Monster turnout for Hulk premier

The stars of summer blockbuster The Hulk enjoyed a monster turnout when they showed up for the film’s UK premiere tonight.

More than a thousand fans lined London’s Leicester Square for the debut of the action movie.

Eight months pregnant Jennifer Connelly, who plays Betty Ross in the film, looked glowing as she arrived on the arm of husband Paul Bettany.

And Eric Bana, who plays the Hulk’s alter-ego Bruce Banner, was given a rapturous reception by the crowd.

The Australian actor, who flew in today from Malta where he is filming opposite Brad Pitt in Troy, joked that he could not find an appropriate outfit for the occasion.

Dressed in a charcoal grey suit, he said: “I looked everywhere for a green suit but I couldn’t find a nice one so I’ve had to make do with this.”

Pop star Holly Valance turned up to support her fellow Australian, and other celebrities on the guest list included Chris Eubank and Daley Thompson.

Bana stars as the mild-mannered scientist who is transformed into The Hulk when a nuclear experiment goes wrong.

The green monster appears whenever Banner is in a rage, leading to the immortal lines: “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

The Hulk started life as a Marvel comic strip in 1962 and was turned into the hit TV series in the late 1970s.

Whereas the TV monster was played by former Mr Universe Lou Ferrigno, the monster in the film is computer generated.

Ferrigno makes a cameo appearance in the movie playing a security guard.

The film is from Taiwanese director Ang Lee, best known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the Oscar-winning adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

It took more than $62m (€54m) in its first weekend at the US box office, a record June opening.

But takings fell 70% in its second weekend, one of the most drastic drops in recent times.