— Vought Tower, General POV —
"Holy shit, have these numbers been verified?" Ashley Barrett asked out loud as she stared at the numbers on her computer.
"964.72 million dollars box office in the opening weekend." Also Ashley said with a nod of her head which pleased the CEO.
Those numbers were very impressive. While Vough certainly had quite a few movies with higher opening weekends, only two Origin story came close- Homelander: Origins and A Hero's Story. (Soldier Boy's Origin film). And that was with adjusted for inflation.
She had not expected this kind of an outcome.
"What did the audience thought of the movie?" Ashley asked as there was a few movies that can have a good box office but is considered shit by the fans.
"There has been a very positive overall reaction. IMDB score is 8.2, Rottentomatoes critics score is 86%, and audience score is 83%. Khan movie is off the charts in many aspects but…" Also Ashley said as she typed on her phone before turning it over to Ashley "There is an issue…"
"What is it?" Ashley looked over the phone, it contained an internal fan poll conducted by Vought.
Regarding Khan's code name.
It showed that fans 0-5 years old shown mildly positive view for the name. 6-10 years have mildly positive view. 11-18 has shown to be natural. 18-25 mild dislike. 26-35 shown mild dislike. 35-55 shown mild dislike. 55-65 shown dislike. And 65+ were shown to be natural. Overall there is a mild dislike to the
Ashley was silent. She of course knew of the problem.
The name Khan did not resonate well with the American people nor did it test well in large markets like China.
She is actually in talks with Khan's manager to change the name in his official induction to the Seven, but the talks are not going great as Adem himself seems little unwilling to change it, and it is very difficult for her to force a change like this without Homelander's direct support.
"We already offered him 10 million dollars for the name change, however, since he has 5% gross compensation of a potentially multibillion dollar movie is coming his way he is not short on money." Also Ashley said much to Ashley's annoyance
"What else can we do?"
"We can threaten Khan with his removal from the Seven," Also Ashley suggested but this time Ashley immediately dismissed the idea
"No. Khan is joining the Seven, and that is final." She said as she remembered the time Homelander ordered her to get Khan into the Seven.
Not told her to get him, but ordered her to get him. And she was not dumb enough to ignore a direct order from Homelander just because Vought's revenue might mildly be slightly negatively effected because of a stupid name.
"I want brain storm ideas, get the best writters in the business. Have them come up with Hero names for Khan, we will find one that perfectly represents him, and offer him the rights to the name." She said much to Also Ashley's shock.
Vought owned the rights to all hero names they came up with. They owned A-Train, Deep, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, and even Homelander trademarks.
So that Supes can't open their own business under their codenames and leave Vought. It is one of their methods to keep monopoly on hero business. 'Keep them rich, but not too rich.'
"I will arange it, but he already rejected the names we suggested: Homeboy, Superboy, Sentry, Starboy, Starman, Green Star, and even my personal favorite Superman." Also Ashley supplied
"Ashley, of course he didn't like those basic ass names." Ashley admonish her. "Find a better name, and if you can't, shut the fuck up."
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-- Adem's Apartment, General POV --
"Jesus Christ," Cate mumbled as she looked at the numbers, her original expectation of 800 million box office was blown out of the window. "We should be getting over 50 million dollars from this weekend alone, a few more weeks and we might be looking at 100 million dollars."
Adem found it hard to believe as well, highest grossing box office opening in his old world was Avengers: Endgame at 1.2 billion dollars, and the second highest was Infinity War at 640 million dollars.
Both movies made over 2 billion dollars and Adem's movie was likely to be in that range as well, meaning he would never be short of money- not that he was ever worried about it but this brought another form of security.
"They are also offering 10 million dollars for a name change, and are willing to let you keep the name rights for the new name they are coming up with." Cate said and Adem ruffled his hair ever so slightly.
The money was good, and owning the name was a nice touch, but he was not sure of letting them name him. "What do you think?"
"Well... From a professional point of view changing your codename as you are entering the Seven is a smart move, your name tests poorly with the audience. But it is not a major issue, and they seem to like you enough if the box office is any indication. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether you change it or not, so do what you feel is right."
Adem thought about it for a moment before nodding his head, "Alright, arrange a meeting, if I like the name tell them I am willing to change the name, but don't let it be something dumb like Superman."
Author Note: So many people have a problem with name Khan. Suggest your codenames here, if I like one I might change the name, if not I am not changing it. I like the name well enough.
Author Note 2: Do you think Russians already have Compound V formula down? They had Soldier Boy for decades, and they created Jamie (Flying Hamster), if so do you think they have V1?