Chapter 342

They were still mulling over the comedy's underwhelming box office, when right after it came *Interstellar*, which once again seized the weekly box office crown for four consecutive weeks!

*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* didn't even snag a single day at the top of the box office!

The rankings are one thing, but this kind of thing really shakes shareholder confidence,

so Time Warner's stock tumbled along with it, shrinking by 10% every single day!

Weren't they saying *Interstellar* was too deep and incomprehensible?

Weren't they saying everyone preferred light, brainless, family-friendly popcorn movies?

All one can say is that Xu Can's *Interstellar* isn't his highest-grossing film, so compared to himself it's admittedly a bit tough.

But compared to everyone else, it's still a crushing, overwhelming-level presence!

This month, Paramount's big-ticket *Inglourious Basterds* hits theaters!

Director Tarantino, starring Not-So-Hot Pitt and Fassbender!

This is absolutely a guarantee for drawing in the box office!

Paramount figured that the freshly released *Inglourious Basterds* could at least wrestle a bit with the nearly-wrapping *Interstellar*,

but when the results came out, the weekly box office champion was still *Interstellar*—$50.5 million, with a cumulative global gross already past $900 million!

*Inglourious Basterds* only pulled in $37.6 million in its opening weekend, a far cry from Xu Can's film!

"Boss, the good news is that *Interstellar*'s screenings are about to be cut, so we have a chance to take back the box office crown!"

the assistant hurriedly advised.

Brian Luo Bin heard this news and felt marginally better.

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is... next week *Thor* premieres."

The assistant's expression was thoroughly awkward.

"F**k!!!"

Brian Luo Bin was about to lose it—how was Xu Can's shadow everywhere?

He had basically been hogging the box office from the start of the early summer slate in early May all the way to the tail end of the summer slate!

Universal, Paramount, Disney, Warner, Fox—these traditional giants combined, and they still couldn't take down a single Xu Can?

What a sin!

……

*Interstellar*'s box office entered its final phase, gradually declining.

But the Hollywood giants still couldn't be happy.

*Thor* had arrived!

Again it's Xu Can, again it's Marvel!

The big-shot companies' CEOs and executives had originally planned to put up some resistance,

but now, upon seeing the two words "Xu Can," or upon seeing a Marvel movie, they simply lay flat.

What's there to fight for? Fight for second place—box office champion is out of the question.

Sure enough, just as everyone expected, *Thor* was indeed plenty dominant, claiming the top spot in its opening weekend without a shred of suspense!

……

Xu Can's original plan had been to compress *Thor 1* and *2* into a single film,

telling Thor's origin story, then setting up the Dark Elves as the villains, and casually bringing in the Aether—the red Reality Stone.

Later, thinking it over, he realized this would inevitably make the film rather bloated, ruining Marvel movies' signature crisp, clean pacing.

The main characters in *Thor* are Thor and Loki, and those two deserved more ink.

Adding the Dark Elves on top would throw the balance off.

*Thor* would easily turn into another *Spider-Man 3* or *The Amazing Spider-Man 2*—the kind of work where the reputation collapses.

Given *Thor*'s role in the slate, there really was no need to pile on too much,

the origin story mainly just needed to focus on Thor and Loki.

So Xu Can rebooted, using the original *Thor 1* as the foundation, and added a bit more ink to the portrayals of Thor and Loki.

The original 115-minute film was expanded to 130 minutes!

For this *Thor* premiere, Xu Can chose not to attend.

He was afraid Tay-Tay, Stone Sister, or ScarJo would get upset—publicly bringing any one of them would be awkward.

He stuck with his old method: the master of time management.

In a single day, he watched the morning show with Emma Stone, spent the afternoon with Scarlett Johansson, and the evening with Taylor Swift.

All three actresses were given their slot on the same day,

and even then they still praised Xu Can.

……

The morning *Thor* premiered.

Emma Stone, fresh from her yoga class, happily looped her arm through Xu Can's.

The two of them watched an early screening of *Thor* together.

"You only have time in the morning, and you still came out to see a movie with me. Looks like you do care about me~" Emma Stone said, thoroughly content.

"Of course, you'll always be my most important Gwen."

Xu Can affectionately kissed her.

……

In the afternoon, Xu Can took Scarlett Johansson to watch *Thor* for the second time.

"You're only free in the afternoon, and you still agreed to meet me—why didn't you ask them?"

Scarlett Johansson usually has a commanding presence, full of the charm and confidence of a mature woman.

But facing Xu Can and matters of the heart, Scarlett Johansson loses some of that confidence.

With Xu Can and Taytay and Stone Sister already in the picture, she's the one intruding.

"Because I dote on you. This precious afternoon—I want to spend it with you. Don't tell anyone; I told them I was already away on a business trip."

Xu Can lied through his teeth without batting an eye,

Heaven had given him god-tier acting skills, yet Xu Can chose to use such flawless acting to juggle three women at once.

……

Evening,

Inside the theater, Taytay held Xu Can's hand with a blissful expression.

"You finally agreed to a date with just me—no chance given to them."

Because Xu Can was flying to New York the next day to scout filming locations for *The Avengers* and have dinner with a big shot in the city.

He only had this one day,

In Taytay's eyes, Xu Can had meetings all morning, and in the evening chose to spend his precious time with her—she was already floating on cloud nine.

"Ahem, yes, look how much I love you—any reward tonight?"

"Of course, tonight watch me reward you properly."

Taylor Swift gazed at Xu Can lovingly once more with her seductive fox-like eyes.

It had to be said—when Taytay went wild, even Xu Can had to tread carefully.

The two walked into the theater together,

It was Xu Can's third time watching *Thor*; he could practically recite the film backward.

……

The story framework is the same as the original: Thor was originally an arrogant, competitive, but fiercely loyal, open-hearted and sunny prince of Asgard.

The dark god Loki, Odin's adopted son, had a calm, reserved, and meticulous personality.

Yet in his childhood, during negotiations between Odin and the Frost Giants, he discovered the secret of his own origins.

It turned out he was actually an adopted child, of Frost Giant blood.

At the same time he also discovered that Odin had no intention of passing the throne to him—he didn't even have the qualifications to compete for it.

The next God-King's throne was destined to be Thor's.

On what grounds could bloodline decide everything? Clearly he was diligently studying how to govern the kingdom, learning all kinds of knowledge, learning magic from Asgard's Queen Frigga,

To make himself the foremost mage of the Nine Realms!

No matter how hard he worked, in the end he still couldn't compare to that gluttonous, lazy, vicious, reckless, brainless brother of his?