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Lucy: 6 Reasons Why This Movie Was Able to Spank ‘Hercules’ at the Box Office

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 15:30 PST, Jul 27, 2014

Lucy, the science-fiction thriller starring Scarlett Johansson, was able to take the #1 spot in the US box office in its opening weekend, reaching a total of $44 million.

Many critics and fans thought that Lucy would be taking a backseat this weekend because of all of the publicity and press that surrounded Hercules and it’s leading star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. However, Hercules was only able to generate $29 million in its opening weekend.

Even though this figure earned Hercules the #2 spot in the US box office under Lucy, it still was far below the expectations of the studio. Why did Lucy win? What was so special about this Luc Besson-directed film that allowed it to defeat the Hercules powerhouse? Here are six reasons that clearly explain why things turned out the way that they did this weekend.

Lucy is an Original, Yet Appealing Story.

One of the major highlights of the battle between Lucy and Hercules is that Lucy is an original, yet appealing story. Scarlett Johansson stars as the titular character who is kidnapped, beaten and implanted with a drug that allows her to tap into unused parts of her brain – allowing her to learn difficult languages in less than an hour and control time, in addition to taking down bad guys viciously while wearing high heels.

Hercules, on the other hand, is a story that has been told many times before through live adaptations and even animated cartoons. Fans flocked to Twitter to talk more about why they loved Lucy almost immediately after seeing it over the weekend:

Luc Besson Has a Better Track Record with Moviegoers.

Luc Besson has a much better track record at the box office than Brett Ratner. Keep in mind that Brett Ratner is known for X-Men: A Last Stand – a movie that many fans and critics have claimed was the absolute worst movie of the entire franchise, and Tower Heist – an ensemble movie led by Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller that produced lackluster results. Luc Besson has been known for writing and/or directing such films as The Transporter franchise, Taken and The Fifth Element.

Morgan Freeman Did Not Star in Hercules.

Morgan Freeman has been able to gain even more appeal with the general public and moviegoer community in recent years, especially for his versatile range and captivating voice. The fact that he played a major supporting role in this movie automatically generated a massive amount of attention to it. On the other hand, Dwayne Johnson basically had to carry the weight of Hercules on his own shoulders.

Scarlett Johansson Has Proven Herself to Butt-Kicking Action Star.

Thanks to her tenure as the Black Widow of the Marvel cinematic universe, Scarlett Johansson has established herself as a convincing action star – especially from her dynamic performance in The Avengers. She doesn’t really need any super powers. She doesn’t even need a fancy costume. Moviegoers know that Scarlett Johansson can simply kick butt and put on a good show in this genre, regardless of what she is wearing.

Dwayne Johnson Relies on a Strong Ensemble Cast.

Dwayne Johnson is a solid actor that has been able to deliver some pretty impressive performances on the big screen himself. However, you need to keep in mind that most of his biggest roles have required him to simply be a part of an ensemble cast. The Fast and the Furious films, Journey to the Center of the Earth, GI Joe: Retaliation, Be Cool, and The Rundown all starred several A-list (or at least high B-list) actors and actresses along with Dwayne Johnson. Unlike Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne has not proven that he is capable of carrying a high-budget movie all by himself.

Two Final Words: Kellan Lutz.

Kellan Lutz starred in another Hercules movie that was released in the same year (January 10, 2014) and flopped. Perhaps moviegoers are still let down and disappointed by how badly that movie performed with Kellan Lutz in the driver’s seat, and the idea of spending another two hours watching The Rock give it a shot so soon after was not on their list of desirable things to do this weekend. Therefore, it seemed as if (between the two of them) Lucy was the better choice just because it has not been done before. Some people even thought that Kellan Lutz did a better job at playing Hercules than Dwayne Johnson:

Clearly, Lucy was the better choice between the two and the box office figures prove it. What do you think?

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