13 Movies You Presumed Were Massive Flops (That Really Weren't)
5. Hulk
Appointing an art film director of Ang Lee's caliber and reputation was a very bizarre choice for a superhero movie, especially one revolving around a giant green monster smashing things up for two hours. As a result, Lee decided to make a different film altogether: a slow-burn, character-driven blockbuster which took a bit too long to tell its story, no doubt putting the kids to sleep before the action even got started.
In spite of its creative direction, the movie was met with a lukewarm reception from audiences and critics, and the movie failed to take off at the box office, taking $245 million against a $137 million budget. A similar profit margin was true of the second attempt to commodify The Hulk with Edward Norton, and frankly it wasn't until the green guy appeared in The Avengers that he seemed to truly latch on with audiences. That said, Lee's film is constantly dismissed as a stone cold flop, when it was really far from that.