Lucy tops US box office with $44 million

Scarlett Johansson’s action thriller Lucy has topped the North American box office with $44 million over the weekend.

Lucy is about a woman who unlocks hitherto untapped brain powers.

Fantasy movie Hercules had to settle for an estimated $29 million between Friday and Sunday.

The film’s distributor Paramount said the takings equaled expectations.

Directed by France’s Luc Besson, Lucy tells the story of a woman who can move objects with her mind after a drug causes her brain to operate at abnormally high levels.

Hercules sees Dwayne Johnson take on the role of the fabled Greek demigod, previously played on screen by Steve Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others.

Brett Ratner’s movie performed far more strongly than The Legend of Hercules, another outing for the character that could only muster $8.6 million when it opened in US cinemas in January.

Overall North American box office takings are still down around 20% compared to last year’s record summer.

It is hoped Guardians of the Galaxy, the latest comic book fantasy from the Marvel stable, will reverse the trend when it opens in cinemas later this week.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, last week’s box office champ, fell two places to three with third weekend takings of $16.4 million.

That was enough to rank it above thriller sequel The Purge: Anarchy and Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue, both of which were also down two places on last week’s placing.

Two other new entries enjoyed more limited success than Lucy and Hercules, with both making their debuts outside of this week’s top five.

And So It Goes, a romantic comedy starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, opened at eight with first weekend takings of $4.6 million, while A Most Wanted Man made its bow at 10 with a $2.7 million tally.

North American box office Top 5:

1. Lucy – $44 million
2. Hercules – $29 million
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – $16.4 million
4. The Purge: Anarchy – $9.9 million
5. Fire & Rescue – $9.3 million MVt32qoyhi0