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SUNDAY AM: North American numbers are fulfilling what promises to be one of the most interesting box office weekends of the summer movie season. That's because the two films opening -- a comic book reboot, and an M Night Shyamalan horror thriller -- have received really bad buzz for months ahead of time because of their troubled pedigrees. While No. 1 The Incredible Hulk and No. 3 The Happening had better-than-expected debuts overall, they experienced fall-offs from Friday to Saturday (-15% and -21% respectively).
Let's face it, most film analysts thought Marvel and Universal were nuts to go back to the drawing board for Friday's No. 1 The Incredible Hulk after the 2003 Ang Lee/Eric Bana version was beaten up so badly both by critics and the box office. "When Marvel and Universal announced they were making a Hulk film again, there were big whoops this would be the first flop of the summer," a studio insider recalled to me. "But now something good is going to happen." But this was another huge risk for Marvel Studios which self-financed its PG-13 comic book caper for around $160 million. 
Then the studio manhandled both director Louis Leterrier and star Edward Norton, who rewrote the script, then fought Marvel's deep cuts to the final pic which nevertheless was well reviewed (67% positive). So it's miraculous that The Incredible Hulk, which opened in 3,505 theaters, made $21.7 million Friday and $18.4M Saturday to score a $54.5 million weekend. Because of the bad buzz, its two studios were only expecting a $45M FSS. But that's still significantly less than the $62.1M debut of the first Hulk which was considered a disappointing film because it experienced a huge drop-off. But the new The Incredible Hulk benefitted from slicker marketing and plotting as well as a lot of goodwill from Marvel's blockbuster Iron Man. Not to mention that Robert Downey Jr cameo.
Even though The Incredible Hulk is Marvel's 2nd best-known character (with Spider-Man No. 1), the reboot is only the 5th biggest pic for a top Marvel character in a non-sequel opening. (To recap: Spider-Man broke the bank with $115M and so did Iron Man with $98.6M. Hulk opened to $62M. Fantastic Four to $56M. X-Men to $54.4M, GhostRider to $52M (4-day wkd) and Daredevil to $45M (4-day wkd).) In this desperate-for-another-franchise business, that's probably good enough for Marvel Studios to try to make a sequel. But with Norton? Well, this was his highest opening ever (2nd to Red Dragon's $36.6 million). Exit polling gave The Incredible Hulk a Cinemascore of A- with males making up 60% of the audiences and females 40%; 48% under age 25%; 25 yrs and older 52%; an ethnically diverse audience of slightly less than half Caucasian (46%), followed by Hispanic (28%), African American (13%), Asian (7%), and other(6%). But most interesting of all was that the vast majority of the audience (82%) had seen the 2003 movie.
Also beaten up badly has been the other newcomer this weekend, M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated horror thriller The Happening from 20th Century Fox. The Mark Wahlberg starrer started out No. 2 Friday even after film critics and writers alike seemed intent on reviewing the writer-director-producer instead of the movie. (Only 11% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.) With a nasty tell-all book and several film flops behind him, Shyamalan no longer is the popular suspense moviemaker celebrated for his early hits like The Sixth Sense and Signs. Instead, he's been branded as the hopelessly arrogant has-been, with media outlets appearing to root for the failure of his latest pic (and some newspapers like USA Today even published spoilers). 
In an attempt to mitigate the collateral damage from Shyamalan's unpopularity, Fox laid off much of the cost of The Happening on Indian-based UTV and to a lesser extent Spyglass, while also limited Shyamalan's exposure to the media. (I'm told the studio was reluctant to let M. Night insert one of his Hitchcock-style cameo appearances into the new pic.) But the always aggressive Fox marketing gave the film an intriguing ad campaign with great visuals (all those bodies seemingly falling from the sky). So what a huge relief for everyone concerned that The Happening managed a $30.5M weekend when the studio was expecting only high teens or low 20s. It exceeded all expectations from 2,986 venues on Friday with $13M. "Obviously, by the strong showing friday, he still has a big fan base," a Fox source said about Shyamalan. But then the pic dropped off 23% Saturday with $10.2M and fell to #3. Although there's often a fall-off for horror pics from Date Night, especially if it's Friday The 13th, the movie was badly received in exit polling. It earned only a Cinemascore of D.
The rest of the Top 10 movies this weekend were holdovers. Moving up a notch to No. 2 was the DreamWorks Animation / Paramount top film from last week Kung Fu Panda which has been playing more like a four-quadrant tentpole than a kiddie toon. It fell only 43% to make $34.3M for the weekend from an expanded theater count of 4,136 for a big new cume of $117.9M weekend. Sony's original comedy You Don't Mess With The Zohan starring Adam Sandler under Judd Apatow's banner, fell two notches to finish No. 4 Friday with $16.4M from 3,466 runs, or -57%, with a new cume of $68.7M. No 5 was Paramount's Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull with $13.5M from 3,805 theaters and a new cume of $275.3M. And then there's another surprise -- the staying power of HBO Films / New Line / Warner Bros' ultimate chick flick Sex And The City which came in No. 6 with $10.1M from 3,155 plays for a new cume of $119.9M.
At No. 7, Marvel / Paramount's Iron Man finished the weekend with $5.1M in 2,403 venues and a new cume of $297.4M. weekend. Rogue Pictures / Universal's The Strangers came in No. 8 with $4M from 2,410 theaters and a new cume of $45.3M. Still making money at No. 9 is Walden Media/Disney's The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian with $3M from 2,308 runs and a new cume of $131.7M. Finally, in No. 10, Fox's What Happens In Vegas made $1.7M from 1,422 plays for a new cume of $75.7M.
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so glad to hear this. to my surprise, the incredible hulk has become my favorite movie this summer so far. even better then iron man.
the happening was also a great movie. much better than i thought.
bravo.
I’m impressed by the way he was able to get this film financed, with 50% coming from an Indian company.
The film was complete rubbish, however. And I hope he never directs again (that, or have someone to balance him).
Thought the Happening was a terrific B-Movie… glad it’s making bank… we need more original stories out there. The negative buzz on this is way over the top.
I’d say that using Robert Downey Jr. very short cameo to promote Hulk, gave the movie a big boost. I’m not Hulk fan, but i like Edward Norton, so good for him.
WHEN WILL HOLLYWOOD STOP SHOVING THEIR LEFT WING “HULK” MOVIES DOWN OUR THROATS? You really think Red State Americans will pay nine dollars to see a half-naked muscleman? Just kidding, it was a smart, fun movie. Props to Leterrier, Norton and Marvel for taking the risk.
Also very smart to mix elements from the 1970’s TV show with the “Bourne Identity” series.
Of course you know this means that Shyamalan is going to be completely insufferable after this, even though the initial success could be a mix of curiosity and the fact that it’s been a pretty horror/suspense free summer time this year.
The man is very good at creating suspenseful imagery and building tension, but the biggest complaint against him are his scripts, and that comes from his desire to be the auteur and do everything alone. Alfred Hitchcock had his wife Alma, a talented writer/script editor review and sometimes rewrite every word of every script before he shot a single frame of film.
I went to see “The Happening” and was surprised that it wasn’t as bad as the critics have saID it was (IMO). It’s a fun movie if you let go and just enjoy the ride — as are most of M. Night’s films.
The best part was when I was leaving the theater and saw M. Night standing by the exit doors. He was quietly asking people “so what did you think of that?”
I don’t think the dozen or so people who stopped to talk to him knew who he was, but I thought it was cool that he was there in person.
Brett
Since when is Panda’s drop of 50 percent considered ONLY — if this were another website or magazine, they would say that drop is huge — but I know it will make it up in on Saturday.
Hulk was good — but I wonder how many people really hated the first one. According to rottentomatoes.com — the first one had 61 percent fresh rating and this one had 64 percent. The question is will the great Edward Norton return for a sequel and what storyline can they go from here?
M. Night Shyamalan has had a rough ride. After great success with The Sixth Sense, he has churned out one clunker after another. The trailer for The Happening makes it look like the same kind of long, ponderous films he has been delivering for a while now. It’s just boring stuff and audiences know it.
The Hulk under performing shows that the audience appetite for all things Marvel can’t be counted on. It is not a license to print money, apparently.
The second weekend will have to determine the success of “The Incredible Hulk.” It will enjoy the fanboy grosses the first weekend, but fanboys are “one and done.” It’s going to be another 60+% audience drop-off on the second weekend. For “Hulk,” it was 69%. When you also consider that “The Incredible Hulk”’s first weekend opening is going to be smaller than the “Hulk”’s, “The Incredible Hulk” is a box office failure. We should just be able to call it the failure that it is with its lower opening, but Universal claims it will have a stronger multiple than “Hulk.”
