It was close to the New Year of 2006. Nearly two months after its release, "Wanted" relied on the accumulation of time to finally pass the US$200 million mark at the North American box office.
After a new weekend, the North American box office has accumulated 204 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office has exceeded 450 million U.S. dollars.
At the same time, it set Martin's highest box office record.
Since the film schedule of North American theaters has dropped to less than 200 theaters, and the attendance rate is so low that it can be ignored, Warner Bros. is preparing to fully release DVD after the New Year.
Martin's main job recently is to promote the film's DVD release.
He participated in an investment of 5 million US dollars in this project, and he can get a share of the box office and subsequent profits.
Before the New Year, the official website of Coke God Cult was officially launched.
The homepage of the website is a large poster of the leader Martin. He is holding a Coke scepter, wearing a red robe and a red crown. He is more powerful than the Pope of the Vatican.
The main Internet forum of the Coke God Cult has also been transferred from Martin's personal blog to the official website of the Coke God Cult.
In just one week, the number of users who have registered as members of the Coke Church of God through the official website has exceeded 3 million, and the number is increasing by hundreds of thousands every day.
In addition to promoting the activities of the Coke Cult, the website also has a dedicated leader section for church members to worship online.
It is no exaggeration to say that Martin already has a considerable number of die-hard fans among the two major groups of movie fans and Coca-Cola cults.
As the number of registered members of the Coca-Cola Cult soared, even Coca-Cola’s stock experienced a wave of continuous gains around the New Year.
Warren Buffett, Coca-Cola's largest shareholder, specifically mentioned Martin in a New Year's interview with the Wall Street Journal: "I know Martin Davis, a magical Hollywood star. His movies are very good, and the Coca-Cola cult he created is even more... In a stroke of genius, Coca-Cola’s management has done a good job and hired him as a spokesperson. If there is an opportunity, I will talk to him face to face.”
Once these words were exposed, Martin's reputation was raised.
Not all members of the Coca-Cola Cult will watch the movie starring Martin, but as long as one-third are willing to buy tickets, it may increase the film's first-week box office by tens of millions of dollars.
After the New Year holiday, after seeing off Blake who was back on vacation, Martin transformed into an enthusiastic autograph signing machine, running around in major cities across the United States to sign the DVD of "Wanted".
On the first day of the signing, there was a long queue at the Beverly Commercial Center, with hundreds of movie fans wanting to get the DVD set signed by Martin as soon as possible.
As a sponsor, Coca-Cola also held a joint event with Warner Bros. Anyone who purchased the $39.9 commemorative DVD set would receive a Coca-Cola commemorative Coke.
Martin knows very well that at this stage, the fans who can come early in the morning and line up to buy DVDs are the basis of his status and income.
Therefore, even though his status has improved significantly, he still faces his supporters with the most enthusiastic attitude.
"Thank you for your support." Martin would say this every time he signed.
And fans who buy the regular version and the commemorative version will not be treated differently.
By the time he finished signing all morning, Martin's face was numb from smiling and his hands were so tired that they were sore.
He left the store without being interviewed by reporters, got into a commercial vehicle, and went to the nearby Four Seasons Hotel to rest before rushing to the afternoon book signing event.
Bruce and Thomas were with us the entire time.
When they arrived at the hotel, the three of them went to the restaurant to eat together. Bruce asked for ice cubes to help Martin apply ice.
Thomas asked with concern: "Will it be stressful? Shorten the time in the afternoon?"
"No need." Martin shook his head and said with a smile: "This pressure is nothing. Compared with my low-level life in Atlanta, the pressure of being a star is much greater."
Bruce echoed: "The gangs are rampant, the income is extremely low, they don't even have a house, and the whole family even has no money for tomorrow's living expenses after today. What does the pressure of a star mean?"
Thomas has never experienced such a life: "Perhaps the experience in Atlanta has given you a super high ability to withstand stress."
"Compared to my previous life, I feel like I'm living in paradise now." There was no one else around, so Martin spoke more casually: "Luxury cars, mansions, beauties, money, if these are considered stress, I'd rather be more stressed than the Himalayas. big!"
Thomas thought about Jolie and Aniston, and he wanted to have that kind of pressure.
After lunch, Martin and Bruce went upstairs.
Bruce looked at his phone and saw the message from the bodyguard in the dark. He whispered: "Aniston is here and went to your suite."
Martin sighed forcefully.
Bruce patted him on the shoulder and brought up the topic: "You look very stressed?"
Martin said: "I can't talk about the pressure. The main reason is that some academic issues are difficult to study, such as why butterflies on the shore have a seafood smell, which methods are most suitable for detecting tunnels, and under what conditions can water be drawn..."
Bruce couldn't help but ponder these purely academic questions.
Martin entered the suite and actually studied profound issues with Aniston with a rigorous academic attitude.
