Critics’ reviews for “The Incredible Hulk” were kind at best, scathing at their worst. Yet moviegoers made the Marvel Studios adaptation of the comic book adventures the weekend’s most viewed movie, opening with an estimated $54.5 million.

Audiences were eager to see what Edward Norton would do with his green beast of a character, encouraged perhaps by Marvel Studios’ previous box office and critical success, “Iron Man.”

“The Incredible Hulk” has now become the second film produced by the company to open at No. 1. The movie, distributed by Universal Pictures, earned an estimated $54.5 million in the Friday to Sunday period, in theaters across North America.

It also managed to outdo M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening,” a thriller few critics had mercy for due to its far-fetched plot and uninspired scenes. The film, starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, was described by Shyamalan himself as a fun B movie, opened in third place with $30.5 million.

Second place went to the animated family film “Kung Fu Panda,” which slipped from last week’s victorious first place, earning an additional $34.3 million. The movie features the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Green, Lucy Liu and others.

Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” which opened second last weekend, fell to fourth place with sales of $16.4 million. Sandler finds himself in a role typical for his brand of humor: an Israeli commando whose dream is to become a hairstylist in New York.

The much-anticipated fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” starring veteran Hollywood actor Harrison Ford, slipped two places to No. 5 with $13.5 million. This brings its total earnings since the May 23 opening to $275.3 million.

Coming back to the weekend’s No. 1, the results are somewhat of a surprise, as the film was not warmly anticipated. In 2003 Ang Lee directed “Hulk,” starring Eric Bana as Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte and Josh Lucas.

The plot’s psychological twist did not go well with film critics, as did not the visual and special effects. Despite earning $62.1 million in its opening weekend, the film went through a steep drop.

“The Incredible Hulk” was directed by Louis Leterrier and costars Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt.