“The Incredible Hulk” and “The Happening” battled for box-office bragging rights over the weekend. Round 1 clearly went to “The Incredible Hulk,” which drew an estimated $55.4 million, good for a clean first-place finish. “The Happening,” embattled director M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller about a toxin that causes mass suicides, earned $30.5 million and a third-place ranking.
Here’s where it gets complicated.
“The Incredible Hulk” might seem like a smash, but director Ang Lee’s moody take on the same green beast earned $62.1 million five years ago in its opening weekend. That film, which went on to make $132 million, was considered such a bust it required this summer’s franchise relaunch just to wipe the slate clean - and appease comic-book fans disenchanted with Mr. Lee’s take on the material.
“Hulk” 2.0 did just that, earning respectable reviews and generally positive comment from online film sites.
“The Happening” finds itself in a different situation. The R-rated movie survived a withering barrage from critics to outperform box-office expectations.
However, “The Happening’s” solid weekend may be its last. It earned a CinemaScore of D from polled audience members, according to Entertainment Weekly. “The Incredible Hulk,” for comparison’s sake, snared an A-minus this past weekend.
The solid opening for “The Incredible Hulk” helped erase months of bad advance press, from murmurs that star Edward Norton wasn’t happy with how the film was edited to disappointment with the movie’s lackluster trailer.
“The Happening” had its own buzz to dispel, namely that the director’s best work is behind him.
Exhibitor Relations, says weekend No. 2 will tell the “real story” in this clash of blockbuster hopefuls.
Wretched word of mouth, plus the tendency for horror films to nose-dive in their second weekend, likely spells doom for “The Happening,” Mr. Bock says, noting that in the Internet age, poor word of mouth spreads virally, affecting the box office right away.
“You can jump on Yahoo and see hundreds of reviews out there,” he says. To bolster his case, he points to how box-office receipts for “The Happening” dipped from Friday to Saturday.
Audiences this weekend will determine the eventual winner of the box-office duel between “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Happening.” However, given that the former couldn’t outdraw its failed predecessor despite positive reviews and the latter capitalized on the curiosity factor for a respectable opening despite a critical thrashing, one thing is clear already: When it comes to summer movies, audiences take what the critics say with a grain of beach sand.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.