Hulk had been generating some negative buzz, but the film defied its detractors and took in a pretty surprising $54.5 million on 3,505 screens in its first weekend. It's less than Ang Lee's previous version ($62.1 million opening weekend), but that one had poor word of mouth, so didn't go on to a huge box office take. This one's an improvement, so surely fans will tell their friends -- or take someone new when they see it again.

In its second week, Kung Fu Panda managed to stay ahead of the week's other wide release, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Panda made $34.3 million on 4,136 screens (for a two-week total of $117.9 million) compared to $30.5 million on 2,986 screens for The Happening. The surprising twist, though, is that The Happening still managed to exceed industry expectations, despite finishing third for the week.

In these dire economic times, it isn't often that there are three success stories at the movies in one weekend, so this could be considered the best weekend of the summer when it's all said and done. After all, those weren't the only success stories:

- You Don't Mess With the Zohan earned another $16.4 million (No. 4 for the week) instead of falling to the bottom of the box office based on terrible word of mouth, bringing its two-week take to a WAY-more-than-I-expected $68.8 million.

- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($13.5 million for fifth place for the weekend) and Iron Man ($5.1 million for seventh) both neared the $300 million domestic box office mark in their fourth and seventh respective weeks in release. Indy's already made $275.3 million and Robert Downey Jr.'s superhero is at $297.4 million.

The rest of the top 10:
6. Sex and the City, $10.2 million
8. The Strangers
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
10. What Happens in Vegas

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