Posts with tag the incredible hulk
Posted Jun 30th 2008 8:02AM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
Notwithstanding the best attempts of
some to smear
Wall-E as being somehow hypocritical or disdainful of consumers, the little robot gave Pixar the third-best opening weekend in its history, behind
The Incredibles and
Finding Nemo (and roughly tied with
Monsters, Inc.). Its $62.5 million take was on par with expectations, though the lack of the usual family film
Saturday and Sunday bump suggests that
Wall-E attracted an impressive number of kidless Friday night moviegoers. And that bodes well for the weeks to come: the movie is quite sophisticated and not all that toddler-friendly, so word-of-mouth among adults will be key.
Given
Wall-E's apparent cross-demographic appeal, one might have expected
Wanted to struggle a bit as the weekend's "adult counterprogramming," but nothing doing: at $51.1 million and a strong second place, we may have a new franchise on our hands. The two combined to make this the strongest three-day weekend of the summer at the box-office overall; in fact, to find a higher combined top 12 gross, we have to go back to Memorial Day 2007 and the debut of
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
The rest of the chart looks unremarkable.
The Love Guru dropped almost 61% to 6th place, prompting the unsurprising conclusion that the Guru Pitka didn't connect with summer audiences.
The Incredible Hulk continues to run behind
Hulk, ruling out the possibility that it will have the staying power to do appreciably better than the embattled 2004 film.
Wall-E gave
Kung Fu Panda its first significant hit, dropping it to 4th place.
Indiana Jones will break $300 million by the end of Monday, if Sunday's final numbers don't push it past the milestone. And
The Happening looks like it will top out around $70 million.
The full numbers after the jump.
Continue reading Weekend Box-Office: 'Wall-E' Takes to the Skies
Posted Jun 23rd 2008 9:33AM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
Both of last week's new releases dropped like a rock to make room for Warner Bros.'
Get Smart, which landed smack in the middle of expectations with a nice $39.2 million bow. As many people guessed, toxic word-of-mouth on
The Happening led to a steep drop -- 67% -- and a fifth place, $10 million finish for the Shyamalan thriller. The $50.3 million cume is far from an embarrassment, but the descent is hopefully a signal to the filmmaker that he needs to, if not go back to the drawing board, at least steal a glance at it.
Slightly more surprising is the 61% drop for
The Incredible Hulk, which finished third with $21.6 million. That's a measurable improvement on the 69.7% hit that
Ang Lee's
Hulk took in 2003, but the new film is still running behind the old one, and its lack of legs in a summer where big movies (
Iron Man,
Indiana Jones) have held up admirably might be an indication that the "less arty" reboot didn't solve the problem with the franchise, whatever that may be.
Continue reading Weekend Box-Office: 'Get Smart' Wins; 'Love Guru' Can't Hack It
Posted Jun 19th 2008 9:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Universal, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images
Now that most of us have digested our showings of
The Incredible Hulk (sans me, because now I can't find anyone to go with), I thought you might like a look at some concept art produced by the talented Aaron Sims. (It is also a rather timely piece, as Sims was one of Stan Winston's proteges, and co-founder of his studio.) Normally, I only give such things a cursory "Oh, cool" glance, but I find these quite fascinating, because one of my biggest complaints about any Hulk movie is how they render him. He just never looks
real, which surprises me in a post Gollum and Davy Jones world. I know they have the technology to make him look, well, incredible. But no one ever seems to utilize it. Now, I still haven't seen the film, so you all will have to tell me if he looks better than in the clips and TV spots I have seen.
Continue reading The Hulk That Almost Was -- Aaron Sims' Concept Art
Posted Jun 16th 2008 1:32PM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals
Strays seems like one of those concepts that sounds very cool on paper but winds up being little more than a depressingly ordinary zombie movie (think
Resident Evil). The
Hollywood Reporter summary: "a group of young consultants on a business trip to Russia mysteriously wake up in an abandoned and radioactive city and fight to survive the deadly obstacles in between them and safety." The project, written by
Michael Ross (the almost-decent
Turistas), is described as an "eco action thriller," though who knows what that actually means. It sounds more like a "nuclear apocalypse action thriller."