B.S.
The $45 million opening that Universal has been trying to sell everyone on is also B.S. We know Universal isn’t happy with the $50 million range tracking from mid-week, because they changed their promos to feature Robert Downey, Jr.’s ONE SCENE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE – AFTER the tracking had come in.
Similarly, it doesn’t matter how much M. Night Shyamalan’s film makes this weekend, because it’s only making 25% of that amount next weekend – but a $30 million opening is around 50% more than what many were estimating.
Despite my comments, I hope that I am proven wrong – particularly on “The Incredible Hulk.” When movies do well (including even the shitty ones), it’s like a rising tide lifting all boats.
Guess there is no need for B.O predictions this weekend then eh!
Well, Hulk will ran off with 50M to 55M GreenDollars. Am a fan of Norton after his par-excellent performance in The Illusionist. Can someone please give guy an Oscar?
Good Night Shyamalan. Pity, we once used to adore you and support you with all the sily twist-ending- thousands- silly-cameos of yourself in your movies, that you threw at us but after your last horrible-stupid-egoistical effort, Lady in the Water’ we had enough
Oh! I honestly don’t think Mark Walhberg is a good actor, if you can his acting an ‘acting’ in the 1st place.
So you both made a perfect pair. 35M B.O this weekend and ready for the drop-off thereafter
Wished you had a sixth-sense doncha? Biting the hands that feed is never a good thing.
Boxofficemojo is saying 21 million for Hulk Friday. The bad buzz was early stuff, and more related to leftover hate for the first one than anything about the new film. This Hulk movie even got decent reviews (although looking back, the first one wasn’t reviewed as bad as the reaction it got from audiences).
The big test will be second weekend drop, the first was notorious for horrible word of mouth and giant drops.
The big surprise is that Happening didn’t tank, reviews were awful and most people hated at least the last two from MNS. This one’s opening weekend will probably double that of Lady in the Water, and come close to what that made in the whole run. Second weekend dropoff will be horrible, but it still might have a shot at breaking even.
very dissapointed in Happening. Waste of time. I hate movies where everyone is so stupid about what is going on and how to react. Everyone acted like they were in SHOCK even before they had reason to. Find a truck with keys in it and then continue walking for miles? Totally stupid in the reactions of people to other people. No real and natural reactions by any actors. Just a real stupid movie. A TOTAL AL GORE suck up.
I am sorry but “The Happening” was complete garbage. I can’t believe I actually spent $6.50 to watch this movie. If I wanted a think green movie I would of went to see “The Hulk”! Just another poorly poorly written and directed movie. If you look closly at a couple scenes, you can see the microphone boom lowered into the actual movie screen. Low budget film. D- at best.
I just saw the Hulk when it opened yesterday and thought it was very VERY well done and blew the original from 2k3 away. Edward Norton just so happens to be the man as well as effin A on an excellent weekend.
They definitely should have let M. Night do his usual cameo appearance a la Hitchcock…part of going to see his movies is looking for that cameo… kind of like “where’s waldo?” Besides, this one can’t be as bad as his last one.
Hated it the first time but THE HAPPENING improves immeasurably on a second viewing. As the realtor’s sign says: You Deserve It!
The Happening has that horrid bubonic blue effect. Stay away. A movie in normal color would have been better.
Americans will settle for any dreck these days. Hollywood can post all the B.O. figures that it wants to, at inflated ticket prices, but the product just isn’t there.
The Happening was better than I expected. The composition of some scenes was stellar albeit not all were original. I thought I was watching the opening of Groundhog Day during the intro. The ending was also a bit ham-handed and Shyamalan’s message should’ve been left for the audience to infer. Wahlberg also emotes like someone struggling to part with his tough guy disposition. But the suspense and theorized source of the horror made the film very interesting and made me think.
Kudos to Fox for preventing Shyamalan from putting himself in the film. I was dreading the moment. He is far from the caliber of an auteur like Hitchcock, but his talent can not be denied. Most directors have arrogance. Shyamalan’s problem is that he has been too obnoxious in showing it.
