*Chapter 412: The Public Opinion Offensive*

"Alright, you go ahead and work. I'll wait for you to come back so we can have dinner together."

After hanging up the phone, Link browsed through the news on his tablet. He noticed a flood of negative reviews on professional movie websites like "Entertainment Online" and others. Over a dozen well-known film critics publicly disparaged "Bridesmaids."

Some criticized the awkward plot, saying it wasn't suitable for normal viewers. Others said the main character was unlikable or that Link wasn't fit for comedy, finding his performance jarring.

Originally, "Bridesmaids" had a decent rating on professional websites: a B from the media, an A- from Yahoo audience ratings, and a 72% freshness score on Rotten Tomatoes, comparable to "Thor," released around the same time.

In just one day, the media's composite rating dropped to a B-, Yahoo's to a B, and Rotten Tomatoes' freshness to 63%. Several movie rating websites were flooded with bad reviews.

Many moviegoers check reviews before watching a film, and bad word-of-mouth can directly impact box office sales.

This situation clearly indicated someone was deliberately sabotaging the movie, and it wasn't hard to guess who.

Link opened Twitter and saw many critics posting negative reviews of "Bridesmaids."

One tweet by a critic named Oscar Holbrook had the highest engagement, with over four thousand comments.

Holbrook, a contributing critic for "Entertainment Weekly," was known for his sharp style and relentless takedowns of bad movies. He had 1.02 million followers.

From yesterday afternoon to this morning, he posted three tweets, starting with, "What a terrible comedy. Not a single funny scene, just awkward! Watching this movie is a waste of time. Not recommended at all!"

He criticized everything from the plot design to the cast and the main actors' performances.

In his last tweet, he specifically mentioned Link, first praising his impressive performance in "The Expendables," then sharply turning to criticize his role in "Bridesmaids," calling it the film's biggest flaw. He even suggested Link might win the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor next year.

Link shook his head. Though he admitted his performance had some issues, it wasn't that bad.

Moreover, this was a film focused on the female lead. For the sake of the overall plot, the director had cut Link's scenes from five minutes to less than 100 seconds. How bad could it be?

He looked through Holbrook's past reviews and found that the critic only reviewed the most popular and controversial movies each month.

Holbrook seemed to pick out minor flaws and exaggerate them, turning movies into heaps of trash. His reviews were highly unprofessional and emotional, more like a clout-chasing influencer than a serious critic.

Link thought for a moment and tweeted, "Interesting! In 2008, you called 'Twilight' garbage. In 2009, you trashed 'The Hangover.' In 2010, it was 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' In 2011, you first criticized 'Fast Five' and now 'Bridesmaids.' I have a feeling 'Bridesmaids' will be a hit."

Though he had sold his Twitter shares and was no longer a shareholder, Link was still the platform's most-followed user, with 92.15 million followers, just shy of 100 million.

After replying to Holbrook's tweet, the comment quickly gained massive attention, with over fifty thousand likes and a thousand comments.

Many were surprised that a top-tier celebrity would take the time to respond to a critic's review.

Some fans defended Link, noting that since yesterday, numerous negative reviews of "Bridesmaids" had suddenly appeared in the media.

These reviews, like Holbrook's, were baseless and overly harsh.

This seemed unusual.

Clearly, someone was deliberately trying to undermine the film, and Link probably couldn't stand it, prompting his response.

Many who had seen the movie said they found "Bridesmaids" enjoyable, better than other films of the same genre.

After a few minutes of discussion, Oscar Holbrook came online and first thanked Link for his response, stating that his review of "Bridesmaids" was objective, fair, and professional, not random criticism.

Link didn't reply again, noticing Holbrook's follower count had quickly jumped from 1.02 million to 1.83 million.

This reminded Link of 2008 when he, as a young boxer, gained attention by criticizing celebrities.

Now, as a top star, many people were using the same tactic to gain fame by targeting him. It was a form of karmic retribution.

Returning to his villa, he opened his phone to check the news and found his rebuttal to the critic had become a trending topic on Twitter.

The headline was "Link Publicly Rebuts Critic's Accusations Against 'Bridesmaids'," with 4.87 million views, surpassing news about the "Fast Five" crew's racing event in Tokyo by 800,000 views.

In related news, Oscar Holbrook had given an interview to "Entertainment Online."

He claimed every review he posted was his true opinion after watching the films, including "Bridesmaids," and that his goal was to help fans avoid bad movies.

