For only the second time in the last seven weeks it appears that no film will manage to top $50 million at the box office this weekend.  Harrison Ford's Hollywood Homicide may have the best chance, but his star lost some of its luster with the abject failure of the dismal K-19: Widowmaker, and a formulaic cop/buddy picture, even one written by Ron Shelton, seems unlikely to garner a huge audience, though it should do well.  The Rugrats add the Wild Thornberrys to the mix in The Rugrats Go Wild, but the trend on these TV cartoon series going to the big screen has been downward ever since the surprisingly strong showing of the first Rugrats movie ($27 million opening) and the TV tyros face some real competition from Pixar's Finding Nemo, which has led the box office all week long after dropping only 35% during its second weekend.  As for Dumb & Dumberer, it will find its audience, though it's unlikely that it will open with anything close to a $50 million opening weekend.  So chalk it up to superstitions about opening on Friday the thirteenth if you will, but it is clear that Hollywood is taking a short breath before Ang Lee's Hulk movie debuts next week ushering in a four-week barrage of screen heavyweights, including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (June 27), T-3: Rise of the Machines (July 2) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (July11), that will make up the heart of this summer's season of blockbusters (see 'Best in Shows').

As for Ang Lee's Hulk film, the not-so-jolly Green Giant is on the cover of the new TV Guide and the first reviews of the film in the trades have just appeared.  Todd McCarthy in Variety calls the film 'a brooding, impeccably crafted psychological drama that reworks the superhero format,' and concludes, 'After a brawny B.O. opening, anything is possible, although a heavy repeat business looks doubtful.'  According to McCarthy the film the Hulk most resembles is King Kong, though he finds the computer-generated Hulk less believable and affecting than Willis O'Brien's stop-motion animated ape. 

The Hollywood Reporter was much more positive: 'The Hulk is at once a cutting-edge special effects extravaganza and a throwback to those science fiction classics of the '50s, where B-movie makers actually had things to say about the human condition.  It's the best of both worlds, filled with visual energy, genuine artistry and compelling human emotions.  In its own way every bit as inspiring and exciting as his last film, the international hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon....'