This weekend will be a very interesting one at the box office, but next weekend should determine the fate of Marvel's most ambitious superhero film.  Ang Lee's Hulk should easily smash its token opposition including the ridiculous From Justin To Kelly.  But in spite of generally favorable reviews (21 out of 30 according to the latest count on the Rotten Tomatoes website) plenty of doubts remain as to how big Hulk's first weekend take will be, and how long the not so jolly green giant will be able to dominate the movie box office.  Ang Lee's cerebral approach to the superhero genre has managed to please a majority of critics, but what about those comic book fans, who always say they want to have their favorite characters taken seriously -- will they accept Lee's dark, brooding quasi-Shakespearean approach?  No industry observers are predicting that Hulk will reach the rarefied air of Spider-Man, and few give it a chance to match X2's $210 million total, though its gargantuan launch in some 3661 theaters should mean that Hulk will pull in more than $60 million in its opening frame.

Certainly Universal has waged an all out campaign that started during the Superbowl and has continued unabated on TV and in other media.  With help from Nabisco, Pepsi, Hersheys and Kraft, the Hulk has been on more food products than the jolly green giant.  Payless Shoes just announced another major promotion involving a new line of all terrain footwear and accessories sporting the image of Hulk and other Marvel characters.  The effectiveness of movie marketing campaigns has never been more in evidence than during this summer season, which has seen films such as The Matrix Reloaded and 2 Fast 2 Furious explode like supernovas on their opening weekends and then shrivel quickly in subsequent frames.  Will the Hulk suffer a similar fate?  A lot depends on how comic fans receive the film and whether the cachet of a top director like Ang Lee can bring a wider audience to the theaters, an audience that wants more than a thrill ride of special effects and non-stop action out of its movie-going experience.