Learning can make people progress.
In the afternoon, although he was a little tired, Martin still showed up at a chain store near California Institute of Technology in Pasanade with good professionalism and enthusiasm and continued to sign DVDs.
At the end of the day, he signed nearly 2,000 wanted DVDs alone.
Julie, who went to the East Coast, was also very popular, and the autograph signing scene was a blast.
After having dinner outside, Martin returned to the Coty community.
When they arrived at the door of their home, Gillian Flynn from across the road waved to the Escalade.
Martin lowered the window and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Jillian smiled and said, "I want to chat with you and get some exclusive news."
The project "Never Ending" originated from Gillian's introduction to Alan Grien. Seeing that there were few people around, Martin got out of the car and stood on the side of the road: "If you have any questions, just ask."
Entertainment Weekly, which Jillian works for, is also considered a stylish entertainment media. She did not ask about trivia, but about movies: "I heard that during the filming of "The Departed", you, Leonardo and Nicholson formed An organization?”
Martin scratched his face and smiled sheepishly: "It's just a small team for eating, drinking and having fun."
Gillian was very interested: "What's it called? It's not called the Gang of Bad Guys, right? There's already one in Hollywood."
This matter can be revealed to the outside world, Martin said: "Call it a trio, Nicholson is the boss, then Leo, I am at the bottom."
He also did not forget to pass the blame: "What the trio did was basically decided by Nicholson and Leonardo. I could only follow them and wave the flag."
Jillian didn't have the slightest doubt, because from qualifications to position to age, Martin was indeed the lowest.
She added: "We just had an exclusive interview with Director Scorsese. According to him, the three of you were in amazingly good condition during the filming, and it added a lot of highlights to the film, is that right? "
Martin is quite confident about this: "Yes! I can responsibly say that the audience will see brand-new Leonardo, Nicholson and Martin Davis in The Departed! Don't use previous roles to define us , because we have made a new breakthrough."
Gillian used a pen and notebook to write down all Martin's words.
Being next door to a popular star in the industry does bring a lot of exclusive rewards, but Jillian also knows when enough is enough and can't annoy Martin all at once.
She will also say good things to Martin in the media: "The DVD of "Wanted" just came out recently, right? I will write you a column specifically mentioning this."
Martin nodded and asked casually: "Have you created any new works recently? Or do you have any good recommendations?"
Hearing this, Gillian thought of "Never Ending". She obviously met Martin first, but Martin bought the adaptation rights of Alan Grien's work.
This stimulated Gillian, and she said: "I am planning a film that may take two years to complete."
Martin said something nice: "It must be a masterpiece."
"If I finish it, you can help me take a look." Gillian knew very well that if she wanted to be popular, she couldn't do it without film and television adaptation. She said a little bit appropriately: "I plan to use Agatha Christie as the prototype."
Martin asked: "Suspense type?"
Gillian didn’t say much: “Black suspense.”
Martin said: "I look forward to reading your work soon."
The two shook hands and quickly went back to their homes.
Gillian first sorted out Martin's interview records, and then reviewed the information, focusing on the famous disappearance of Agatha Christie in the 1920s, and planned to change the background to modern times.
Similarly, as a failure in marriage, Gillian scorns the family and marriage promoted by mainstream American society, believing that the essence of marriage is that men and women torture each other.
Just across the road, Martin finally gave himself a holiday. He didn't have to work hard tonight and had to hand over hundreds of millions.
He and Bruce entered the entertainment room, sat in front of two computers, and played a few rounds of CS.
In reality, Lao Bu is a better shooter than Martin.
During the game, he was beaten very badly by Martin.
When it was close to ten o'clock, Martin originally wanted to take a rest early, but Leonardo called: "The Face Gang is having an event tonight, will you come?"
As a backbone of the Face Gang, Martin certainly cannot miss gang activities. Besides, washing his face is also a kind of relaxing entertainment.
The Bastard Trio, plus Craven and Aja, show up at the Nightclub together.
The only pity is that the Foot Gang seems to have changed their base of activities. Since that night, the Face Gang and the Foot Gang have not met in group activities.
The next morning, Martin was in high spirits and took a plane to leave Los Angeles and head to San Francisco to continue signing DVDs.
The North American box office of "Wanted" has exceeded US$200 million, and the market response has been booming. The theater screening window is short, the male and female protagonists are highly talked about and have high fan support. In addition, the book signing activities are vigorous, and the DVD sales are booming after it is released.
DVD sets of various versions sold US$37.6 million in just one week!
Warner Bros. estimates that in the North American market alone, the one-year sales of Wanted DVD will exceed US$80 million!
DVD alone can support this era of crazy investment in Hollywood.
(The real-life Wanted DVD seems to have sold about $70 million a year.)
(End of chapter)
