Hancock

Directed by Peter Berg
Produced by Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann, Will Smith
Written by Vince Gilligan, Vincent Ngo
Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
Music by John Powell
Cinematography Tobias A. Schliessler
Editing by Colby Parker Jr., Paul Rubell
Studio Relativity Media, Overbrook Entertainment
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) July 2, 2008
Running time 92 minutes, 102 minutes (Unrated Edition)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $150 million
Box office $624,386,746
Hancock is a 2008 American action drama-comedy superhero film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. It tells the story of a vigilante superhero, John Hancock (Smith) from Los Angeles whose reckless actions routinely cost the city millions of dollars. Eventually one person he saves, Ray Embrey (Bateman), makes it his mission to change Hancock's public image for the better.
The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996. It languished in development hell for years and had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino before going into production in 2007. Hancock was filmed in Los Angeles with a production budget of $150 million.
In the United States, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America after changes were made at the organization's request in order to avoid a "restricted" (R) rating, which it had received twice before. The film was presented and widely released on July 2, 2008 in the United States and the United Kingdom by Columbia Pictures. Hancock grossed more than $620 million in theaters worldwide while given mixed critical consensus.