text: Production Following the critical and commercial failure of Lady in the Water (2006), M. Night Shyamalan struggled to sell his next spec script entitled The Green Effect. By January 2007, it was reported that several studios had received the screenplay, but none expressed interest enough to purchase it. As a result, Shyamalan began taking notes and collecting ideas from meetings before returning home to Philadelphia to rewrite his script. In March 2007, the film was purchased as The Happening by 20th Century Fox, Mark Wahlberg joined the cast, and a theatrical release date was set for June 13, 2008. The film is Shyamalan's first R-rated project, which he produced alongside Sam Mercer and Barry Mendel. The India-based company UTV Motion Pictures also financed half of the film's budget. On March 15, 2007, Shyamalan described The Happening as a 1960s paranoia film similar to The Birds and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Production began in August 2007 in Philadelphia, with filming taking place on Walnut Street, in Rittenhouse Square Park, in Masterman High School, on South Smedley Street, and at the 'G' Lodge in Phoenixville. During post-production, the film score was recorded at the Sony Scoring Stage and composed by James Newton Howard in his sixth collaboration with Shyamalan.
  Release
  Box office
  The marketing campaign for The Happening was noted for its "aggressive" tactics and "great visuals" that successfully intrigued audiences. According to Deadline Hollywood, the film was negatively targeted by several media outlets that began rooting for the film's failure, including USA Today, while also branding Shyamalan as "the hopelessly arrogant has-been". In its opening weekend, the film grossed $30.5 million, including $13 million on its first day and $10.2 million on its second, exceeding expectations and placing third at the box office. Outside the United States and Canada, the film made $32.1 million across 88 international markets in its first three days.
  Home media
  As of August 2020, the DVD units sold have generated over US$22.4 million in revenue.
  Reception
  Critical response
  The website's critical consensus reads, "The Happening begins with promise, but unfortunately descends into an incoherent and unconvincing trifle."  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D" on an A+ to F scale.
  Some critics enjoyed it. Glenn Whipp said, "Tamping down the self-seriousness in favor of some horrific silliness, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening plays as a genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way".