Box Office: The Hulk is Happening

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


The Happening
What's It All About: M. Night Shyamalan brings the world his first R-rated film, with this apocalyptic tale of a family on the run from a threat to the entire human race.
Why It Might Do Well: The posters and trailers have been intriguing as hell.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The director's last feature, Lady in the Water, left audiences unimpressed, pulling in only $18 million on its first weekend with a domestic total of $42 million, which fell far short of the film's $70 million budget.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $30 million

The Incredible Hulk seems like a sure fire number one, but the second place film is trickier to figure out. Will The Happening be able to pull in enough for the number two spot or will Kung Fu Panda have enough staying power to push Shyamalan's latest back to third place? Decisions, decisions. Here's how I think it will go:

1. The Incredible Hulk
2. The Happening
3. Kung Fu Panda
4. You Don't Mess With the Zohan
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The summer movie season gets a bit easier to predict, but it's still far from a science. Only five of the eighteen competitors managed a perfect score, and congratulations to them. Think you can do better? Let's find out. See the bottom of this post for the rules. Here's how everyone did last week:

1. Logan Mauldin: 16
1. Awesomepants: 16
1. DarkAgair: 16
1. Ray: 16
1. Mario: 16
2. Matt: 12
2. zach: 12
2. Alex Farquharson: 12
2. David Brown: 12
2. I Eat Robots: 12
2. cubitfox: 12
2. AJ Wiley: 12
3. Aaron: 11
4. Liz: 10
4. Erin: 10
5. Brent Todd: 9
5. Ryan S.: 9
5. jessejames: 9

Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.