next 007. What the hell? An Asian MI6 agent?" Chu Zhi said, staring at the stack of invitations, his head spinning.
"Capitalists can do anything," Niu Jiangxue said. "As for the Asian Bond, Sony's writers even came up with a solution: James Bond carries out a dangerous mission wearing a human mask."
She added, "To convince me, they improvised lines: [James Bond: Is this mask too flashy? Q: Flashiest is safest. James Bond: Looks good, I might use the charm. Q: If necessary, it's designed by AI analyzing the world's most handsome faces. No human could look this perfect. James Bond: Agreed.]"
"Foreign screenwriters really are genius," Chu Zhi said, recalling a childhood TVB drama where the male lead quit mid-series. The script justified it with a resurrection plot, letting the actor swap seamlessly.
"Talent often comes out of necessity," he added.
"They've seen brother Jiu's box office pull," Niu Jiangxue said. "Capitalists will do anything to make money." She secretly hoped that if the human-mask Bond films became a series, Western kids would associate the ultimate spy James Bond with an Asian face.
"Maybe later," Chu Zhi replied. He wasn't interested in acting, not even for The Matrix 2. Both 007 and Matrix sequels involved too much action for too little return.
"Let's pick a release date for In Harmony," Chu Zhi suddenly shifted topics. "Why not ride the movie's momentum?"
The songs performed during the world tour would be compiled into an album, simply titled In Harmony.
"Sounds good, I'll have the team draft a plan," Niu Jiangxue said after thinking.
"Brother Jiu, do you want yesterday's box office report?" she asked before leaving.
"Report? No need," he shook his head.
He cared far more about Unsinkable than The Matrix, since the latter's investment was smaller.
TOHO Cinema, Shinjuku branch, was completely booked today.
The neon called movies "eiga," meaning foreign films. TOHO had eleven theaters, the largest seating over four hundred.
The cinema was rented by Oshima Suezuka, eldest son of the Oshima family, for his wedding.
It was his wedding with Sasaki Kira, both members of "Chu Zhi's Strongest Supporters Club," where they met.
"Never expected the department head and our fan club's flower to be together."
"I think it suits them. Oshima Suezuka's very spirited."
"Hosting the reception at a cinema is so creative. First time I've seen this."
"Strange, why isn't Uesaka here?"
"Uesaka pursued Sasaki for a while, but she chose Suezuka. Total proactive type."
Guests murmured among themselves.
They picked the cinema because Suezuka credited Chu Zhi for giving him the strength to live happily. Plus, he met his fiancée through the fan club. The timing of the wedding during The Matrix release allowed them to book the theater, support the movie's box office, and make it unique.
Mrs. Oshima attended, but Suezuka's father, Oshima Jiro, didn't show, citing "work." Suezuka didn't mind; he'd handle it.
"Suezuka, arranging the photo of Rong-san like this—is it okay?" Sasaki Kira hesitated.
"No problem, it'll be fine," he said, placing Chu Zhi's photo in the spot of his father, thankfully choosing a color photo.
The Matrix's global run lasted two months, some places even three, squeezing every potential viewer.
By July, it ended, with final box office:
North America: 721 million
China: 522 million
Japan: 201 million
UK: 117 million
South Korea: 114 million
Brazil: 86.54 million
Germany: 82.31 million
All amounts in dollars. Global total: 2.501 billion, third highest in history. Less than Never Sinks' 2.592 billion by under a hundred million.
If you've seen both films' detailed data, you'd know The Matrix underperformed because North America and China, the two biggest markets, earned less.
Sci-fi still couldn't get female fans to watch three or four times, but the result was impressive. It was like a massive ship braving waves worldwide, with Chu Zhi creating a storm of his own.