My family and I viewed The Happening this morning. My wife, teenage daughter and 11 year old son then debated for an hour as to whether this really was a poor Al Gore suckup film or an ingenious satire of Al Gore suck up Hollywood. As a previous poster noted, the actors did not react to people as real people would, but they did react as Hollywood thinks real (and especially rural) people do. I will not be surprised if an 80 year old Sal reveals that this was a poke in the eye at gullible Hollywood. Also, it seems, a poke in the eye at all the critics who lambasted him for his Twilight Zone endings. This film went the other extreme, with absurdly heavy foreshadowing and cliche moments of melodrama by actors who were obviously about to roll their eyes the moment they heard “cut”.
The happening…that’s 2 hours I’ll never get back!
typical media – always rooting for somebody who’s either on top, or has been on top to fail. a comment earlier that he hopes he never directs again???? what is that all about???? just don’t go if you don’t like it. typical jealous rage against somebody more talented and successful than you. he is a GREAT director at building suspense and has proven such. was lady in the water as good as sixth sense – of course not. are u telling me that all of hitchcock’s movies were as good as psycho or rear window – i think not
So this HULK cost more, is gonna make significantly less opening weekend but is being touted as a success? I don’t get it it. It seems people like this one more in general so I guess it’ll sell more DVD’s but it’ll be interesting to see how the final numbers hold up against lee’s effort.
We thought the Hulk movie rocked. We finally got to see some of that Marvel art magic come to life with enough realism to make it fun. Lookin foward to lots of Marvel to come, and more Hulk!!
EB
Haven’t seen either film mentioned but The Happening intrigues me for the fact that original scripts are a refreshing break from the sequel, remake and tv show overlead. Also, if it manages to return to the days of Unbreakable (my favorite M. Night movie) and The Sixth Sense then it will be a pleasent surprise.
As for his “cameos”, not sure I’d relate them to those of Hitchcock. Alfred appeared in the background outside of a shop window in “Psycho”, as a party goer fixing a clock in the background in “Rear Window,” as a limo driver in “The Trouble with Harry” and all sorts of other extras. Shymalan’s cameos are far less subtle, taking more of a “Look! It’s me the director! I’m in my own movie!” approach as the recurring guy who killed Mel Gibson’s wife in “Signs” or as a supporting character in “Lady in the Water.”
i think the second hulk will be as bad as the first. No matter how many cameos are done (I admit i have not seen it so i talk from my back side) and i did go see the Happening and it SUCKED. Shyamalan has good stories but dosnt bring the story to a close you are always left w/ a thats it feeling the only movies he did do a good job on were signs and 6th sense
I enjoyed The Happening. Very much an extended “Twighlight Zone” episode type of movie. I have enjoyed all M. Night’s films, especially the ridiculously under appreciated Unbreakable, a masterpiece. Signs, The Village, even Lady, quite enjoyable. In retrospect, Hitchcock left a great body of work, with many average movies in the mix. M. Night might not rise to the level of Alfred, but I anticipate all of his projects.
I enjoyed The Happening because I never know what to expect from Shyamalan. He never fails to get me thinking about all the layers of his films. It was a big departure from his usual style, and had some great humor.
Shyamalan doesn’t preach or explain, he just lays it out and allows the viewer to come to his own conclusions.
I can’t wait for his next one!
I don’t know how or why it has become chic to put down Ang Lee’s “The Hulk.” It was a good solid effort that sought to bring some maturity to an otherwise juvenile genre. And it succeeded!
And a point of clarification (since rottentomatoes.com was cited):
Louis Leterrier’s “The Incredible Hulk” currently has a positive rating of 64% out of 141 reviews listed (dropping 3% since Ms. Finke posted her article).
Ang Lee’s “The Hulk” has a 61% positive rating out of 219 reviews. That is not a critical flop nor is it significantly worse than the new movie.
The superhero genre needs to embrace what Mr. Lee brought to the party in order to elevate it. It must grow and become more than what it currently is (which is cookie-cutter and stagnant).
I’m sorry, but The Happening was just plain awful. It’s the summer’s second example of ‘Lucas Syndrome’, where a filmmaker who’s done a few good pictures is given free rein and final cut, with no one to rewrite them.
M. Night is incredibly talented, but has absolutely lost perspective in his writing. Happening is a god-awful script, and technically horrendous. Someone should have told him that before they dropped $60 million on it.
