Shyamalan's Latest Defies Critics

It was called “ a form of Chinese-water torture” and “ what should be the death knell for M. Night Shyamalan’s career,” and none of that mattered a lick: The Last Airbender raked in $53.2 million over the weekend, finishing second in the box office behind Twilight: Eclipse. The New York Times credits its success to “the power of the Nickelodeon brand.” (The film was produced by Paramount’s Nickelodeon division and was adapted from a Nickelodeon cartoon.)