Not Comics: New Hulk (Not A) Smash

I tend not to follow film business news, so I can only hope that folks working that side of the tracks have pointed out that the supposedly more crowd-pleasing, easier-to-take Incredible Hulk looks more and more like it will stall out just past or even just short of revenues earned by the maligned-by-some Ang Lee brood-fest Hulk, even though tickets cost a bit more now. (My hunch is that if you used 2008 ticket prices for Hulk instead of 2003 ticket prices you'd add another $40 million to the earlier movie's worldwide gross.)

Film success seems to have a limited and debatable effect on Marvel's comics publishing, probably restricted to a slight change of emphasis on certain trade volumes tied into release dates and a generally positive or negative feeling regarding the character by the company's editors and creators. (The Blade character has had series opportunities based on his movie success.) However, becoming a major movie player is the company's overall thrust these days, and this can't help Marvel reach that goal. I would imagine this ends any possibility of making a franchise out of the character -- at least not until the CGI that doesn't involve hiring Andy Serkis progresses beyond Scooby Doo/Jar Jar Binks territory -- and unless Marvel can will the PR-driven entertainment news world to ignore the negative aspects of this outcome (and they might be able to), this puts pressure on a not-exactly-a-Pixar-flick Punisher sequel to perform ahead of expectations or Marvel is one for three in 2008.

That one -- Iron Man -- is a pretty spectacular one, mind you. And I know this is largely a perception game: Sin City made less than Garfield at the box office, but the former is considered a much bigger hit (for a number of reasons). Still, if Incredible Hulk had earned about $75-$125 million more it would compound the amount of crowing Marvel could do about their first year as a movie-maker. At the very least, I would imagine Jon Favreau's agent is pleased by this news, as a shift from an "unstoppable studio" to a "breakout hit" spin on 2008 would seemingly increase the amount of leverage the director has in returning for a Iron Man sequel.
 
posted 8:10 am PST | Permalink
 

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