Production notes

The film was written by Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos, directed by Brett Ratner, and produced by Ratner alongside Beau Flynn and Barry Levine. Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, Ross Fanger and Jesse Berger served as executive producers. Dwayne Johnson underwent eight months of physical training in preparation for the lead role. During filming in Budapest, he lived alone for six months, which he said was intended to help immerse himself in the character.

Hercules grossed $72.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $172.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $244.8 million. In the United States, Hercules was released on July 25, 2014, at 3,595 theaters. It grossed $11 million its opening day and $29 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind fellow newcomer Lucy ($44 million). Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo opined this was "not a particularly strong start" for Hercules given that "star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's The Scorpion King opened to $36 million" in 2002. Hercules, described as "pumping some much-needed life into a lackluster summer at U.S. and Canadian theaters," did financially better than expected, as it "topped the expectations of analysts by roughly $4 million" and beat out Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which was in its third weekend and finished third with $16.4 million." Subers stated, "The fact that Hercules got close to $30 million is a testament to The Rock's ability to mobilize his massive fanbase." Paramount Pictures jointly released the film with MGM; head of domestic marketing and distribution of Paramount Pictures, Megan Colligan, "credited Johnson's 'charisma' with helping drive the opening," and added that the opening weekend total is "exactly what [they] had hoped for." The audience for Hercules was 58 percent male, with 64 percent over age 25. Outside North America, the film was released in 26 foreign markets in 3,364 locations and earned $28.7 million. Its best countries were Russian ($12 million from 930 theaters), Australia ($3.5 million from 222), Malaysia ($1.6 million from 110), Philippines ($1.2 million from 134), Taiwan ($1.2 million) and Singapore ($1.1 million from 27). Globally, it made $6 million from IMAX showings, including $2 million from 114 international screens.

Hercules received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 58% based on 123 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Hercules has Brett Ratner behind the cameras and Dwayne Johnson rocking the loincloth—and delivers exactly what any reasonable person reading that description might expect." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Scott Foundas, chief film critic for Variety, wrote in a positive review that "It's a grandly staged, solidly entertaining, old-fashioned adventure movie that does something no other Hercules movie has quite done before: It cuts the mythical son of Zeus down to human size (or as human as you can get while still being played by Dwayne Johnson)". Foundas praised Ratner, stating that "in terms of sheer scale and craftsmanship, Hercules represents something of a quantum leap for Ratner" and that the action sequences are "coherent pieces [...] that build steadily in intensity." He concluded that "[Hercules's] strongest asset is surely Johnson, who continues to foster one of the most affable, guileless screen personas in movies today." Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News stated, "It's fast-paced, funny, and packed with eye-popping action. The effects are impressive, but there are none bigger than the star Dwayne Johnson's massive powerful physique which perfectly suited the character and the large-scale movie." She added, "Johnson makes his entrance wearing a conquered lion's head and a loincloth skirt. The fact that he can pull this look off sets the tone for everything else to come." John DeFore of The Washington Post stated, "[The film] simply fails to exploit its assets: an amusing, revisionist take on the mythological strongman, and the charisma of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson." Critic James Berardinelli said, "A big-budget misfire of a sizeable order, a visually busy but emotionally dead endeavor that wearies the viewer with endless computer generated special effects while failing to provide a scintilla of human interest."

The film was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards. Dwayne Johnson, was nominated in the category "Choice Summer Movie Star" and the film was nominated in the category "Choice Summer Movie".

Hercules was released on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD on November 4, 2014, by Paramount Home Entertainment.