Hancock (film) Hancock (film) Hancock is a 2008 American superhero comedy film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. 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
Hancock (film) States and Canada and $396,440,472 in other territories for a worldwide total of $624,386,746. "Hancock" was part of Sony's experiment in providing content to consumers who own a BRAVIA television equipped with an Internet connection. The film's release over the Internet took place after its theatrical run and before its release on DVD. According to Sony executives, distributing "Hancock" was an opportunity to showcase BRAVIA, though the method has been perceived as an "obvious threat" to cable companies' video on demand. The film was available to BRAVIA owners from October 28, 2008 to November 10, 2008. The film was released