Summit Entertainment, the studio developing
Strays, is trying to sign
Louis Leterrier to direct the film. Since the Frenchman is a hot commodity after this weekend's
The Incredible Hulk opened big -- and since up until now he was, as far as we know, unattached as far as his next project -- this probably means that Summit is serious about getting
Strays to the screen. Works for me, even if I'll always know Leterrier as "the guy who was hired to make the Hulk dumber." (Bitter? Me?) As one of the few folks around who enjoyed
The Happening at least somewhat, I'm in an eco thriller mood.
Posted Jun 16th 2008 12:35PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Monday Morning Poll
First off, I need to apologize because I was supposed to provide our second
Incredible Hulk review late last week, but life got in the way and I never produced it for you. I know, I'm a horrible person and I've given myself 27 lashings as punishment, though I'm sure
Scott's review of the film helped you decide whether to see it or not. Truth be told, I wasn't that crazy about it -- but I'm also not a huge fan of Bruce Banner or the Hulk as characters. Banner, to me, is too depressing; how do you root for a guy who wants to hide in the corner? Sure, there are other loners like Batman and Spider-Man, but both of those guys have some fun toys to play with (like a car and a web). Banner has the Hulk, who, well, smashes things. Yay!
But anyway, Marvel gave fans a good flick with tons of action, crazy special effects and more than a few geeky nods to the comics and to
The Avengers. Following the successful opening weekend of
Iron Man, all we talked about was the sequel. Now that
The Incredible Hulk seems to have won back more than a few fans, what are your feelings on a sequel? I've heard some say they'd rather Hulk return as a villain in
The Avengers film (tentatively due out in 2011), but would you rather the guy get another solo flick too? Where are you at with this character? Do you want a franchise? Can you picture one?
Posted Jun 16th 2008 8:50AM by Eugene Novikov
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
I can't bring myself to type that headline; I'm sorry. First of all, every other movie website has used it already, and it wasn't that clever to begin with. Second, it's not really true:
The Incredible Hulk did have a solid $54.5 million first-place finish, but it was
The Happening -- which
Hulk is supposed to have "smashed" -- that really exceeded expectations, cheerfully sitting in third place with $30.5 million. That's
M. Night Shyamalan's third-best opening weekend ever, and the equivalent of the director holding up a sign reading "Not Dead Yet." If the annoyed groans I heard when the credits rolled at my opening night showing are any indication, word-of-mouth won't be good, so I wouldn't expect the film to approach the $100 million mark.
The opening for
The Incredible Hulk is about right.
Ang Lee's "artsy"
Hulk opened to $62 million back in 2003, and maybe the "reboot" is to blame for the
Hulk-to-
Hulk decrease. But by all accounts, this version should be more appealing to the masses, and so should do well in the weeks ahead. In other news,
Iron Man should cross the $300 million mark in the next few days, ahead of
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The weekend numbers after the jump.
Continue reading Weekend Box-Office: 'Hulk' Smashes... No, I Can't
Posted Jun 14th 2008 9:08PM by Kim Voynar
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom
Over at Thompson on Hollywood, the ever-astute Anne Thompson has a great analysis of what really happened with Edward Norton's involvement in writing the script for The Incredible Hulk, what ended up on the cutting room floor during post-production, thanks to Marvel's final cut rights, and why the WGA didn't end up granting him script credit. It's an interesting look at the behind-the-scenes details of how these things work in Hollywood. Thompson says, in part:
Norton mostly changed dialogue, filled in gaps of motivation and developed character. For example, the scenes in Brazil about finding a serum in the Amazon to cure him, and Banner's emails with Tim Blake Nelson, were Norton adds. Marvel agreed to shoot Norton's script.
Continue reading Discuss: Is it Time for Edward Norton to Direct?
Posted Jun 12th 2008 12:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
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In
The Incredible Hulk, long-time character actor
Tim Roth leaps onto summer's biggest stage as Emil Blonsky, a soldier brought in by General Ross (William Hurt) to hunt down Bruce Banner and bring him back alive. But when Blonsky learns that Banner isn't "just another fugitive," he begins to want the kind of power Banner has hidden deep within. Yet, with that power comes a very large price -- and if he's not careful enough, Blonsky could end up turning into an abomination.
Cinematical managed to snag Roth for a few moments to ask him about the character and what it's like for him to be appearing in such a giant film, as well as whether he'd be down for Hulk sequels and more fun with his pal Quentin Tarantino.
