Chapter 332: Actors Distancing Themselves

Chapter 332: Chapter 332: Actors Distancing Themselves

After the premiere, the audience’s word-of-mouth rating for Hulk was average, but in the eyes of film critics, it was indeed a masterpiece that should not be missed.

Roger Ebert, in his column in the Chicago Sun-Times, praised the work in nearly a thousand words, his writing filled with admiration for Ang Lee’s cinematic language: "Ang Lee’s Hulk is an elegant artistic experiment in visual terms. He boldly appropriates the split-screen technique from comic books, which is not a simple repetition of form, but a fusion of moving frame lines and picture-in-picture narration, creating a subtle intertextual relationship between the foreground and background—when Bruce Banner’s pained expression and the Hulk’s enraged form are intertwined in the same frame, that sense of pulling between humanity and bestiality is far more impactful than simple fighting."

He particularly emphasized, "As an ’outsider’ to the sci-fi genre, Ang Lee deliberately downplayed the showy aspects of action special effects, turning instead to deepen the emotional depth of the characters, making this classic figure in American comic book history a flesh-and-blood tragic hero burdened with family trauma and a self-identity crisis."

The New Yorker’s film review also gave high praise: "This movie completely breaks out of the mold of popcorn blockbusters. Ang Lee uses his unique, delicate touch to sublimate the superhero movie into a philosophical exploration of identity and redemption. Split-screen editing is not a new technique, but in his hands, the smooth switching of moving split-screens, the rapid interleaving and seamless transition of multiple images, make the big screen seem to turn into a living comic book. Every shot pays tribute to the original work while achieving a breakthrough in the dimension of cinematic language."

Professional media outlets such as Sight & Sound and Film Comment also followed suit, praising the film for "achieving a breakthrough in artistic expression within the framework of commercial genre films."

The endorsement of professional film critics did play a certain role. At this stage, many fans would still go to the cinema because of critics’ reviews. Coupled with the fact that Hulk’s own appeal was not to be underestimated, and the residual heat of the superhero movie craze ignited by Spider-Man had not yet faded, the opening week box office of Hulk was not as dismal as the complaints on the premiere night had predicted.

In its first weekend, the film topped the North America box office chart with a box office of $62.6 million. Although this figure did not have the explosive power of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, nor did it reach Universal’s expected peak, compared to the production budget and promotion investment of $137 million, it was already a passing grade.

Executives at Universal Pictures once breathed a sigh of relief. Ron Meyer emphasized at an internal meeting: "The recognition from critics proves the artistic value of the film, and the first week’s box office also verifies the appeal of the IP. As word-of-mouth spreads, the subsequent box office is expected to stabilize."

The company had even begun preparing for a small-scale additional promotion plan, trying to use the positive reviews from critics to further leverage the market.

However, this optimism only lasted for a short week.

In the second weekend, the box office of Hulk suffered a cliff-like plunge. The $12.5 million result was an 80% drop from the first week, falling directly from the box office champion to the middle and lower reaches of the list.

Such a drop was not only unseen in the history of superhero movies, but even in the entire history of commercial film distribution, it was extremely rare. This completely shattered Universal’s wishful thinking.

Even more fatal was that the negative word-of-mouth from ordinary audiences continued to ferment on social media. Evaluations such as "dull and long," "not worthy of the name," and "wasting the IP" became mainstream. Even with the high praise and endorsement of film critics, it was difficult to reverse the public’s resistance.

Universal Pictures quickly launched crisis public relations, urgently halting all additional promotion plans, and the originally scheduled overseas promotion activities were also shelved indefinitely.

Ron Meyer’s office was lit all night. Internal data showed that the audience exit rate was as high as 40%, and the re-watch rate was less than 5%. The loss of the core audience group was a foregone conclusion.

Worse still, cinema chains began to significantly reduce screenings, and some theaters even pulled the film directly, leaving the screens for competitors with more market appeal.

All of a sudden, Universal became the laughingstock of major film companies, and their PR department began to find ways to divert attention, deliberately downplaying the production side’s decision-making errors regarding the film’s positioning, and instead pointing the finger directly at the director, Ang Lee: "The market feedback for Hulk did not meet expectations. The core reason lies in the director’s deviation in handling commercial genre films, over-emphasizing personalized artistic expression and ignoring the general audience’s core expectations for superhero movies."

This statement was like a giant wave, pushing Ang Lee in front of the audience all at once.

Some extreme fans began to vent their anger on Ang Lee, and comments about "Ang Lee ruined the Hulk" appeared one after another on Facebook.

True, the film was directed by him, and he does need to bear some responsibility for the current effect. However, the film’s script and overall style were subject to layers of internal review by Universal, and Ang Lee is not the boss of Universal. How could he just film it however he wanted?

Those in the know could naturally see Universal’s intention to shirk responsibility at a glance.

The film critics who had previously praised the film spoke out collectively to refute. Roger Ebert blasted Universal in a subsequent column: "Blaming the director for the box office failure is the most cowardly act of buck-passing in Hollywood. Ang Lee used artistic methods to open up new possibilities for superhero movies. The real problem is that the production side wanted both artistic reputation and commercial box office, but never clarified its own positioning."

The New Yorker pointed out even more directly: "Universal supported Ang Lee’s creative concept throughout the early stages of the project, but now they’ve turned their backs. This opportunistic approach is more contemptible than the controversy of the film itself."

Just as public opinion was at a stalemate, the statement by the male lead, Eric Bana, completely pushed Ang Lee into the center of the storm.

This actor, who had gained a lot of attention through the film, posted a long article on his personal Facebook, filled with accusations against Ang Lee, even throwing out extreme comments such as "Ang Lee is the worst director he has ever seen."

He claimed: "During the filming process, Ang Lee was completely immersed in his own world, refusing to listen to reasonable suggestions from the actors, and his understanding of the character ran counter to the original comic books. I had repeatedly suggested that the core of the Hulk should be a manifestation of power and justice, rather than endless inner struggle, but my opinions were always ignored."

Bana’s "distancing" comments were like pulling the rug out from under him.

As the core star of the film, his public rebellion not only left Ang Lee in a situation of being isolated and helpless, but also caused the film’s already precarious reputation to completely collapse.

Many audience members were misled by his remarks and became even more convinced that the film’s failure stemmed from Ang Lee’s "arbitrariness," and some extreme fans even launched a "Boycott Ang Lee’s Works" campaign.

There were also many voices of doubt within the Hollywood industry. Some production companies began to take a cautious attitude toward cooperating with Ang Lee, believing that he was "too stubborn and not suitable for commercial blockbuster creation."