Once again, M. Night Shyamalan has delivered the surprise twist—this time, in his own career.

After a series of critical pans and low box-office expectations, The Happening—the new flick featuring mass suicide from the director of The Sixth Sense—grossed more than $30 million in its opening weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based entertainment-research company.

Shyamalan established his trademark blend of horror and sci-fi, with a smattering of plot kinks, in 1999, with The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis. The movie unexpectedly became one of the most successful horror films of all time, grossing about $673 million worldwide for Disney's Buena Vista studio.

But none of Shyamalan's movies since The Sixth Sense has matched that movie's box-office receipts or critical acclaim. Among his next three films for Buena Vista—Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village—only 2002's Signs, starring Mel Gibson, even approached Sense's success, grossing about $408 million worldwide. Unbreakable only took in $95 million domestically, while The Village scored a disappointing $114 million in the U.S.

After a much-publicized split with Disney, Shyamalan then moved to Warner Bros. for his biggest dud yet, 2006's critically panned Lady in the Water, which made only $73 million worldwide.
 
Making matters worse were a series of remarks Shyamalan made criticizing the judgment and honesty of Disney executives that appeared in a book about his career.

With The Happening, Shyamalan switched studios again, this time landing at Fox. And expectations were low, given the movie's initial notices.

"This is easily the worst of all his movies," says David Poland, editor of several influential movie-industry blogs. With negative reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere, Poland said on Friday that The Happening would need to have an opening weekend of at least $25 million to be deemed a success because of Shyamalan's notoriety and past record.

"Everybody has this incredible focus on Night because he has put the focus on himself," says Poland.

Making a big opening even more unlikely was The Happening's release date, which put it into direct competition with The Incredible Hulk, a movie destined to be popular among the exact fans—teenage boys and young men—who are Shyamalan's bread and butter. (The Hulk wound up topping the weekend box office with a $55 million opening, followed by Kung Fu Panda at $34 million, and then The Happening.)

Instead of fizzling, however, the movie's big opening surprised everyone, even outpacing The Sixth Sense's opening numbers (just under $27 million). The Happening's R rating, the first for Shyamalan, apparently succeeded in diversifying his typical audience. And the subtle marketing campaign, one of his least aggressive ever according to Poland, managed to pique audiences' curiosity without giving too much away.

Next up for the director is a collaboration with Paramount on Avatar: The Last Airbender, an adaptation of a Nickelodeon show. That movie is set for a 2010 release, and we're betting that Paramount is considerably happier about that arrangement this week than they were last.