In spite of the cold welcome from movie critics, “10,000 B.C.” is on the verge to become a box office hit. The story about prehistoric civilization, directed by Roland Emmerich, received only a score 0f 8 from 100 on the Rotenntomatoes.com with 71 negative reviews from a total of 77.

“10,000 B.C.” tells the story, of D’Leh (Steven Strait), a young hunter who lives in a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth.

When his loved one, Evolet (Camilla Belle) is kidnapped by a band of mysterious warlords, he embarks on a journey to the end of the world to save her. He leads a small group of hunters and as they venture into unknown lands for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their own and that mankind’s reach is far greater than they ever knew.

At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who have been attacked by the slave raiders, turning D’Leh’s once-small band into an army.

At their heroic journey’s end, they uncover a lost civilization and learn their ultimate fate lies in an empire beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies.

In order to take audiences on an adventurous journey to another time and place, Emmerich and his cast and crew first had to travel to the other end of the world.  Production took them from the blistering cold of New Zealand in the winter, to the hot, humid climate of Cape Town, South Africa, to the arid desert landscape of the African nation of Namibia.

Harald Kloser, who co-wrote the film with Emmerich said that “10,000 BC” is a journey to a time when mysticism and the spirit world were a very real part of life. “Roland and I never intended for ‘10,000 BC’ to be a documentary,” Kloser offers.  “Rather, we wanted to make a big adventure about the journey of mankind as they venture out and confront all these forces they can’t explain.  We loved the idea of pushing the boundaries of what was possible.”

According to BoxOffice Mojo’s estimates, “10,000 B.C.” earned on Friday, the opening day, $12.5 million in ticket sales. Last week, Will Ferrell’s spoof comedy about basketball “Semi-Pro” ruled the box office with $15 million in earnings for the whole weekend.

This weekend, Warner’s “10,000 BC” is distantly followed by “College Road Trip”, which opened with $3.5 million. “Vantage Point”, the action thriller with Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox ranked third with $2 million, two weeks after premiere.

Another premier,  “The Bank Job”, a movie with Jason Statham and based on a true story of a bank robbery which happened in 1971 in Baker Street, London, opened for $1.7 million, behind last weekend number one “Semi-Pro” that earned $1.8 million on Friday.