Cinematical: Is it important to start the character in a very realistic fashion given the wild changes he goes through in Act III?Tim Roth: Yeah, I think what's interesting -- and what was interesting about doing it -- was that there was a real arc to the character. He goes through many different versions of himself before he finally goes over the top in the end. So it would've been a little less intriguing for me as an actor if I had a couple of scenes in the beginning and then suddenly I'm the monster. Yeah, that would've been a little dull ... but it was really the opposite in this case, because we really got to develop the character and play around with different aspects. See him as he's becoming more addicted to this; I mean, it's kind of like the journey of a weird junkie in a way.
Continue reading Interview: Tim Roth
Posted Jun 12th 2008 10:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Universal, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Lists
The Hulk is, arguably, one of the most recognizable comic book characters in the world. But most people have encountered him largely through the popular television show, which was remarkably different than the comic book version. If you find yourself curious to know a little more about the plight of Dr. Bruce Banner, or even just hankering for a bigger dose of Hulk than Edward Norton can provide, here's a treat for you.
Our good friends over at ComicMix have been hard at work, and done it again. They have
compiled a list of ten essential stories to bring you up to speed on the Hulk -- from Banner finally realizing his childhood traumas, to the gentle gray Hulk, to Hulk becoming a gladiator on another world. I am not the biggest Hulk fan, but this is a collection that really showcases what an enjoyable character he can be in the right hands. He isn't all "Hulk Smash!" in every single issue.
And if you're dying for an eleventh, pick up Wolverine #8-9, and read the story where Hulk shows up in Madripoor as Joe Fixit. As
I've mentioned previously, it still cracks me up. And Wolverine introducing himself to Fixit, only to see the entire bar clear out in anticipation of a fight, is just a nice little cinematic moment.
Enjoy! Tell those
ComicMix guys that
Cinematical sent you. And remember to come back and tell us which stories you think are essential.
The Incredible Hulk is probably going to garner a sequel, so we might as well start tossing the ideas back and forth.
Posted Jun 11th 2008 9:02PM by Matt Bradshaw
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Box Office Predictions
The animated family film
Kung Fu Panda proved to be the favorite last week, though the Adam Sandler comedy
You Don't Mess With the Zohan didn't do too shabby either. The two films led the way for the second biggest June weekend in box office history.
1. Kung Fu Panda: $60.2 million
2. You Don't Mess with the Zohan: $38.5 million
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: $22.7 million
4. Sex and the City: $21.2 million
5. The Strangers: $8.9 million
Two huge releases this week, each of which represents a comeback of sorts.
The Incredible Hulk
What's It All About: In the wake of Ang Lee's not so well received 2003
The Hulk, the franchise gets a reboot and the character gets back the adjective that all the 60s Marvel characters had (
The Uncanny X-Men,
The Amazing Spider-man, etc.).
Edward Norton plays the over-irradiated Dr. Bruce Banner who, when angered, turns green around the gills and starts throwing tanks around. He is being pursued by the military which is led by General "Thunderbolt" Ross (
William Hurt) and he does battle with another gamma powered mutation called The Abomination (
Tim Roth).
Why It Might Do Well: There appears to be more action in this Hulk movie than the last, and as
Iron Man proved not that long ago, an exciting, well produced comic book movie can be a license to print money.
Why It Might Not Do Well: While this is a more satisfyingly ferocious looking Hulk, the fact that he's a CGI creation (albeit a pretty good one) is obvious to the point of distraction. Will audiences be able to get past this?
Number of Theaters: 3,400
Prediction: $65 million
Continue reading Box Office: The Hulk is Happening
Posted Jun 11th 2008 3:01PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Universal, Theatrical Reviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, War
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Here are a few statistics on the 2003 film
Hulk:
So I ask you this: Are we talking about a failure ... or an underrated movie that's been unjustly labeled a failure? It matters not, I suppose, because the arrival of the all-new
The Incredible Hulk, Marvel (and Universal) hopes to leave the first
Hulk cowering in a dusty vault somewhere. (Until the next DVD re-release, of course.) So while I felt a strange bit of resentment towards this "forget that first movie, let's get a do-over" procedure, I felt pretty confident about the second
Hulk's chances. Director
Louis Leterrier has shown some skill with action flicks like
Unleashed and
Transporter 2, the new cast (which includes
Edward Norton,
Tim Roth,
Liv Tyler and
William Hurt) was pretty impressive, and (best of all) the producers were making one simple promise from the outset: More action.
