“It’s a great result in every depressed marketplace … And I think it says that more female action stars are called for.”

Although the 2014 summer box office numbers are down by one-fifth as compared to last year, Luc Besson’s French action film, Lucy, hit big at theaters this weekend.

Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, follows a 25-year old American woman studying in Taiwan who is tricked into carrying a packaged drug inside her abdomen. The drug, CPH4, a synthetic superdrug that can increase the user’s brain function capacity, is accidentally released in Lucy’s system when one of her captor’s kicks her in the stomach. After that, all hell breaks loose.

Lucy is the latest in summer female-power films, overpowering its predecessors Maleficent and The Fault in Our Stars at $44 million. In fact, in the first weekend, females made up 50 percent of ticket buyers for the new film.

Lucy is one of many recent films in which Johansson portrays an action hero, including Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

“The main reasons for coming to see the film were the story, and then Scarlett,” said Nikki Rocco, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “She’s very diversified in what she does. Luc brought out the best of her in this movie.”

The R-rated film received mixed reviews in the Twitter world.

honestly, i just want to run away with lucy n travel the world and experience everything with her. #LucyMovie

— Kevin Parrom (@KevinParrom3) July 28, 2014

So, #LucyMovie. I guess the people who wrote it only used 10% of their writing ability? Skip seeing in theaters. Save $10. You're welcome.

— Ryan Meray (@RyanMeray) July 27, 2014

Lucy was cold, and if you didn't understand it or it didn't make sense to you then you dumb. Cause that movie was legit. #LucyMovie

— katnip (@meowmonet) July 28, 2014

But, despite differing opinions and only receiving a C+ CinemaScore, Lucy beat Dwayne Johnson’s Hercules, which received a B+, in the first weekend.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes finished in third at $16.4 million for the weekend.

Image via Wikimedia Commons