Scarlett Johansson-starrer “Lucy” brought in $44 million on its opening weekend at the domestic box office, leaving behind Dwayne Johnson’s “Hercules,” which managed a not-so-paltry $29 million.

“Lucy,” directed by Luc Besson and featuring Johansson as a superhuman who gains her powers from drugs, reportedly surpassed expectations at cinemas across the U.S. and Canada. Johansson plays Lucy, a drug mule in a futuristic Taiwan who wakes up to find drugs surgically inserted into her body. However, after she's kicked around by bad guys, the package bursts inside her and she finds herself blessed with superpowers.

"It's a great result in every depressed marketplace," Universal Pictures' distribution chief Nikki Rocco reportedly said. "And I think it says that more female action stars are called for."

“Hercules,” which is produced by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, came in second.

Paramount Pictures vice chairman Rob Moore reportedly said that the movie’s performance was affected by “Lucy,” which was not initially scheduled to release alongside “Hercules” but took the slot after “Jupiter Ascending” was moved to 2015.

"We'll get to a great number globally. Dwayne Johnson remains a huge star," Moore reportedly said. The film, which cost $100 million to make, has so far received about $28.7 million outside the U.S., and will next release in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” which had topped the box office for the last two weekends, collected $16.4 million.

"The Purge: Anarchy," which made $51.3 million in its first two weekends, was fourth at the box office this weekend with $9.9 million in sales, while the Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) animated sequel "Planes: Fire and Rescue" was slightly behind Universal Pictures' low-budget horror film, pulling in $9.3 million.

Cameron Diaz-starrer “Sex Tape,” which released on July 18, was at No. 6 grossing $6 million, while Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction” generated $4.6 million in sales.

Other films that rounded out the Top 10 list at this weekend’s box office are Michael Douglas starrer “And So It Goes” with $4.6 million; Melissa McCarthy starrer “Tammy” with $3.4 million; and “A Most Wanted Man,” which features the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and made $2.7 million.