Early in The Incredible Hulk, star Edward Norton, in defective Portuguese, tells a co-worker: "Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm ... hungry."
It's well-scripted comic relief, warmly harking back to the late '70s-early '80s TV show starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. (You remember the line: "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.") But it's more than that. Norton's line distills the problem with this Hollywood Hulk: It leaves investors hungry.
Marvel Entertainment's
I expected better. Twice. Now it's likely that my last prediction -- that The Incredible Hulk would end its box office run with at least $150 million in domestic receipts -- will fall short. Perhaps short of 2003's Hulk, a critical failure that grossed $132.2 million in the U.S. and $245.4 million worldwide. (This version has so far produced $159.4 million globally.)
There's a chance that the Hulk's so-so debut could lead to a stock sell-off as his celluloid competition stiffens. Disney's
Help from distributor Universal isn't likely. The General Electric
So we investors shouldn't expect much more from Marvel at the box office. Not, at least, until Punisher: War Zone bows in December. Big numbers aren't likely then, either; screen rights to Marvel's vigilante are licensed to Lions Gate
Even so, there's good news. Together, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man already rank third domestically and fourth globally among Marvel's summer slates since 2002:
Year |
Summer Films |
Combined Domestic |
Combined Worldwide |
---|---|---|---|
2008 |
Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk |
$401.3 |
$713.7 |
2007 |
Spider-Man 3,
|
$468.4 |
$1,179.5 |
2006 |
X-Men: The Last Stand |
$234.4 |
$459.3 |
2005 |
Fantastic Four |
$154.7 |
$330.1 |
2004 |
Spider-Man 2 |
$373.6 |
$783.8 |
2003 |
Hulk, X-2: X-Men United |
$347.1 |
$653.0 |
2002 |
Spider-Man |
$403.7 |
$821.7 |
Source: Box Office Mojo.
Expect these rankings to improve and for profits -- Big Profits -- to follow.
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