This weekend at the movies: Eyes love 'Lucy'

LOS ANGELES - Luc Besson's "Lucy" proved mind can overpower muscle, topping a remake of "Hercules" by director Brett Ratner at the box office on the weekend.

The Universal Pictures-released movie starring Scarlett Johansson as an accidental psychokinetic took in $44 million in North American movie theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates yesterday.

"Hercules," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and produced by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, brought down an estimated $29 million.

Universal's president of domestic distribution, Nikki Rocco, said audiences were attracted to the original story about the main character gaining superhuman powers by using more and more of her brain.

People also wanted to see Johansson in an action role, something she's done more frequently in movies like "The Island" (2005), "Iron Man 2" (2010), "The Avengers" (2012) and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014).

Meanwhile, Johnson's draw with men, women and children helped "Hercules" power into the No. 2 spot.

"Boyhood," a Richard Linklater film that tracks the life of a boy from age 5 to 18, gained traction in its third week of release by distributor IFC Films with $1.7 million from just 107 locations.