Demi-god, "Hercules," wasn't strong enough to overpower Scarlett Johansson's "Lucy" in the box office this weekend. Johansson's action film, directed by Luc Besson, hauled in $44 million on its opening weekend while Dwayne Johnson's reboot of Greek mythology Hercules, took second place after bringing in about $29 million.

This is Scarlett's largest non-Marvel opening weekend and the biggest opening as well for Besson.

Collider reported that the film was originally slated for an August premiere but it was shown earlier to avoid being overshadowed by other summer releases. The film outperformed other femme fatale movies, like Zoe Saldana's "Columbiana," and surprisingly, Angelina Jolie's "Salt," which took in $36 million during opening weekend. It performed better than expected and was more of a rival to well-known hit franchise, "Tomb Raider." "Lucy" also fared better than 2011's "Limitless" ($18.9 million).

Universal's president of domestic distribution, Nikki Rocco, explained what he believes, is the driving force behind "Lucy." "The main reasons for coming to see the film were the story, and then Scarlett," he said, as quoted by NY Daily News. "She's very diversified in what she does. Luc brought out the best of her in this movie."

Scarlett is well-known for her roles in various Marvel films, where she stars as Black Widow and agent Natasha Romanova. She's been instrumental in the widely-successful "Avengers," "Captain America" and "Iron Man" franchises.

"Lucy" features Johansson as she portrays a woman who spirals into the world of drug trafficking. A drug she ingested sparks a chemical reaction in her body, and she later finds she is able to make use of 90% of her human mind, giving her extraordinary abilities.

As for the rest of the weekend's top performers, Rentrak noted the following top five films this past weekend:

1. Universal's "Lucy" - $44 million 
2. Paramount's "Hercules"-$29 million 
3. 20th Century Fox's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"-$16.4 million ($172.1 million domestic total)
4. Universal's "The Purge: Anarchy" - $9.9 million ($51.3 million domestic total)
5. Disney's "Planes: Fire & Rescue" - $9.3 million ($35.1 million domestic total)

To see what "Lucy" is about, click the jump and view the film's official trailer found below. Did you watch the films over the weekend? Which one is your favorite?