Director Luc Besson s sci-fi thriller "Lucy," about a woman turned superhuman by using 100 percent of her brain, debuted at the top of the North American box office, industry figures showed Monday.

The film -- starring Scarlett Johansson in the title role -- raked in $43.9 million, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

It beat out another newcomer, big budget action flick "Hercules" starring Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, which muscled its way to second place with $29.8 million.

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the latest installment in the sci-fi series about humans and chimps clashing to survive, brought in $16.8 million, dropping to third place in its third week out.

Horror-thriller sequel "The Purge: Anarchy" scared up $10.5 million, landing in the fourth spot.

Meanwhile "Planes: Fire & Rescue," the Disney computer-animated tale of talking aircraft working to fight blazes and help save a national park, raked in $9.5 million for fifth place.

In sixth position with just over $6 million was comedy "Sex Tape," starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel as two parents trying to keep their homemade sex tape off the Internet.

Blockbuster sequel "Transformers: Age of Extinction" followed with $4.7 million in ticket sales. It has earned $236.4 million during its five-week run in theaters.

Romantic comedy "And So it Goes," starring Michael Douglas as a self-centered realtor whose life is interrupted by a granddaughter he never knew he had, and Diane Keaton as his neighbor, landed in eighth with $4.6 million.

Sliding into ninth was comic road trip romp "Tammy," starring Melissa McCarthy, which brought in over $3.4 million.

And rounding out the box office top 10 with $2.6 million was spy thriller "A Most Wanted Man," starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last performances.