Not to mention casting – Marky Mark and Zooey Deschanel? REALLY? Whose idea was that? Probably the worst on-screen couple since Kutcher and Brittany Murphy in Just Married. Awful, awful, awful.
I liked The Happening. I think what has Hollywood so pissed is that it isn’t a cartoon, a remake,or a remake based on a cartoon, or something with the John Belusi of the big screen, Will Farrel.
Since when are studios in the business of doing a remake that makes LESS than the original? Huh? That’s a great opening (and nobody’s factoring in inflation, to boot). The fact that the studio low-balled expectations means little (they almost always low ball).
THE HAPPENING wouldn’t be considered a great weekend if M.Night hadn’t flopped the last couple of times out (just think if these were the opening grosses following SIXTH SENSE).
Don’t fall for those lowered “expectations”!
Most film makers get better over time. M Night has been careening downward since Sixth Sense. I can’t believe people give him money to make these flops. He shouldn’t direct anything longer than a trailer. Maybe if he wasn’t so arrogant to think he has to write, direct, produce and star in his movies, he would do better. He can’t write dialogue that’s at all believable.
Hulk was a fun movie. The Happening looks horrible. The whole eco thing is just so cliched and heavy-handed by now. Painful. And Wahlberg is a horrible actor. He can protray arrogant cocky meatheads … and that’s about it. Although he couldn’t even pull that off in the Departed. He looks like he’s acting when he acts.
To the person complaining about the boom mic in Happening, it’s a projectionist problem at the theatre, not a fault of the direction.
But, I agree that the film was horrid. Though I didn’t even like Sixth Sense, I rush out and see every one of his movies with my friends opening weekend, find a good spot separated from people, and mock the entire production. I dont know if I’ve ever had a better time making fun of a movie than The Village. Priceless. Saw it at least twice. Lady In The Water was a letdown, but this was definitely a return to laughably bad form.
Also… the comment about every Hitchcock film not being as great as Rear Window or Psycho is priceless. Sure, he had some misfires. But those two CLASSICS aren’t even his best two films in my mind. And the guy made at least ten films that are virtually perfect. It’s horrific to even talk about M. Night in the same breath as Hitch.
these horror pictures like happening seem to open well and then fall of as usual. People are wanting to see something new and then they go and again nothing new just another totally depressing film (if you can call it that)/ in reality the happening is that the great majority of Americans are sick and tired of the depressed hollywood glop and they are sick and tired of mass killings or mass suicides or mass murderer it is sooooo overdone it is pathetic i mean really pathetic / it is pitiful // there is nothing new and they keep remaking old movies that had something in them besides these worn out themes because they can’t come up with anything new // once you have seen hacking blood and mass killings once just adding in some little quirk just does not make it new just the same ole same ole (glop) that nobody really wants to see // the vast majority are sick and tired of going to a movie to have a good time and comming out depressed // they are just sick and tired of it // i hear it all the time over and over again when the subject of movies comes up // they have just plain had it // and for good reason too
I just saw the Happening and I am very disappointed. This movie was complete crap. I should have gone to see the Hulk. The movie really did have a good plot. M-Night is make the movie The Avatar, dude…all I can say is DON’T SCREW THAT MOVIE UP or please just allow someone who can do a better job at the movie do it.
VERY DISAPPOINTED…
why does everyone keep saying “the happening is an original script/idea/movie”?? didn’t anybody see “the signal” about 4 months ago? they sure do look the same. m night lost me after “signs”, it was stupid, aliens with space travel need crop circles to navigate to a planet covered in water which can kill them. thats just stupid. so no more ticket money for him and now I wont even bother to netflix his crap, not worth the time.
THE HULK ROCKS
both movies were terrible.
acting in “the happening” was nothing short of a joke. shymalan’s worst.
hulk was nothing short of weak the whole time until the end when a certain someone walked in. I can see what they envisioned, but it never got there. They saw something brilliant in their minds, and out came poo.
the box office is getting surprises, but we aren’t. hopefully they’re using this money to make something good.
I hated Lee’s Hulk. Too ridiculous, too juvenile. I liked the new one, though.
I have given credit where Mr. Lee’s movie deserved it, but I also feel his version was very embryonic to the overall modern take on the Hulk mythos. It also showed an undeveloped understanding on what makes the character tick. More a false and unsure attempt, instead of the cognitive or intuitive understanding that typically precedes taking one’s training wheels off.
