'Hulk' a boxoffice smash From HollywoodReporter
Reuters
June 15, 2008, 01:13 PM
"The Incredible Hulk"
A bigger, better "The Incredible Hulk" crushed U.S. weekend boxoffice with a $54.5 million take, according to studio estimates. The action-oriented film revival of the hulking green superhero is the second self-financed production from Marvel Studios, which paid General Electric Co's Universal Pictures a fee to market and distribute the film. Marvel and Universal brought the first "Hulk" to theaters in 2003, but that more introspective film failed to follow through on its muscular debut after disappointing comic book fans. DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" fought its way to a second place finish with a weekend tally of $34.3 million. M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" landed the No. 3 spot with a weekend take of $30.5 million. That was the third-largest opening for a movie from the director who wowed audiences with "The Sixth Sense" in 1999 but disappointed with his 2006 film "Lady in the Water."