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A couple of new releases anchored the weekend box office charts. Predictably, they also topped the North American box office yesterday. And once again, the news was better for Scarlett Johansson than it was for The Rock.

Lucy continued its run as the number one domestic release on Monday. Its $5 million total represented a 42% hold from its Sunday gross of $11.8 million. That is almost identical to the first Monday hold of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which fell 58% from $19.5 million on its first Sunday to $8.2 million the following day. Of course, it is always more impressive for a film earning more revenue to have the same hold since the numbers are of a larger scale. That statement will be important when we move down to the second place film in a moment.

The Scarlett Johansson action film has now earned $48.9 million after only four days in release. We are discussing a fantastic performance for a $40 million production. And I would add that this turn of events should be an eye opener for studio bosses. Due to the bottom line nature of the industry, lead actresses are generally paid less than men. Ignoring the deplorable nature of that statement for a moment, Sandra Bullock’s turn with Gravity followed by Johansson with Lucy should provide the impetus for a re-evaluation of the business of movies.

As long as the imbalance exists, there is that much more reason to build films around talented actresses. In doing so, the financial basis for the current status quo will shift because films featuring female leads are frankly more interesting and original than those starring men. Cheaper plus fresh equals solid return on investment potential. And I am not even including The Katniss Scenario when I say this.

The more conventional style of moviemaking is represented by yesterday’s second place film. The Rock, he of the -13% body fat, is the single selling point of Hercules, an otherwise wholly forgettable Paramount Pictures release. We know this because most people have already forgotten the previous Hercules movie that was exhibited only six months ago. Star power still matters, at least to some extent. In the case of the number two earner in Hollywood today, it matters enough to carry Hercules to $33.1 million, $3.3 million of which came from yesterday’s box office.

The above is good news in a vacuum. Once we start checking under the hood, the engine is not purring the way Paramount may have hoped. Hercules held only 39% of its Sunday box office of $8.5 million. As was just noted above, a smaller scale film should have an easier time holding its percentage of prior day revenue. So, Lucy not only kicked Olympian ass over the weekend but continued to do so yesterday. The Rock is a global sensation, and that helps in terms of overall revenue. The action film has already earned $28.7 million abroad, giving it a grand total of $61.8 million after only four days. The problems here are simple. Hercules is frontloaded, and it has a $100 million budget. This film is going to exit theaters in the black, which feels like a win given the HOSTILE buzz about the trailers prior to release. It just isn’t going to be the blockbuster it could have been if there had been more thought beyond, “Hey, let’s cast The Rock as Hercules!”

Daily Box Office for July 28, 2014
Rank	Title	Distributor	Daily Gross	Total Gross
1	Lucy	Universal	4,967,320	48,866,660
2	Hercules	Paramount	3,337,517	33,137,780
3	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	20th Century Fox	2,211,648	174,667,537
4	The Purge: Anarchy	Universal	1,526,550	53,385,455
5	Planes: Fire and Rescue	Walt Disney Co.	1,499,628	36,847,106
6	Sex Tape	Sony	865,371	27,818,953
7	Transformers: Age of Extinction	Paramount	669,180	237,124,208
8	And So It Goes	Clarius Entertainment	576,647	5,218,976
9	Tammy	Warner Bros.	456,136	78,657,446
10	How to Train Your Dragon 2	20th Century Fox	435,441	166,099,240