Lucy (2014 film)

Lucy
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLuc Besson
Written byLuc Besson
Produced byVirginie Besson-Silla
Starring
CinematographyThierry Arbogast
Edited byJulien Rey
Music byÉric Serra
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 25 July 2014 (2014-07-25) (United States)
  • 6 August 2014 (2014-08-06) (France)
Running time
90 minutes
Country
  • France
Languages
  • English
  • Taiwanese Mandarin
  • Korean
  • French
Budget$40 million
Box office$469 million

Lucy is a 2014 science fiction action film written and directed by Luc Besson for his company EuropaCorp, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It was shot in Taipei, Paris, and New York City. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, and Amr Waked. Johansson portrays Lucy, a woman who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic, psychedelic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream.

The film was released on 25 July 2014 and became a massive box office success, grossing over $469 million worldwide, more than eleven times the budget of $40 million. It received generally positive, but also polarized, critical reviews. Although praise was given for its themes, visuals, and Johansson's performance, many critics found the plot nonsensical, especially its focus on the ten-percent-of-the-brain myth and resulting abilities.