“The Happening”, the latest movie directed by M. Night
Shyamalan, has failed to gain the first spot in this Friday box office
and it was defeated by the big, green, Incredible Hulk.
According to the figures released by BoxOfficeMojo, “The Happening”
which opened on Friday in 2,987 theatres, has gained only $12,800,000, eight
million less than “The Incredible Hulk”.
The action of “The Happening” centers around science teacher
Elliot (Mark Wahlberg), his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and his best friend (John
Leguizamo) who all run away from a deadly toxin. The toxin isn’t deadly in the
way that toxins are usually deadly. It doesn’t make you ill, it doesn’t cause you
to suffocate. It only gives you a great, irrepressible desire to kill yourself.
The fatal toxin is released by our planet, which is sick and tired of man’s
abuse of nature, and now wants to kill all of its inhabitants. It exploits the
current paranoid mood: terrorists, government conspiracies, global warming
changes and whatnot.
The movie had generally negative reviews, but the media analysts
predicted that “The Happening” will definitely be a stronger opening than “Lady
in the Water”, Shyamalan’s 2006 movie.
“The Incredible Hulk”, which opened also on Friday, has a
great day and it will be probably this weekend’s champion. The movie earned $21,030,000
in ticket sales from 3,505 theatres.
The 2008 ‘Hulk’ suffered some re-thinking and returned
totally re-branded: new director, new cast, new green. “The Transporter’s”
Louis Leterrier took over Ang Lee’s directorial chair, Edward Norton took the
responsibility of the protagonist, replacing Eric Bana and Hulk’s love
interest, geeky scientist Betty Ross is now played by Liv Tyler, instead of
Jennifer Connelly. In order to generate a full amnesia of the 2003’s gig, “The
Incredible Hulk” opens with a recap of what happened to scientist Bruce Banner
and how Hulk was ‘born’ and any reference to the previous movie is forbidden.
The Dreamworks animation, “Kung Fu Panda” was popular for
the moviegoers after its strong opening last weekend and earned $10,000,000
on Friday.
The Dreamworks animation tells the story of panda bear Po (Jack Black), who is disappointed that his aspirations
in life are limited by his work in his father’s noodle restaurant, a job that a
usual panda bear would certainly prefer to a kung fu career. But hey, our hero
is no common panda! His incredible self-confidence makes him neglect the fact
that he is fat and clumsy when he decides to become a fierce kung fu warrior.
Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” gained the
fourth spot with $5,425,000. Directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam
Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow, “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” is a
superfluous comedy in which Sandler plays the part of Zohan, a top Israeli
commando who decides to flee his country because he wants to become a
hairstylist in, you guessed it, the land of all possibilities, America. After
faking his death, Zohan arrives in America
and finds a job as a sweeper in a hair salon in Brooklyn.
He changes his name to Scrappy Coco and, after proving his skills in the
business, he becomes a real star, attracting many clients.
“Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” gained
the fifth spot with $3,650,000 and it was closely followed by Carrie Bradshaw’s
return in “Sex And The City”, which earned $3,540,000.
The Top 10 was rounded up by “Iron Man”, “The Strangers”, “The
Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and “What Happens In Vegas”.