…the latest Marvel produced movie is the Hulk in all his mature and grown-up glory. nor longer gestating, learning to walk….or cutting oneself shaving. It is possible that Mr. Lee’s version was allowed to happen in order for this one to be better understood & enjoyed.
Thank you Mr. Leterrier and Mr. Norton for a fun time. Hopefully you can get some mileage out of your production before the summer is over….especially so that Marvel will want to do another one.
I just saw the incredible hulk and i sneaked into the happening…I loved both! Incredible hulk looks way more realistic this time (although still a lil fake). Norton and Tyler did a pretty good job. The villain also did a great job at making sense of the plot.
The happening was good. I dont know why everyone here is hating it. It was suspenseful; it had all the effects of what Night’s movies have been in the past. The acting for Marky Mark wasnt as great as I expected, but i liked the plot. Its true that at times the characters made stupid decisions, but dont all scary movies do that anyway?
Happening was a disaster.What a waste of time. I saw bunch of folks acting intrigued just for the heck of it. A big DUD. I want my money back, Mr syamalan.
wow. someone said edward norton was excellent in the illusionist. that is easily the most ridiculous statement pertaining to cinema i have heard in the past decade. good sir, please dont procreate and pollute the already tainted gene pool of motion pictue opinion. some people think all opinions are valid and debatable. i do not. i am always right.
ang lee’s hulk was fun and non-demanding. good. if you want to be blown away by a movie, rent magnolia. for gods sake, its a green monster. get over yourself.
mr m night shayma-wutever-the-fuck, get over yourself. sixth sense was good, but when did great and tricky endings become more important than a substantive and enthralling beginning and middle?
im bored of writing.
Wow! Arrogant? M.Night Shama-Lama-Ding-Dong is arrogant?! NOOOO, really? The self-proclaimed second coming of Hitchcock? Sixth Sense was quite good, but the guy’s still a legend in his own mind.
M. Night DID have a cameo: as Joey, the guy calling Zooey’s character.
I agree that Ang Lee’s “Hulk” was lame. Actually it was Ang Lee’s first attempt at the whole “gay” thing. If you watch closely you’ll see what I mean.
i hope against hope that THE HAPPENING was a self-parody on his previous films. taken in that vein, the movie was absolutely hilarious. otherwise, as a true horror/suspense film, it was a horribly frustrating film to sit through.
the hulk?? really?? the hulk?? are you people 12 years old?
crap movies like this are the reason other countries are blowing past us
My question is did people really hate Ang Lee’s Hulk as much as they say they do? I thought there was a lot more character and substance in Ang Lee’s version but of course also found a great performance and more action in the new version. Both were good.
I could care less about the inside Hollywood gossip on the filmmaker. All I care about is do I like his style of filmmaking. I anticipate that I will like this film. Period.
To me the bigger story is poor Adam Sandler is now out of the Box office Zohan.
Just saw The Happening a few hours ago and it could possibly be the worst movie of all time. Seriously… one minute we’re watching horrific, disturbing self-mutilation… and then next we’re subjected to MNS’s idea of moronic comic relief dialog. Just awful.
Wow … some mouth-breathers on here, per usual, chicken-pecking their feeble reactions to movies through some abstract lens of dime-store politicization. Oh, you and your family thought THE HAPPENING was a “poke in the eye” to Hollywood? Probably because you and your family are water-headed mongloids incapable of critical analysis, much less thinking outside what the television tells you. The lady who complained about “Hollywood glop” is just an idiot who ought to have her head run over with a semi. Good God … can’t we find these people and hurt them!?
Comment by matt — June 14, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
So you are a fan of Lee’s ‘The Brokeback Hulk’ eh! Hey! Whatever rocks your boat. You should go watch all other Lee’s movies that deals with melo-dramatic characters.
It;s my opinion that Norton was good in The Illusionist and I stand by it.
You are bored of writing, then stop writing.
I did not like “The Happening.” Too much went on that was not eventually explained. Poor acting by Zooey…
The Happening was one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched in my life. When it’s released on dvd it should be renamed to “Where’s the Plot?” Terrible Terrible Terrible film. I’m guessing that the people that say they liked this film here are being paid to do so because the only thing I liked about it, was when it finally ended! Terrible Terrible Terrible writing, poor acting, oh did I mention it was Terrible? ((whistle whistle)) HERE PLOT!!!
