Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm Chapter 555 - 554: The Influence of Martin and Tom

"Bruce, why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

As Bruce Wayne, wearing the Bat-mask, murmured this line on screen, the screen faded to black and the credits began to roll.

The next mont—

Inside the Hollywood TCL Chinese Theatre, the crowd erupted in applause, cheers, whistles, and shouts of approval.

The movie had run for over two hours, yet hardly anyone left their seat for a restroom break during the entire screening.

Throughout the showing, the theater was nearly silent—only the occasional suppressed gasp could be heard from the audience.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, was engrossed in the film, including the celebrities, directors, and critics who had co to support it.

It was clear: the film was a resounding success.

Leonardo stood up, clapping as he turned to Tobey Maguire. "Fuck, that Batman was too damn cool. I can’t believe Martin didn’t cast —damn it!"

Tobey clapped too and bluntly replied, "You couldn’t have played him. You’re not tall or built enough, and action scenes aren’t really your thing!"

"Fuck, aside from the height, everything else can be trained! And even for height—I can wear lifts!" Leonardo grumbled.

"By the ti you’re in shape, the next Batman movie would be out next year!"

"I’m Leonardo DiCaprio, damn it. I’m worth the wait!"

Leonardo said smugly.

"Then go complain to Martin—tell him you wanna fuck him!" Tobey chuckled.

Leonardo’s expression froze and his bravado deflated instantly. "On second thought—never mind."

...

The next day, theaters across North Arica saw massive lines forming.

A chubby caraman lugging his equipnt muttered while filming the crowd, "Casey, these people are insane—it’s just a movie."

"Hey, what do you know? This is Martin’s Batman movie," said Casey, dressed in professional attire, rolling her eyes at her caraman. "Just listen to those keywords: Martin. Batman. If I weren’t working, I’d be in that line myself."

It was clear—Casey was also a Martin fan.

"Alright, let’s go do so interviews." Casey dragged her reluctant caraman along.

...

At Warner Bros. headquarters in Burbank.

In the conference room—

Top Warner executives, including Alan Horn, Christopher Nolan, and Martin, were gathered to discuss the just-released Batman Begins!.

Just then, the door opened and a strikingly attractive female assistant walked in with a stack of docunts.

But none of the n in the room looked at her body—they were all staring at the docunts in her hands.

Well—except for one.

Martin, that rascal, was blatantly admiring her curvy figure. Once he channeled his inner magic into his eyes, her form-fitting business outfit might as well have been invisible.

But soon, he withdrew his gaze, muttering internally, "Ugh, silicone implants. Boring."

The assistant didn’t notice Martin’s stare. She turned to Alan Horn and said, "Mr. Horn, I’ve compiled the advance screening data from last night."

"Read it," Horn instructed.

The assistant stood at the head of the table, opened the folder, and began reading:

"First, audience ratings. According to the third-party data agency we hired, they randomly distributed 3,200 surveys at over 300 theaters last night and received more than 2,600 responses. Among those who watched the film, 88% gave it an A rating. Most felt the film was excellent—an instant classic. The remaining responses were mostly in the B range."

Smiles lit up around the conference room.

This level of scoring ant the film was receiving stellar word-of-mouth.

"And the box office?" Horn asked.

The room imdiately fell silent again, all eyes returning to the assistant.

She swallowed nervously and continued, "Batman Begins! had 2,450 advance screenings. Based on rough estimates from the theater alliance, the total box office from last night ca to about 16.2 million dollars!"

"Woah!!"

"That high?!"

"Unbelievable!"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly lightened, as gasps of excitent rippled through the group.

Martin once again congratulated Nolan.

This result even surpassed the performance in the original tiline. Martin figured his presence had played no small part in boosting the numbers.

...

anwhile, at the 20th Century Fox office building—

Inside another conference room.

Ridley Scott, Tom Cruise, William Monahan, and other mbers of the Kingdom of Heaven team, along with Fox executives, were present.

President Alan Ladd Jr. stared at the box office report for Batman Begins, his expression sour.

"Can soone tell why we decided to release Kingdom of Heaven just one week after Warner’s Batman? Didn’t anyone think the close timing would affect our box office?"

A senior executive quickly responded, "Mr. Ladd, we actually locked in our release date first."

Alan Ladd Jr. shot him a glare. "What, never heard of adapting to the situation? You need to teach you that too?"

The executive shrank back. "Apologies, sir."

Ridley Scott stepped in to ease the tension. "It’s too late to change the date now. And our film’s been getting great early reviews—it might still hold up against Batman."

"Critics?" Alan Ladd Jr. sneered. Ever since Martin publicly clashed with critics, film studios had drastically reduced their reliance on them.

Because, as Martin had pointed out, the rise of the internet had greatly diminished critics’ influence over audiences.

Even without Martin’s confrontation, studios would’ve eventually realized this themselves. By 2010, the industry would abandon critics altogether.

In fact, after 2010 in the original tiline, few studios were still spending large amounts on critic-focused PR.

At this point, Kingdom of Heaven screenwriter William Monahan finally spoke. He was confident in his work.

He told Alan Ladd Jr.:

"If our North Arican box office can surpass $170 million, we’ll break even. The overseas and DVD markets can gradually turn a profit. We definitely won’t lose money. I’m confident Kingdom of Heaven will reach $170 million. Look at Troy—terrible reviews, but still cleared $200 million in North Arica!"

Then he added, "At least a third of Batman Begins box office is thanks to Martin’s influence. And we’ve got Tom—his draw should bring in at least fifty million!"

Alan Ladd Jr.’s expression softened a bit. "Let’s hope so."

But Tom Cruise felt a twinge of unease.

His mind drifted back to what Martin had said at the premiere...