'Hulk' 2003 versus 'Hulk' 2008 -- the winner is...
Posted Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:23 PM Central
by Tim Briscoe
When Marvel Studios decided to do another movie based on The Hulk, it was a chance to resurrect one of their comic book crown jewels into a successful film franchise. Marvel wanted desperately to make the big green guy a $uccessful $eries like Spider-Man and X-Men had become -- and what Iron Man will become.
Well, Marvel got their wish and the result was... Just about the same as before. It may a bit too early to fairly judge the two properties but I'll do it anyway. Below are a few critical and commercial statistics comparing director Ang Lee's 2003 movie and Louis Leterrier's reboot.
As you can see, the tally is very close. The more action-oriented, Edward Norton has movie made slightly more at the domestic box office after five weeks. The new movie has a larger edge in critical acclaim over the angst-ridden version played by Eric Bana.
One very important grade has yet to be scored -- DVD sales. (Remember that DVD accounts for the vast majority of a studio's revenue on a film.) However, media sales usually corresponds to B.O. gross so the new Hulk probably do a bit better when it comes to DVD this fall.
The Leterrier film is still being released internationally. That'll also account for a significant bump in revenue. The 2003 movie made $113.2 million at the overseas box office.
To get an accurate balance sheet, you also have to look at the costs. The production and marketing expenses of the 2003 movie totaled about $150 million. This year's The Incredible Hulk cost significantly more -- around $200 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Pulling in $100 million plus is nothing to sneeze at -- just ask Speed Racer and The Love Guru. But it pales in comparison to the takes of Spider-Man ($404 million), Spider-Man 2 ($374), Batman ($251), and Iron Man ($314+).
So in two tries, why hasn't Hulk matched the commercial and critical success of other big superhero properties? To answer that question, I must consult myself as a 12-year-old. I was the biggest X-Men and Spider-Man fanboy. I gobbled up every issue and even the cross-over appearances. Those guys rocked my early '80s world.
On the other hand, I avoided the green guy like it was green asparagus on my dinner plate. His comics were just... boring. They had none of the style and complexity of the other heroes. "Hulk Smash!" just didn't have the appeal of swinging on spider webs through NYC or the cool "snikt" of Wolverine's claws.
I have to think my 12-year-old tastes were a harbinger of these future box office performances.
What do you think? Why has Hulk failed to find as big an audience as the other comic book movies? We'd love to hear your theories -- so would Marvel and the rest of Hollywood.