If that’s all Mr Night has to offer, he really should find a new line of work. HORRIBLE…
“The Happening” was a horror movie for global warming nuts, boring and long at an hour and thirty minutes.
A cameo from Shyamalan isn’t a bad thing…problem is he tends to give himself full on ROLES in his movies. Showing up, or even one line wouldn’t be bad, but he tends to appear much more than that…and he sucks as an actor for the most part.
It’s bad enough that he thinks he’s Hitchcock, but he seems to think he’s Tarantino as well.
I really like M Night Shyamalan’s movies. The Sixth Sense is my favorite, but I really liked The Village too. I havent seen Narnia yet but soon will. I have Netflix so I dont go to the movies as often. I think I’ll go see the new Batman when it comes out just to see Heath Ledger’s final acting job. He was brilliant in The Lords of Doggtown.
I have always enjoyed Mr. Shyamalan’s movies. He is a brilliant, creative storyteller. I can’t wait to see his next movie.
I agree with chum chum, but would like to add – What is the last movie any of you “critics” have made? You all sit at your computers, anonymously griping whilst using fake screenames. Pathetic! Do you think directing/acting is easy? Why don’t you show all of us what you have made.
You are criticizing M. Night’s work because the main story did also. It’s that kick them when they are down attitude that so many people have.
Personally I thought The Happening was interesting, it had it’s moments of suspense just like it was supposed to and it kept me wondering what was coming next. Some scenes were actually quite shocking and caused me to look away. I am not quite sure what you were expecting to see. But maybe you can put that in YOUR NEXT FILM. Oh, wait, you’re just a loser on the computer in your mother’s basement.
I think 10 million for the weekend “Sex in the City” is pretty good. BUT, can you imagine what the DVD sales are gonna be like for this movie. All those women are gonna want that dvd in their homes. It will be much easier to have the movie than a pair of shoes from Blahniks.
I love M. Knight and all his movies. Maybe I have a lower standard – I just wanna be entertained! I had a busy weekend and have yet to see The Happeneing but will no doubt shell out the full price soon. I’m glad the critics didn’t prevent the paying public from getting a chance to see it in the theater.
Chum Chum Choogeroo — Talk about arrogant, self centered, pseudo-critical-thinking. It is often the case that critical thinking is a code word for sameness, allegiance to dogma and all things totalitarian. The irrational anger and hostility by Chum Chum Choogeroo is very instructive on the mentality of irrelevance and insecurity.
Wow Sara defensive are we? I haven’t read too many comments saying that any of us could make better movies. I think most people just think that if you’re going to pay $10 to see a movie they want it to be good. Guess what, most people didn’t like it and they’re entitled to that opinion, just as you are yours. As misguided and uninformed as it may be. Also I noted the 8:15 am posting time on a sunday morning, what brings you down from your ivory tower to talk with likes of us basement dwellers since obviously you have better things to do.
I happened to see the HAPPENING and it was good movie, but reading the post here one would have guessed it was horrible, wow. I think I came to the conclusion if you are a studio why would you make a movie that makes people think? Most people who go see movies are below the average brain dead Joe blow, and most of the movie critics are no talent journalist who can’t make it in the “real” world journalism. So I stop reading all the reviews and just picking movies to see, some turn out to be good some not so but its only $6.50 per ticket,
Mr. M Night is an exceptional talent but as with any director he does have some flaps. Like with any job, some days are better the others.
P.S the illusionist was an excellent movie,
John
Sara – Well good point. Guess what some of us are Writers, and trust me when I tell you that I would be embarrassed to release such a terrible story and put my name on it. All Writers eventually have a bad story but if you keep writing they get better. In this case Mr Knight has been releasing bad ones for quite sometime now, and that leaves many of us to wonder if he should just take some time and find a plot LITERALLY.
Only 2 good MNS movies: Signs and Sixth Sense.
Happening was a flop, terrible plot, no “shocker” ending or anything. Terrible acting, some worse than others. The one girl on the bench “oh my god, are those people clawing at themselves? Is that blood?” Probably the WORST acting I’ve ever seen! What a waste. Wait for DVD or throw it Netflix if you must see it. It’s barely worth a $1 rental.
