The director of Green Lantern was Martin Campbell, a seasoned, big-name filmmaker. He'd previously directed The Mask of Zorro, which earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, and had also helmed the James Bond film Casino Royale.
As for the lead actor, it was none other than Ryan Reynolds.
Yeah, Reynolds—but no, he had absolutely nothing to do with Laila's father.
Ryan was a very capable actor. One of his most notable performances was in Buried, a psychological thriller about a man trapped in a coffin six feet underground, with only 90 minutes of oxygen left and a dying cellphone as his only hope of escape.
He didn't know where he was—just that he was buried underground, with only a phone and a lighter for company. The fear, the helplessness, the claustrophobia, and the looming threat of death—it all made for a terrifying experience, even without the usual horror-movie blood and monsters.
And Ryan was the only person to appear in the entire film. His performance alone carried the whole thing.
You could compare it to Colin Farrell's Phone Booth, another performance-driven film, but Buried offered a much more immersive experience. It made viewers feel the looming presence of death and the suffocating tension in every moment.
In addition to Ryan and director Campbell, Gossip Girl star Blake Lively—who would become Ryan's wife the following year—also appeared in the film, and attended the premiere dressed to the nines along with the rest of the cast.
Watching Ryan on the screen, Laila couldn't decide whether his role in this film was a stroke of luck or sheer misfortune.
On one hand, it brought him and Blake together.
On the other hand, the film flopped so hard it earned him the dreaded title of "box office poison," nearly derailing his career entirely.
Fortunately, he'd once played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And years later, when the Deadpool movie finally came out, he shook off the "box office poison" label and soared back into the limelight.
Maybe it was the smirk on Laila's face, but Roy couldn't help asking, "You really seem to care about this movie?"
But it wasn't the kind of "caring" that came from seeing a rival as a threat—it was more like watching a trainwreck in slow motion.
"You don't think it'll do well at the box office?"
Roy really did know her best—he saw through her thoughts in an instant.
"Well…"
It wouldn't be fair to outright declare a flop before any actual results were in, so Laila gave a different kind of answer.
"I'm just not very optimistic about it. Green Lantern's world-building is massive, and trying to translate that kind of scale into a compelling movie plot is incredibly difficult. His powers are based on imagination—he can manifest anything he thinks of—and that's the kind of concept that lives or dies by the script.
If done right, it could be amazing, captivating, even rival Avatar.
But if done wrong… it'll just be boring. Maybe even a huge financial loss."
Roy nodded thoughtfully. He hadn't read the Green Lantern comics himself, but he'd overheard plenty of comic nerds chatting about it at the café Laila had bought. He knew Green Lantern was supposed to be a very powerful superhero. Just the fact that he didn't mess with Earth's problems and focused on intergalactic peacekeeping already said a lot about his strength.
Maybe Laila was right—this kind of film really might be hard to pull off.
"Ever since Iron Man, superhero movies have been exploding in popularity. I doubt there's any shortage of fans. How's the marketing going for The Avengers on your end?"
After hearing her analysis, even Roy was starting to feel that Green Lantern might not end up being much of a competitor. But still, superhero movies are hot right now. Even if Green Lantern couldn't break box office records, it probably wouldn't lose money—meaning it could still chip away at The Avengers' numbers when it released two weeks later.
"We've done everything we possibly could."
And Laila wasn't exaggerating—she really had pulled out all the stops. Even media appearances she usually avoided like the plague—interviews, talk shows, you name it—she had done them all.
"What happens next depends entirely on how the audience reacts."
Roy gently took her hand and kissed it. "That's right. You've done great already."
It didn't matter to him what others said—whether they thought she could break records or not, or how many people doubted her. It meant nothing.
Whether she succeeded or failed, she was still the woman he loved, the mother of his child. Everything else was irrelevant.
He loved her, not the glory she brought with her. As long as she stayed by his side, his world would always feel like paradise.
And just as Laila had always said—the true measure of a movie came from the audience's response.
The next day, the media reported Green Lantern's Friday opening numbers.
It was released in 3,186 theaters and grossed $21.6 million on its first day.
That was… a decent number. At least, it met the production team's expectations.
With that kind of opening, a $60 million opening weekend seemed within reach.
At this point, the studio's hired online commenters—aka their "water army"—kicked into full gear, flooding forums and social media with glowing reviews in hopes of luring more viewers into theaters.
But Saturday's numbers left the producers in a panic.
Who knew if the fake reviews had done anything, but the box office had plummeted by 22%.
By the end of the weekend, the total take was only $52.68 million.
Even though that was enough to earn Green Lantern the #1 spot at the weekend box office, anyone with half a brain could see the writing on the wall—the movie's future was bleak.
Green Lantern had a production budget of $200 million, including $50 million for converting it into 3D. Add another $125 million in marketing expenses, and the total cost ballooned to a staggering $325 million.
Sure, the producers smiled during interviews, saying the opening weekend numbers were "within expectations,"
—but everyone could see how bitter that smile really was.
Among superhero movies, it was rare to see one with such a weak opening, especially for something backed by a big studio and marketed so heavily.
Then came the media reviews.
The Chicago Sun-Times called it nothing more than a "light and sound show," blasting audiences with visuals and sound effects.
Entertainment Weekly zeroed in on Ryan Reynolds, saying he portrayed Green Lantern as a very "down-to-earth" hero—but that kind of realism didn't fit the character.
They even dug up old complaints from comic fans when he was first cast. Back then, many fans felt that Ryan's vibe was more "friendly older brother next door" than "galaxy-level superhero."
But the harshest review came from The Washington Global Times, which gave it the lowest rating of any major outlet.
They called the film a "classic"—a classic example of a terrible movie.