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Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Not to be undone, Liman set out to find a new studio project to prove that his filmmaking formula can work at the tent pole level, and that the success of Bourne was no fluke. Released in the bland summer of 2005, this action-packed War of the Roses-type picture rose to the top of the box office during the 16th straight down box office weekend from 2004.

Brad Pitt, a bigger tabloid star than action star, was coming off a string of underwhelming box office performers - Ocean's 12 and Troy among them. These were movies that broke $100 million domestically, but also finished below expectations. It wasn't long before Brad Pitt and Fox Studios were requesting Liman's directorial services for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (ironic because Liman had courted Pitt to star in Bourne, but Pitt opted to star in the also underperforming Spy Game at the time).

Liman managed to ride Pitt and Jolie's scandalous chemistry, solid comedic timing, taut action, and zero semblance of a plot to a career-best $50 million opening and $186 million dollar gross. The Smiths were even bigger than Bourne overseas, earning a cumulative $478 million worldwide to Bourne's $214 million.

Despite the higher opening weekend gross, Mr. & Mrs. Smith ended up pulling in a leggy-for-action 3.72 opening to final domestic take, indicating that once again, audiences enjoyed what they were seeing from Liman. His encore spy picture was light in tone; while Bourne was an intense and self-serious spy, John and Jane Smith infused their gunfire with moments of surprising wit and sexuality.

The film's action is complemented by a sexual tension that is almost palpable. By the time the movie was released, there was almost no doubt that Pitt and Jolie had something brewing on the side. In the weeks leading up Mr. & Mrs. Smith's release, tabloids and box office analysts alike were speculating the status of their off-screen romance and what that might mean for the film's reception. To many people, Pitt was the insensitive adulterer who scorned one of America's best Friends. Even worse, Jolie was the heartless home wrecker who tore them apart. Some analysts pointed to Proof Of Life's poor performance as evidence that Brangelina would turn off movie goers at least as much as they turn each other on. Proof Of Life's box office shortcomings were perhaps a result of Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan's off-screen tryst (although certainly you could blame poor quality or the fact that people only go to Russell Crowe movies that are set in the past). While opinions leading up to the release swayed both ways regarding the tabloid effect, no one foresaw weekend numbers reaching the half-century mark.

Just as the box office numbers didn't slow with Liman's second major studio project, neither did Limania. Mr. & Mrs. Smith screenwriter Simon Kinberg claimed to write "40 or 50 endings" before eventually choosing the original one. (Ironically, the ending of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the most highly criticized part of the movie). Even still, the movie was a definitive hit for all parties involved, and despite Liman's growing reputation as a hassle for studio suits, he was proving to be worth hassling over.

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