I saw The Happening last night and it was awful. This thing will fall off a cliff as soon as people like me, who paid good money to see this drivel, tell all their friends. I bet next weekend it’s not even in the top 10.
Just saw Hulk, was better than expected, maybe a little much on the sci-fi effects but good nonetheless.
On the other hand, The Happening was good for first 15 mins then really got bad down the home stretch, Shyamalam’s got to be the worst director I have ever witnessed….hands down.
“the Happening” was the stupidest movie i have seen so far this summer……real stinker
I think the worst bit of luck for Shyamalan has been the fact that he lives in the present day, in which morons believe that one’s second and even one’s sixth project should exactly resemble your first. The majority of patrons and even a significant percentage of the film press CONTINUES to exit a Shyamalan flick mumbling disgruntledly ‘that wasn’t anything like The Sixth Sense’ and totally missing any potential within the present piece. How can the fellow make any progress with an audience like that?
I saw The Happening in the early afternoon Friday, but I have yet to form a comprehensive opinion about the movie, because it’s not some bit of brain candy designed for entertainment that can be easily summarized. Neither is it some empty-headed political statement about the environment. As is the case with most of his work, it’s never what it might appear to be on the surface. The Happening, I believe, is one of the more complicated projects from MNS. It will take some time to process.
Sadly, our ridiculous culture is not capable of letting it breathe. We’re too quick to set it ablaze because it’s trickery has deceived the simpletons among us into believing there is nothing to see. If that makes no sense, consider: Signs was not a movie about aliens. Lady in the Water was not just some live-action bedtime story. I’m not going to proffer explications here, but I will say that if you disagree with either of those statements, you really don’t need to be posting your opinions about Shyamalan films in public.
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Re: The Incredible Hulk: A very nice restart. Norton did a good job with it. The plot was sort of samey (Hulk vs Other Type Of Hulk), but the production was more linear. Ang Lee’s attempt to make a film look like a comic was novel, but rather failtastic. I was also pleased to see the various connections to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Iron Man storyline. I’m hoping this will prove to be a significant tie-in with the larger Marvel Universe on down the line.
M. Night Shyamalan, while his directing is good, needs to let someone help him with the writing. The plot seemed middle school — something most kids could think up — and he gave it away too early in the film. Having the characters just come right out and say it so soon, then duh Walberg’s character entertains it, and finally embraces it was bad. The characters while played by older actors — were given middle school dialogue. The actors all did a great job given what they had to work with.
Just saw the happening and i must agree, he’s got to NOT write his movies — his dialogue is so annoyingly pedantic and corny as it can be and it is like that in every movie. But I must say after being burned by the village and disliking lady in the water, this happening is so much better than those two movies, but that’s not saying much, but at least its in the right direction. Mark Walhberg is a great actor and he would be the reason to see this movie. If you want edge of your seat suspense go see Vacancy, this one is pretty tame in the scare factor, but again a much better effort than his last two movies.
I say that Edward Norton should be allowed to produce and market a “star’s cut” of the movie. The reviews may have been positive, but most seem to argue that the movie was pedestrian. I want to see what Norton can do with all of the material at his disposal.
“I agree with chum chum, but would like to add – What is the last movie any of you “critics” have made? You all sit at your computers, anonymously griping whilst using fake screenames. Pathetic! Do you think directing/acting is easy? Why don’t you show all of us what you have made.”
That’s completely idiotic and illogical.
You honestly think people aren’t qualified to give an opinion of whether they liked a movie or not unless they MAKE movies? If your surgeon accidentally cuts your leg off, then I guess you can’t complain unless you have done surgery yourself?
And agreeing with that “chum chum” fellow? Really? “The lady who complained about “Hollywood glop” is just an idiot who ought to have her head run over with a semi.” We’re supposed to take that sort of ranting seriously?
I’d rather sit through a flawed but interesting M. Night movie any day than some entirely CGI-dependent comic book adaptation or God forbid, Zohan.
And what’s with thinking Shyamalan is the one and only arrogant man who has ever existed in Hollywood?
Really??
If you’re going to hate every movie made by a guy with a big ego there won’t be much for you to see. I am very baffled with all the fixation on his personality. It’s weird.
Steven, if you saw the boom mic during the film- its because your movie theater had mis-aligined the frame on the screen. All boom mics are filmed- its up to the theater to line up the frame properly….