The reporter mentioned his 2008 review of the hugely popular "Twilight," calling it an epic fail, and his 2009 review of "The Hangover," which he said looked like it was filmed by a drunken director. In 2010, he criticized "Sherlock Holmes" and "Harry Potter."

The reporter asked if he always criticized popular movies.

Holbrook denied this, saying "Bridesmaids" wasn't even that popular, but his poor viewing experience led to the critique.

Asked about being publicly criticized by Link, Holbrook said it was an honor and hoped Link would take the criticism to heart, improve his acting, and deliver better work next time.

Besides the interview, many news websites picked up the story, significantly increasing online attention on "Bridesmaids."

Link closed his laptop and went to the kitchen to prepare a few dishes.

"Link, you shouldn't get involved in this. You're a top star now; it's not worth it to get embroiled in such small matters."

Ivanka walked into the kitchen in high heels before the last dish was ready.

Dressed in a white women's suit and pencil pants, her cool, elegant face and rose-colored lips matched her style. She carried a small square handbag, clearly just home without having a chance to put it down.

"I understand. How did your meeting go? What's the plan to handle these negative reviews?"

Link took off his apron and handed the kitchen over to the housekeeper.

"The usual approach. Someone paid to criticize 'Bridesmaids,' so we'll pay more people to praise it. Polarizing opinions and even controversy can increase the movie's media exposure. If handled properly, it could boost box office sales. But it will increase promotional costs by two to three million."

Ivanka explained.

Link nodded. An additional two to three million in promotional costs wasn't much.

What bothered him was knowing that the Weinstein brothers were likely behind this, yet unable to retaliate.

He could have people post bad reviews of "Seeking Vengeance," but its stars, Sean Penn and Frances McDormand, were excellent actors and not part of Harvey's camp. Criticizing Weinstein's movie would inadvertently hurt them.

It was like trying to strike a rat without breaking the vase.

Moreover, using such tactics to attack opponents seemed petty and beneath him.

"Let's eat. No work talk after hours."

Link said, taking Ivanka's bag.

"What did you cook today?"

"Gong Bao chicken, twice-cooked pork, and vegetable soup. Do you like it?"

"Yes, I used to think having a chef come to the house was convenient and tasty, but after tasting your cooking, I realized home-cooked meals are the best."

Ivanka smiled, holding his hand.

Link smiled gently. Since Ivanka had moved in, she had adjusted her lifestyle to align more closely with his, which was a good sign.

In the second week of "Bridesmaids" release, its screen rate increased by 3.5%, earning $19.58 million in North America, a drop of less than 10% from the previous week.

This was a decent result, but according to data from the distribution department, without the negative reviews, this week's box office could have been higher, around $25 million.

The difference was over five million.

Thinking of this figure, Link wished he could drag Harvey into the ring and KO him a hundred times with heavy punches.

The week's box office champion was "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," released in 4,155 theaters in North America, grossing $90.10 million in its opening weekend, the highest opening weekend box office this year.

The runner-up was "Thor," in its second week, with a box office of $48.5 million, bringing its total to over $100 million.

"Fast Five" dropped to fourth place with $16.05 million, nearly $160 million in North America, and close to $400 million globally.

"Seeking Vengeance" ranked ninth with $3.80 million, just $200,000 more than Lionsgate's "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family."

"Bridesmaids" grossed nearly $40 million in North America in its two-week release.

Internationally, the film was released simultaneously in 35 countries and regions across Europe, Asia, and Oceania, grossing $56.33 million in ten days, nearing $100 million worldwide.

A comedy grossing $100 million in ten days indicated it was indeed a quality film.

After the first week's overseas box office results were released, Warner and Lionsgate, the film's distributors, used the data to counter the negative reviews in newspapers.

In the third week of

 May, "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" continued to dominate the box office, grossing over $100 million in its second week, with $189.60 million in two weeks.

"Thor" was still second, grossing $24.34 million in its third week, totaling $167.34 million.

"Fast Five" grossed $12.40 million in its fourth week, reaching $172 million in North America.

"Bridesmaids" grossed $12.10 million in its third week, totaling $52 million in North America.

"Seeking Vengeance" dropped to eleventh, with a three-week total of $12.18 million, struggling even to recoup its investment.

This week, the film's global gross approached $200 million, entering the early stages of profit-sharing.