Despite bad buzz, critical drubbings, and the fact that it was exiled to the cinematic hinterlands of January for having a name too similar to The Green Lantern, The Green Hornet grossed $34 million and $16 million overseas this weekend.


As for The Green Lantern imbroglio, Sony initially wanted to release The Green Hornet in March, but — after complaints from Green Lantern studio Warner Brothers — the MPAA ruled that two supehero movies titled The Green [Noun] could befuddle audiences. The studios agreed that the films would be released five months apart. The Green Lantern had already locked in its June release date, so The Green Hornet was pushed to Martin Luther King Day weekend. The $34 million is good news for The Green Hornet (it was the third best January opening ever), but the film's got a way to go to recoup its $120 million budget. [Yahoo/Reuters]