Continue reading Review: The Incredible Hulk
Posted Jun 11th 2008 9:32AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Universal, RumorMonger, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Director Louis Leterrier swears up and down that Captain America makes an appearance in
The Incredible Hulk -- but at this point, it just isn't clear how you may see it. In an interview with
Collider, Leterrier declared that it was just an Easter Egg and refused to give any hints as to where it would appear in order to keep the fun. "It's an Easter egg. It's not like oh, it's Captain America and it changes everything. It's still a Hulk movie, but it's really Captain America and it's there, you'll see. It's the real deal. You have to look for it."
Continue reading Captain America in 'The Incredible Hulk'?
Posted Jun 10th 2008 2:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
I just got off the phone with
Tim Roth, who, of course, stars as Emil Blonsky/Abomination in
The Incredible Hulk (due out on Friday). We'll post our entire interview later this week, along with two reviews of the new (and definitely improved) Hulk, but to whet your appetite, here are a few non Hulk-related nuggets from the man himself. When I asked Roth about
Inglorious Bastards and how Quentin Tarantino
claimed to be heading for pre-production, he had this to say: "It's something me and Quentin had talked about over the years, and I don't know what's happening. If Quentin wants me, I'm there. But it's been years and years in the making. It's gonna be fun, though. If it's coming from Quentin, it's gonna be fun. I'm perfectly happy to roll up; I don't even need to read the script. Just tell me where to stand."
Additionally, and I thought this was kinda fun, I asked Roth if there were any characters of his he'd like to revisit at some point down the line. That's when he replied, "I'd like to do the
Pulp Fiction character." I asked if he'd talked with Tarantino about doing a spin-off flick with Pumpkin and Honey Bunny: "Yeah, we did -- we talked about it before, because he thought they would've been good in
Natural Born Killers; those two characters. We've often talked about it -- day dreams -- about taking those characters and making a film around them."
What say you? Would you be up for a
Pulp Fiction spin-off featuring Pumpkin and Honey Bunny?
Posted Jun 9th 2008 3:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Unscripted, Trailers and Clips
With
The Incredible Hulk out this Friday (June 13), stars
Edward Norton,
Liv Tyler and director
Louis Leterrier sat down for another one of
Moviefone's fabulous Unscripted segments. The great part about these Moviefone Unscripted sessions is that not only do the stars and filmmakers ask each other questions, but most of those questions are from you, the reader -- because you left them in the comments section of this very blog! OMG! But anyway, above you will find an exclusive clip from their chat (one you won't see over at Moviefone), where all three talk about the importance of getting "the eyes" right, since, as Liv says, they're "the window to the soul." And I totally agree, especially when it comes to CG characters like Hulk and Abomination. Interestingly enough, because of certain techniques used, the eyes on Hulk and Abomination are "pretty much" the eyes of stars Edward Norton and Tim Roth, according to Leterrier.
Interesting conversation all around;
head on over to Moviefone to check out the rest.
Posted Jun 9th 2008 12:40PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Monday Morning Poll
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The summer weekends are about to get a whole lot more competitive starting this Friday with the debut of two pretty big flicks,
The Incredible Hulk and
The Happening. On one hand, you have the return of a character who didn't do so well last time he was in theaters. On the other, you have the return of a writer-director who didn't do so well last time he was in theaters. Thus, both men (or monsters) are looking for a bit of redemption this time around. But who will get your money, that's what we're interested in finding out this week. Who will you be giving a second chance to? The Incredible Hulk or The Incredible M. Night Shyamalan?
The Happening marks M. Night's first R-rated feature, which means the film's audience is already somewhat limited. Meanwhile,
The Incredible Hulk (rated PG-13) has already
started using the success of Marvel's
Iron Man to help launch its opening weekend at the box office. That said, I think it's pretty obvious as to which film will make more money than the other, so instead of going down that road, tell us which one you'll be seeing and why. Or, perhaps, you're not interested in either one? Sound off below ...
Continue reading Monday Morning Poll: 'The Happening' or 'The Hulk'?
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