After Ang Lee’s Hulk movie proved to be a disappointment, there haven’t been many people to think that the character will be revived in a movie so soon. But decided to have another go at turning the popular comic-book character into a movie success as well.

And it seems like they were right. “The Incredible Hulk” dominated this weekend, earning $54,538,000 in ticket sales.

Marvel and Universal have hired a new director for the movie, the Frenchman Louis Leterrier, who rose to fame thanks to his Transporter movies, and decided to change Hulk’s look from the chubby green guy of Ang Lee’s movie to a more “bodybuilder-on-steroids” one.

The effects artists of the movie took pains at making Hulk’s muscles look more realistic, as the approach of the movie was to depict him more as a man than as a strange creature. The team also thought that giving Hulk’s skin a darker tone would make it look more realistic, though I wonder how many 9-foot tall men with green tan can be seen on the streets, for one to judge how realistic Hulk’s skin color really is.

The interesting thing about “The Incredible Hulk” is its cast. Both Edward Norton, who plays Bruce Banner, the scientist that turns into Hulk when his blood pressure rises, and Tim Roth, who portrays Banner’s nemesis, are more likely to play in a psychological or art movie, rather than in a popcorn one. However, their performance is superb and they really manage to give the movie a new glow.

“Kung Fu Panda”, the adventures of the famous bear voiced by Jack Black, gained the second place, with $34,321,000, right in front of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening”, which debuted to the third spot with $30,500,000.

After it gained $40,000,000 and the second place in box office during its opening weekend, Adam Sandler’s “You Don't Mess with the Zohan” has slipped to number four, gaining only $16,400,000 in the last three days.

In its fourth week since the official released, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” still managed to attract the moviegoers and gained the fifth spot with $13,547,000.