Hancock (film) the United States and Canada, grossing $6.8 million. The film was widely released on July 2, 2008, expanding to 3,965 theaters. At the conclusion of the five-day weekend, "Hancock" took top placement at the box office in the United States and Canada, grossing an estimated $103.8 million. The film had the third-biggest opening 4th of July weekend after "Transformers" and "Spider-Man 2". "Hancock" was Will Smith's fifth film to open on a 4 July weekend and was his most successful opening to date. The film was also Smith's eighth film in a row to take top placement in the American
Tony Hancock had not read any of the screenplays. The result of the break was that Hancock chose to separately develop something previously discussed, and the writers were ultimately commissioned to write a "Comedy Playhouse" series for the BBC, one of which, "The Offer", emerged as the pilot for "Steptoe and Son". That "something previously discussed" became "The Punch and Judy Man", for which Hancock hired writer Philip Oakes, who moved in with the comedian to co-write the screenplay. In "The Punch and Judy Man" (1962), Hancock plays a struggling seaside entertainer who dreams of a better life; Sylvia Syms plays his